Robinson Crusoe was born in York in 1632 as the son of a merchant. He ignores his father's warnings and goes to sea, where he is caught by pirates. After an adventurous escape, he arrives in Brazil and quickly makes a considerable fortune through skilful trade and acquires a sugar plantation. To buy these new scalves, he makes his way to Guinea. Crusoe is the only member of the crew to survive a storm on this voyage. He is stranded on a remote island in the Orinoco estuary, where he tries to survive as best he can despite various adversities in order to be rescued.