Funny Holidays - Robinson Crusoe Day

At the age of 59 in 1719, the already quite famous British writer Daniel Defoe published his debut novel under the incredibly long title “The Life and Amazing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a sailor from York, who lived twenty-eight years all alone on a desert island off the coast of America near the mouth of the river” Orinoco, where he was thrown into a shipwreck, during which the entire crew of the ship died except him; with an account of his unexpected liberation by the pirates, written by himself" Subsequently, it became popularly known under the shorter name “Robinson Crusoe” This book brought the author world fame It became one of the brightest examples of adventure literature, which was read not only by children, but also by adults Defoe was born into the family of an English meat merchant He received a good spiritual education and was supposed to become a pastor, but it didn’t work out The young man preferred commercial activity to the clergy, although he managed to combine it with a wonderful hobby - poetry At that time, Defoe wrote exclusively on religious topics He was terribly ashamed of his bourgeois origin, so at the first opportunity he changed his surname Fo, given from birth, to the more euphonious Defoe Subsequently, the writer introduced himself as a new acquaintance of a nobleman He repeatedly developed his business and became bankrupt, wrote political pamphlets and essays, traveled to European countries, studied languages, even sat in prison and stood in the pillory, was pardoned and participated in a conspiracy Daniel Defoe managed to constantly find himself in the thick of things, and his life was incredibly eventful He became the author of more than 500 works and the founder of economic journalism Today, various sources contain rather contradictory information that the creator of Robinson Crusoe worked in British intelligence, but it is not possible to find information about the details of this cooperation Some believe that Defoe was a kind of eminence grise who led this service and influenced not only the king, but also the entire political situation in the country Be that as it may, throughout his life the writer created many articles, essays, pamphlets, stories and novels "Robinson Crusoe" became his only book that could be given to children Defoe's remaining works were devoted mainly to biographies of swindlers, courtesans and thieves Daniel Defoe had an amazing imagination, which helped him tell an incredible story Robinson Crusoe is a man who spent 28 long years on a desert island, managed to improve his life and not lose his mind from loneliness The well-known story has two sequels, which the author wrote under pressure from readers eager for a continuation Unfortunately, they did not gain such fame as the first part Defoe was inspired to write his book by the story of Alexander Selkirk He served as a boatswain and during the next voyage he quarreled so strongly with the captain that he demanded to land him on a desert island The captain, driven into a frenzy, immediately agreed to fulfill his request and got rid of the quarrelsome subordinate Selkirk knew that there were supplies of fresh water in the island, so he did not plan to stay there for long, since other ships often dropped anchor to replenish their supplies The boatswain miscalculated and was forced to spend almost five years on the island in splendid isolation He was picked up by the crew of the British ship "Duchess" There was no Friday on the island, Selkirk did not meet cannibal savages and brave pirates - the main details of Crusoe's story, which made it so fascinating, were invented by Defoe himself The idea of ​​celebrating Robinson Crusoe Day on February 1 belongs to an English publication, which put forward it in 1999 On this day you can go hiking and practice your survival skills in the wild You can take your children with you to teach them how to light a fire, how to properly stack branches for a fire, and how to set up a tent You can find adventures not only on a desert island, so any walk through the forest can become an exciting journey that is worthy of its own story