Crusoe leaves home at age 18 against his parents' wishes to go to sea.

Moorish pirates overpower Crusoe's ship on a voyage to Guinea, and Crusoe is taken into slavery.

Crusoe escapes slavery in Sallee by overpowering a fellow captive and sailing off with Xury.

A Portuguese ship rescues Crusoe and Xury sailing along the African coast.

Crusoe settles in Brazil and establishes a tobacco plantation alongside a Portuguese neighbor.

A storm wrecks Crusoe's ship while bound for Guinea, leaving Crusoe the sole survivor.

Crusoe builds a raft and makes repeated trips to salvage weapons, food, and tools from the wreck.

Crusoe constructs a fortified shelter of tent and cave against the side of a hill.

Crusoe discovers a single human footprint in the sand near the shore, filling him with terror.

Crusoe observes nine naked savages gathered around a fire on the beach for the first time.

Crusoe rescues a man fleeing cannibals, names him Friday, and takes him as a loyal servant.

Crusoe and Friday fight off cannibals and rescue Friday's father and a stranded Spaniard.

Crusoe and Friday discover that prisoners held by mutinous sailors include the captain of an English ship.

Crusoe and the English captain execute a plan that recaptures the mutinied ship.

Crusoe arrives in Lisbon and learns his Brazilian plantation has prospered enormously during his absence.

Pool 1 traces the most pivotal milestones of Robinson Crusoe from start to finish. After defying his parents and going to sea, Crusoe is captured by pirates, escapes slavery, and eventually establishes a plantation in Brazil before a catastrophic shipwreck strands him alone on an uninhabited island. He survives through resourcefulness and faith, spending twenty-eight years building shelter, growing food, and confronting the weight of total isolation. The discovery of a human footprint marks the turn from solitude to danger, as cannibals are revealed to visit the island regularly. Crusoe's rescue of the man called Friday begins a new chapter of human connection and leads to the dramatic recapture of a mutinied English ship. The story concludes with Crusoe returning to civilization as a wealthy man, his Brazilian plantation having thrived throughout his long absence.

The headline events of Crusoe's extraordinary life

Crusoe's first storm at sea shakes his confidence so badly he wishes to return home.

A second storm near Yarmouth forces sailors to cut both masts and the ship sinks.

Crusoe befriends a ship captain in London who offers him free passage to Guinea.

The ship's captain dies, and the mate takes command for a second voyage to Guinea.

Crusoe spends two years as an enslaved laborer in Sallee, Morocco, fishing and rowing for his captor.

Crusoe and Xury encounter coastal African peoples, and Crusoe shoots wild beasts, astonishing the onlookers.

Crusoe sells Xury to the Portuguese captain as a servant aboard the ship.

Crusoe sleeps in a tree on his first night stranded alone on the uninhabited island.

Crusoe prays to God for the first time on the island, focusing on deliverance from his situation.

Crusoe explores the western side of the island and discovers lemon, lime, and grape trees on a verdant hill.

Crusoe builds a smaller secondary shelter called a bower on the western side of the island.

An earthquake topples Crusoe's cave and causes the wrecked ship to wash more provisions ashore.

Crusoe hikes to the far southwest of the island and finds a beach littered with human skulls and bones.

Crusoe finds a large hidden cave in the wooded meadow and moves his supply of ammunition inside.

Before departing the island, Crusoe teaches the marooned mutinous sailors how to survive there.

Pool 2 captures the significant moments that fill in the texture of Crusoe's journey, from his earliest sea voyages to his final days on the island. His first terrifying storm, the sinking near Yarmouth, and two Guinea voyages establish the pattern of misadventure that defines his early life. Years of hard labor as an enslaved worker in Morocco and a charged encounter with coastal Africans during his escape reveal the harsh realities of the world Crusoe inhabits. Once stranded on the island, his first prayer, the discovery of fruit trees on the western shore, and the construction of a bower show how Crusoe slowly transforms the island into a home. The earthquake, the beach of skulls, and the hidden cave punctuate his years of isolation with moments of fear and revelation. The pool closes as Crusoe, before departing forever, shares his hard-won survival knowledge with the sailors he leaves behind.

The supporting events that shaped Crusoe's journey

Crusoe's father urges him to follow the middle road in life, advice Crusoe chooses to ignore.

Crusoe's enslaver sends him fishing to prepare dinner for Dutch guests, and Crusoe seizes the chance to escape.

Crusoe washes ashore on the uninhabited island with nothing but a knife, a tobacco pipe, and some tobacco.

Crusoe spots the wrecked ship stranded on a rock the morning after the storm, realizing others might have survived.

Crusoe carves a large cross from a post, plants it on the shore, and notches each passing day into it.

Crusoe finds barley and corn growing on the island and begins to believe God's providence placed it there.

Crusoe dreams of a burning man descending from a black cloud who threatens to kill him.

Crusoe begins daily Scripture study and concludes that God's providence drove him to the island to repent.

Crusoe spends years constructing a large boat that proves impossible to drag to the sea and launch.

Crusoe narrowly escapes a deadly ocean rip current during a boat journey and resolves not to leave the island again.

Crusoe expands his cave into multiple rooms and builds an outer semi-circle wall fitted with holes for muskets.

Crusoe builds a hidden goat enclosure deep in the wooded meadow to conceal his livestock from cannibals.

Crusoe dreams of a cannibal escapee running toward his shelter seeking help.

Crusoe and Friday open fire on a cannibal ceremony after spotting a white European man among the captives.

Crusoe's nephew persuades him to sail as a private merchant to the East Indies, ending his journal.

Pool 3 focuses on the inner life of Robinson Crusoe — the choices, revelations, and psychological shifts that shape who he becomes. Beginning with the ignored wisdom of his father, the pool traces how each act of defiance and recklessness leads to a new crisis: slavery, shipwreck, and total isolation. On the island, small discoveries — barley growing unexpectedly, a vivid dream of divine judgment — spark profound changes in Crusoe's religious beliefs and daily habits. His failed attempt to build a launchable boat and his harrowing escape from a rip current capture the frustration and persistence that define his character. The construction of a second fortified wall and a hidden goat enclosure show how fear continually reshapes his existence, while a prophetic dream anticipates the arrival of Friday. The pool ends with Crusoe fully transformed — a pious, seasoned man persuaded by his nephew to sail once more, closing the journal with the same restless spirit that opened it.