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Marooning is the intentional act of abandoning someone in an uninhabited area, such as adesert island.[1] The word is attested in 1699, and is derived from the termmaroon, a word for a fugitive slave,[1] which could be a corruption of Spanishcimarrón (rendered as "symeron" in 16th–17th century English[2]), meaning a household animal (or slave) who has "run wild".Cimarrón in turn may be derived from theTaino wordsímaran (“wild”) (like a stray arrow), fromsímara (“arrow”).
The practice was a penalty for crewmen, or for captains at the hands of a crew in cases ofmutiny. Generally, a marooned man was set on a deserted island, often no more than asand bar atlow tide.[3] He would be given some food, a container of water, and a loaded pistol so he could die bysuicide if he desired.[4][self-published source?] The outcome of marooning was usually fatal, but survival was possible if the condemned could obtain a means of escape, as in the case of pirateEdward England.
The chief practitioners of marooning were 17th and 18th centurypirates, to such a degree that they were frequently referred to as "marooners". Thepirate articles of captainsBartholomew Roberts andJohn Phillips specify marooning as a punishment for cheating one's fellow pirates or other offences. In this context, to be marooned is euphemistically to be "made governor of an island".
During the late 18th century in thesouthern United States, "marooning" took on a humorous additional meaning describing an extended camping-out picnic over a period of several days.[1]
Probably the most famous literary reference to marooning occurs inRobert Louis Stevenson'sTreasure Island in whichBen Gunn is left marooned on the island for three years.
A famous real-life marooning, initially at his own request, was that of the sailorAlexander Selkirk onJuan Fernández Island off the coast ofChile, in the Pacific Ocean. Selkirk, a sailor with theDampier expedition, was worried about the unseaworthy condition of his ship, theCinque Ports, and had argued with the captain until he left Selkirk ashore on the island where they had briefly stopped for water and food supplies. TheCinque Ports indeed later sank with the loss of most of her crew. Selkirk was not rescued until four years later, byWoodes Rogers. Selkirk's travails provided part of the inspiration forDaniel Defoe's novelRobinson Crusoe. Today there are islands off the Chilean coast namedAlejandro Selkirk Island andRobinson Crusoe Island.
In 2012,Ed Stafford marooned himself on an uninhabited island offFiji as an experiment for 60 days. He took with him no food, water, or equipment of any kind,[5] except cameras to film the ordeal forDiscovery Channel. Stafford completed the task and documents the psychological repercussions in his bookNaked and Marooned.[6]
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