Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe in 1719, drawing on the true story of Alexander Selkirk, who spent years shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. In the novel, Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked on an island for 28 years, where he learns to survive on his own and later rescues a native man called Friday. Crusoe establishes himself as the ruler of the island and eventually returns home to England with Friday. The novel explores themes of colonialism, survival, religion and man's relationship with nature.