Alexander Selkirk is finally rescued

Marooned on a remote desert island for more than four years, Scottish mariner Alexander Selkirk survived against all the odds, gaining fame, fortune and a lasting influence on popular culture

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Woodes Rogers's surprise encounter with Selkirk, and the wild story that the Scotsman recounted, captured the imagination of the British public

Born in Lower Largo, Fife, in 1676, Alexander Selkirk never quite shook off his reputation as a tearaway. In 1695, a summons to appear before a church court over his misconduct during a service was postponed when it was discovered he had gone to sea, possibly joining a colonising mission to Panama. His return, in 1701, courted further controversy after he assaulted several family members. Adept at mathematics and geography, Selkirk then enlisted as a navigator for privateer William Dampier's expedition to South America: a decision that would condemn him to more than four years alone on a remote island.

Privateers - effectively state-sanctioned pirates were crucial to the European powers' scramble for wealth in the New World. Warring ships fought each other with cannon on the high seas, while deliberately overcrowded crews would deplete over time through disease, malnutrition and conflict. Dampier's voyage was comprised of two ships - St George and Cinque Ports - and set sail from Kinsale, Ireland, in September 1703 with Selkirk aboard the latter. As the ships crossed the Atlantic, rancour and dissension grew.

WAYWARD NAVIGATOR