Philip Ashton

Philip Ashton

Philip Ashton (1702-?) stayed as a castaway on uninhabited Roatan Island in the Bay of Honduras for 16 months in 1723/1724. His memoirs about his solitary stay (published in book form in Boston in 1725) were not believed by everyone; some people believed the book was a novel in the style of Robinson Crusoe. However, unlike Robinson Crusoe, Ashton was genuine; he was born in Marblehead in New England in 1702 and married twice in his lifetime.Edward E. Leslie, "Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls", 1988, pp.107-8]

Castaway life

In June 1722, Ashton was captured by pirates while fishing near the coast of Nova Scotia. In the "Boston News Letter" of 9 July 1722, Ashton was listed as being one of those captured by the pirate Edward Low. As Ashton refused to co-operate with the pirates, he was often threatened. He managed to escape in March 1723 when the pirates landed at Roatán Island in the Bay Islands of Honduras, hiding in the jungle until the pirates decided to depart without him. He survived for 16 months, in spite of many insects, tropical heat and alligators. In the beginning he seems to have eaten only fruits, because he only had his hands to collect food; he could not kill any animal. He had no equipment at all until he met another castaway, an Englishman. The Englishman disappeared after a few days but he left behind a knife, gunpowder, tobacco and more. Ashton could now kill tortoises and crayfish and make fires to have hot meals. Ashton was finally rescued by the "Diamond", a ship from Salem, New England.

References

*"History of the Strange Adventures and Signal Deliverances of Mr. Philip Ashton", Boston, 1725
*Edward E. Leslie, "Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls" , 1988
*Charles Neider, "Great Shipwrecks and Castaways" , 2000


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Philip D. Zelikow — (born 1954) was the executive director of the 9/11 Commission. He also acted as the director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia until February 2005 when he was appointed Counselor of the United States Department… …   Wikipedia

  • Philip Barry Tomlinson — 220px Ocupación botánico , naturalista Dr. Prof. Philip Barry Tomlinson (o Philip B. Tomlinson) Tomlinson es un botánico y natural …   Wikipedia Español

  • Philip K. Dick — Born Philip Kindred Dick December 16, 1928(1928 12 16) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Died March 2, 1982( …   Wikipedia

  • Philip Guston — (* 27. Juli 1913 als Phillip Goldstein in Montreal, Kanada; † 7. Juni 1980 in Woodstock, New York), war ein US amerikanischer Maler. Er gehörte zu den bedeutendsten Vertretern des Abstrakten Expressionismus. Er gilt als Vorläufer des New Image… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Philip Toone — est un homme politique canadien. Le 2 mai 2011, il est élu député à la Chambre des communes du Canada dans la circonscription de Gaspésie Îles de la Madeleine, sous l étiquette NPD, succédant ainsi au bloquiste Raynald Blais, qui ne se… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ashton-Tate — Infobox Defunct Company company name = Ashton Tate Corporation company successor = Borland fate = Bought by Borland key people = George Tate, Founder, Hal Lashle, Founder location = Torrance, California, USA foundation = August, 1980 defunct =… …   Wikipedia

  • Philip Hastane — A fictional author created by Clark Ashton Smith, Philip Hastane was in many ways an analog of his creator. He too lived in a cabin in Auburn, California and wrote poetry and weird fiction. He also associated with a large number of artists and… …   Wikipedia

  • Philip Jones Brass Ensemble — L ensemble de cuivres Philip Jones ou London Brass (The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble en anglais) a été fondé par le trompettiste anglais Philip Mark Jones en 1951. Histoire Réunissant les meilleures solistes de la scène musicale anglaise, il a… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Philip Guston — Infobox Artist bgcolour = #6495ED name = Philip Guston imagesize = 250px caption = Painting, Smoking Eating 1972 Oil on Canvas birthname = Phillip Goldstein birthdate = birth date |1913|6|27| location = Montreal, Canada deathdate = death date and …   Wikipedia

  • Philip Jones Brass Ensemble — The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, founded in 1951 by trumpeter Philip Jones, was one of the first modern classical brass ensembles to be formed. The group played either as a quintet or as a ten piece, for larger halls. It toured and recorded… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”