Robinson Crusoe is an Englishman from the town of York in the seventeenth century, the youngest son of a merchant of German origin. In 1652, against the will of his parents, Robinson begins a life of sea-faring adventure. After sailing around for a while, he makes a bit of money in trade, but then is captured and made into a slave off the coast of Africa. Here he escapes from captivity. Picked up by a Portuguese sailing captain, Crusoe makes it to Brazil where he buys a sugar plantation. He soon becomes involved in a venture to procure slaves from Africa. On the voyage there he gets shipwrecked and is left as the only survivor on a deserted island. The novel is basically about the life and adventures of Crusoe on the island, where he lives for the next twenty-eight years. Crusoe salvages as much as he can from the ship. He builds a home, cultivates corn and rice and raises goats. His peaceful existence is interrupted when savages land on the island.