Robinson Crusoe, Ch.

1
Study the following questions:

1. When and where was Robinson Crusoe born?

He was born in 1632 in the city of York in the north of England.

2. What did Crusoe’s parents want him to be?

They wanted him to be a lawyer.

3. What did Crusoe want to be?

He wanted to be a sailor.

4. When did Crusoe go to London? Why?

He went to London when he was 18 because he wanted to be a sailor.

5. Where was Crusoe’s first voyage?

It was to Guinea in West Africa.

6. How did Crusoe change his future plans?

At first, he wanted to become a sailor, and then he changed his mind and wanted to become
a trader after his first voyage to Guinea. After that, he decided to grow tobacco and be a
farmer after he had sailed to Brazil.

7. What happened on the way to the Canary Islands?

Turkish pirates attacked Crusoe’s ship. They killed three men and hurt eight others. Sixty
Turkish pirates climbed onto his ship and Crusoe and the men on his ship surrendered.

8. Where did the pirates take Crusoe and his men? and what did the pirates do to them?
The pirates took them to the port of Sallee, on the coast of Morocco. They sold the sailors but
the Turkish captain kept Crusoe as his own servant.

9. How long did Crusoe work for the Turkish captain?

Crusoe worked for him for 2 years.

10. How did Crusoe escape from the Turkish captain?

He used a small fishing boat to escape. He hid food, water and other useful things on the
boat. He also hid three of the captain’s guns as well as gunpowder and shots for the guns.
One day he decided to escape when he went fishing with an old servant and a young boy. He
waited until they were a long way from the coast and then he pushed the old man into the
water and he let the boy stay because he was friendly.

11. Where did Crusoe sail after he had escaped from the Turkish captain? Why?

He sailed south because he wanted to reach River Gambia, in West Africa. He hoped to find
European ships there.

12. How much money did the Portuguese captain give Crusoe for his boat?

He gave him 20 pounds for it.

13. When was Crusoe’s second voyage to Guinea?

It was on September 1st, 1659, nine years after he ran away from England.

14. How do you know that Crusoe is a good trader?

He spent 40 pounds on some goods that he bought in London and sold them in Guinea for

more than 300 pounds.

15. How do we know that the Turkish captain “was not a bad man.”?

The Turkish captain did not sell Crusoe like he sold the other sailors but kept him as his own

servant. He also let Crusoe stay in his house while he was at sea.