Robinson Crusoe: Chapter 22 Summary & Analysis

Robinson saw that the savages were about to kill their European prisoner, so he and Friday shot at them, killing several, wounding others, and terrifying all the savages. Some of them jumped into a canoe to flee, as Friday continued to shoot at them and Robinson ran to free the European prisoner. Robinson asked the prisoner who he was and he responded in Latin with "Christianus."

Robinson gave the prisoner, who turned out to be Spanish, a sword and pistol. Together with Friday, they fought off the rest of the savages, killing all but four, who escaped in a boat. Robinson jumped into another of the boats, ready to pursue, but found another prisoner bound inside the boat.

When Friday saw the prisoner and spoke to him, he literally jumped for joy, laughed, and cried. He told Robinson that this was his father. Robinson gave some food to Friday's father and then Friday went running to bring back a jug of fresh water for his father and the Spanish prisoner.

Friday took care of both the prisoners and moved the Spaniard to the boat where Friday's father was. He got in the boat and paddled it around to the creek nearer Robinson's home. Robinson devised a "kind of hand-barrow" by which he and Friday could carry the two prisoners to his dwelling. Unable to carry them over his fortifications, he built a tent right outside his outer wall for them.

Robinson says that he now felt like the king of a populated island, with three subjects. He cooked some goat meat for everyone and then ordered Friday to get their weapons, which they had hurriedly left at the scene of their battle. He also ordered Friday to bury all human remains there.

Robinson had Friday ask Friday's father if there was any chance that the escaped savages might come back with a large army to take revenge on them, but Friday's father said that the savages were scared of Robinson and his guns and thought that he and Friday were gods. As more and more time passed, Robinson became comfortably confident that the savages would not return, just as Friday's father said.

Robinson learned from the Spaniard that he had been aboard a Spanish ship with some Portuguese sailors that had wrecked. The Spaniard and some others were stranded "on the cannibal coast," where they expected to be killed, but were taken in by Friday's people, where they lived without the provisions or vessel necessary to go back to sea.

Robinson asked the Spaniard how he and his sailors might respond to a proposal of escaping with him. He told him that he was worried the Spaniards and Portuguese might turn on him after he helped them. The Spaniard assured him that his comrades were so desperate that they would be thankful for Robinson's help and would not turn on him. Moreover, he swore that they were "very civil, honest men."

Robinson planned to send Friday's father and the Spaniard back to the their people so that the rest of the Europeans could come back with them to Robinson's island, from where they could depart with Robinson. The Spaniard agreed with the plan, but told Robinson to sow more crops first, so that he would have enough food for all of these new people.

Robinson thought this was a good idea, and so set about growing more crops, gathering and drying more raisins, and capturing more goats. He also started cutting down trees to use to construct a boat. After the next harvest, he sent Friday's father and the Spaniard on their journey. As best as Robinson could reckon, they left some time in October.

Eight days later, Robinson was awoken by Friday running to him and shouting, "Master, master, they are come, they are come!" But when Robinson looked, he saw a boat with a sail coming from the wrong direction for it to be Friday's father and the Spaniard. He climbed his hill and looked with his perspective glass to see further off-shore an English ship.

Robinson was confused by this, especially because no English trade routes came this way and there had been no recent storm to blow the ship off its course. Feeling suspicion, Robinson kept observing at a safe distance. He encourages his reader similarly to obey the "secret admonition," to pay attention to feelings of danger. Robinson saw eleven men come to shore from the English boat, three of whom were prisoners.

Friday thought that the Englishmen were going to eat the prisoners, but Robinson doubted this. Robinson watched the three prisoners, whose despair reminded him of himself when he was first stranded on the island. He thought of how fortunate he was that his ship had been stuck close to the shore and again noted that people are "sometimes nearer their deliverance than they imagine."