The truth about the desert island where Robinson once lived

Daniel Defoe's famous novel is inspired by the true story of a person who was washed into an uninhabited island in the 18th century. But the island that Robinson Crusoe actually lives is not the same as the island described. in the novel.

According to the writer Daniel Defoe, the island that Robinson Crusoe lived in was a sunny place, with a long sandy beach of golden sand. In short, it was not a bad place for someone who had to live on it after the shipwreck.

Picture depicting Robinson's life on a deserted island.

But the real-world island has inspired a novel that doesn't look like that. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, nearly 700km from the Chilean coast, and is often covered by fog.

Robinson Crusoe Island is the largest island in the island of Juan Fernandez - small islands in the territory of Chile today. It entered Daniel Defoe's novel since 1704 when the British ship accidentally arrived at the island.

The ship was severely leaked, and the crew fell sick and exhausted. A young Scottish sailor named Alexander Selkirk thought that only madness would continue the journey. He argued with the captain.

It is not clear what happens next. Maybe Selkirk refused to go with the group, or was forced to stay. Either way, Selkirk still has to stay on the small island when the ship has left.

Selkirk lived there alone for 4 years and 4 months, relying on wild fish, berries and goats until a British ship came by and rescued in 1709. The ship's captain described Selkirk as ' the man wearing goat skin looks more wild than the wild goat '.

Selkirk returned to London and became floating like alcohol. Defoe heard that story and composed a famous novel published in 1719.

Defoe changes a lot from Selkirk's story. He moved the island to the Caribbean and created island-based cannibals, one of whom became Crusoe's loyal servant named Friday.

Selkirk was only on the island for more than 4 years, but the island's Crusoe character for 28 years, 2 months and 19 days as he meticulously described the journey.

Defoe clearly prefers the Caribbean rather than the South Pacific waters. Crusoe's island is rich in tobacco, cocoa and tropical trees - trees that are not present in the famous novel.

When reading the novel, the reader feels that this is an island in Chile. Crusoe found grapes, hares, foxes and even penguins. This shows that the island is in a temperate zone, not a tropical one.

Crusoe describes the island she lives in as a horrible place, unsuitable for humans, and helpless.'It's a black island that I call desperate Island.'

Robinson Island today.(Source: BBC)

The good thing is that these things have improved a lot. Today, nearly 800 people live there, relying on lobster fishing and tourism. It is also a place with beautiful scenery with many spectacular cliffs and many high mountains.

There was only one village there. There is still 'Selkirk's observation point' , where the lonely Scottish man has been sitting for a long time searching for ships.

Crusoe survived an earthquake and tsunami, similar to what residents on the island experienced in February 2010.

A hotel owner named Rudy Aravena, 35, almost died because of a landslide that year. Over the next two years, Aravena rebuilt the house and several small villas for tourists visiting the island because of Crusoe's story.

The island has now recovered a lot since the disaster two years ago. The only school on the island was swept away by the tsunami, killing four students. New schools and hospitals will be built here.

However, the process may take a long time, because all construction materials must be transported from Chile mainland by boat with a 24-hour trip. There are only a few flights to the island, and occasionally military aircraft stop by. The time to build houses on the island is four times longer than in the mainland.