Robinson Crusoe is a novel by the English writer Daniel Defoe, published in April 1719. Presented as the autobiography of a castaway, it tells how Crusoe, an English sailor, survives for years on a remote island after a shipwreck, building a shelter, growing crops and befriending a man he names Friday. Defoe was probably inspired in part by the real experiences of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who lived alone on an island off Chile. The book was an immediate success and spawned sequels and many imitations, known as Robinsonades. It is often considered one of the first novels in English, noted for its realistic detail and themes of self-reliance, religion and colonialism.
Before and after
- 16 November 1717Birth of Jean Le Rond d'Alembert
- 21 July 1718Treaty of Passarowitz
- from 2 August 1718 to 17 February 1720War of the Quadruple Alliance
- from 28 December 1718 to 5 January 1719Carolean Death March
- 25 April 1719Publication of Robinson Crusoe
- from c. 1720s to 1740sCampaigns of Nader Shah
- 30 August 1721Treaty of Nystad
- from 22 October 1721 to 1 September 1917Russian Empire
- 1722Construction of Élysée Palace
More in Art, literature & culture
- c. 1500sMona Lisa
- 18 April 1506Construction of St. Peter's Basilica
- from 31 October 1517 to 1 January 1648Protestant Reformation
- 31 October 1517Origins of Lutheranism
- 10 November 1517Origins of Protestantism
- from 17th century to 19th centuryAge of Enlightenment
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.