Welcome to Calm History. I'm Harris, and this podcast is my quirky mix of education with sedation.

So go ahead, lean back, put up your feet, and settle into my time machine of tranquility.

I hope this episode distracts and relaxes your overactive brain squirrels.

This is the true story about Alexander Selkirk,

the castaway who inspired the novel Robinson Cruz. is the true story about Alexander Selkirk,

the castaway who inspired the novel, Robinson Crusoe.

But I'll also be highlighting Daniel Defoe,

the man who wrote Robinson Crusoe.

Why?

Because Daniel Defoe never admitted that he based any of his novel on the true story of Alexander Salkirk. But I'll present some evidence to you that may suggest that he did, and then you can

judge for yourself. But most of this episode

will focus on the fascinating and true story of Alexander Selkirk, the man who was stranded

on an island in 1705, all by himself, and then survived for over four years.

Now, if you've heard that Selkirk was a pirate who was abandoned on an island due to some dirty

deeds, that's not exactly true.

Rather, he was a buccaneer turned privateer

who actually wanted to be left on the island,

which begs two big questions.

Question one,

why did he want to be stranded on an island? I'll share the full details in this

episode. And question number two, what the heck is the difference between a pirate, a buccaneer,

and a privateer? For that complete answer,

...