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Robinson Crusoe's guns?

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CoyoteJoe

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Robinson Crusoe was ship wrecked on a vessel outfitted in "The Brazils", which was Portuguese territory, his thirty year saga begining in the 1650's. On the island he had muskets, fowling pieces and pistols. He speaks of loading the muskets with "slugs" and the fowlers with "the largest size of swan shot, nearly the size of small pistol bullets.
After leaving the island on an overland journey from Lisbon to Paris his party was "well armed with pistols and fuzees". These they used well in fighting off an attack by hundreds of starving wolves.
The novel was written in 1710, first published in 1719, so the author lived the times of which he wrote. I wonder what Portuguese muskets, fowling pieces and fuzees would have been like in the last half of the seventeenth century. :hmm:
 
Don't know, perhaps they used arms like the Spanish types. Could be matchlocks or miquelet/snaphaunce locks on the early guns (mid 1600s); miquelet or early flintlocks on the early 1700s guns? The Spanish arms I have seen are kinda clumsy looking peices in the early period. We have a local Spanish fort (Los Adaes) which dates from about 1717 and the historians there claim that the troops were poorly armed with individual firelocks, relying mainly on cannon, the lance, sword and belduque knife (and heavy leather 'armor').
 
Excuse my ignorance but what the heck is a belduque knife

Berk
 
Funny you should ask...I was going to ask the same question a few weeks ago, when the subject of what books we are currently reading came up here on the Forum, but it slipped my mind. :shake: As I said in the other thread, this is a book I reread at least once a year, and I had just finished it again when the book thread came up.
During the course of the story, it never once mentions the ignition system or any other details of his guns. I've always figured his guns would have been some type of early doglock perhaps, though miquelet sounds right too. I've always ruled out matchlock, since it would have been darn hard to make decent slowmatch under his conditions, and the wheelock because of their mechanical complexity and expense. :hmm:
I hope this thread gets plenty of responses, as this is something of great interest to me too. :hatsoff:
 
While not overly helpful with your question, the Smithsonian Magazine did an excellent article on The Real Crusoe a few months ago.
[url] http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issues05/jul05/crusoe.html[/url]

The statue in Scotland where he was born, appears to have a flintlock in it's hands. I wondered what he would have really used? I'm suprised they even gave him a musket when they marooned him.
 
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Selkirk was a buccaneer. Marooning was normally done on an extremely small piece of land that the marooned was not going to survive on for long (want of food and water..), so they would give him an easy way out, a loaded pistol.
 
According to what I read, Selkirk thought the ship he was on was unseaworthy, and parted amicably from the rest of his crew. He turned out to be right - the ship sank not long after he was marooned!
Another ship was expected at the island in a few weeks, but it never turned up. When a rescue vessel finally arrived, the crew were starving and Selkirk proved himself quite the "boucaniér" (in the french sense) bagging enough wild goats to feed the whole ship to thank his rescuers. :)
 
Berk said:
Excuse my ignorance but what the heck is a belduque knife

Berk
Click to expand...

A belduque is a Spanish style big knife--sort of a Bowie predecesser, typically guardless with a pointed tip heavy blade--similar to a french chef knife but more tapered. You may find some pics by searching on google...
 
2397-1.JPG

2397-3.jpg


The really old spanish ones I've seen have turned handles, like a plug bayonet and filigree decoration, especially cut through the base part of the blade.
 
The more I think about this, the more I tend to go with the miquelet as the most probable style Crusoe would have used. The book states September 30, 1659 as the date of his coming ashore on the island. This date, combined with the ship he was on having been fitted out in Brazil, would pretty much narrow it down to the miquelet. :hmm:
His pistols could have looked like this:
http://www.armchairgunshow.com/images/AA-QC7.jpg
 
Arrgh...
and jest where can a swarthy "Pie-Rat"
such as me-self obtain such a fine
brace-o hand gonnes as that be..?
talbert
 
talbert said:
Arrgh...
and jest where can a swarthy "Pie-Rat"
such as me-self obtain such a fine
brace-o hand gonnes as that be..?
talbert
Click to expand...

Ye could try here The Rifle Shoppe if ye wish to make yer own, or ye could try the antique auction sites if ye wishes ta spend several grand apiece for original ones... Yo ho ho and a bottle o' rum!:shocked2: :haha:

P.S. I wish I knew of someone who made reasonably-priced replicas of these...
:hmm:
 
Some of these might be close.[url] http://www.militaryheritage.com/muskets.htm[/url]
 
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Rebel said:
Some of these might be close.[url] http://www.militaryheritage.com/muskets.htm[/quote][/url]

Indeed, the English Civil War pistol they offer, which is described as a simplified snaphaunce or early doglock, would be the English counterpart to the Spanish miquelet (similar time frame). In fact, had Crusoe's ship been fitted out in England, that would be the most likely lock he'd have had access to; however, I still like the miquelet better. :hatsoff:

BTW: In case this hasn't been linked to here before, here's a pretty fair review of the pistol I just mentioned:
MVTC Doglock
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Berk said:
Excuse my ignorance but what the heck is a belduque knife

Berk
Click to expand...

CoyoteJoe said:
Robinson Crusoe was ship wrecked on a vessel outfitted in "The Brazils", which was Portuguese territory, his thirty year saga begining in the 1650's. On the island he had muskets, fowling pieces and pistols. He speaks of loading the muskets with "slugs" and the fowlers with "the largest size of swan shot, nearly the size of small pistol bullets.
After leaving the island on an overland journey from Lisbon to Paris his party was "well armed with pistols and fuzees". These they used well in fighting off an attack by hundreds of starving wolves.
The novel was written in 1710, first published in 1719, so the author lived the times of which he wrote. I wonder what Portuguese muskets, fowling pieces and fuzees would have been like in the last half of the seventeenth century. :hmm:
Click to expand...
I have no recollection, having read the novel more than once, of Robin travelling overland from Lisbon to Paris or even flying from Long Island to Paris anywhere post leaving the island.
 
Berk said:
Excuse my ignorance but what the heck is a belduque knife

Berk
Click to expand...
A Spanish knife. They could be up to a foot of blade often more working length at five or six inches, slight drop to the point and can have false edge on the tip. They had a Bowie look, but smaller and flatter on the top.
The riflemans knife known from revolutionary times looks a lot like one
 
Berk said:
Excuse my ignorance but what the heck is a belduque knife

Berk
Click to expand...
Spanish general use knife. They have an edge that sweeps to a point then a false edge for about the half of the blade length
Some could be Bowie sized and was the go to knife for Spanish
I use one in my Santa Fe trail outfit as I could have gotten one in Santa Fe
 

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