Alexander Selkirk was a Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer best known as the real-life castaway who inspired Daniel Defoe's novel, Robinson Crusoe. After expressing concerns about the seaworthiness of his vessel, he was voluntarily marooned on the uninhabited island of Más a Tierra in the Juan Fernández archipelago. He survived for four years and four months, using his resourcefulness to hunt and build shelter before his rescue in 1709. Selkirk's incredible story of survival was widely publicized upon his return, cementing his legacy as the archetypal castaway.