Selkirk’s story was the talk of the town as you can imagine and he garnered a fair amount of celebrity status. He was also owed the equivalent of around £100,000 for his share in the Duke’s booty so he was pretty chilled and readied himself for a life of relaxing luxury. But then a legal storm started to brew and it seemed like he might not get any of the cash coming to him at all.
By 1713 he was back to his old cantankerous self and it looks like he may have got a couple of years in the clink for beating up a ship worker in Bristol. It wasn’t long until he was back out at sea though, as he joined the Royal Navy around 1718.
In 1721 he died of yellow fever whilst asail in HMS Weymouth, whch was engaged in an anti-piracy patrol off the west coast of Africa. “The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe (close friend of Selkirk’s rescuer Captain Rogers) was published in 1719 and the similarities can’t have been missed by many.
So a pretty amazing story all told. From an unruly yob, to a contemplative hunter gatherer and then back to thuggery. A life of adventure fuelled by the sea.
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