414 Matching Annotations
  1. Jun 2016
    1. Cockpit

      Here alluding to the cockpit of a ship, or the part of the helm where the steering wheel is

    2. Prospective Glass

      A spyglass, or sailor's telescope

    3. Temper

      Temperament

    4. Application to my Maker

      Prayer or supplication

    5. Osier

      A variety of Eurasian willows

    6. like Saul, who complain’d not only that the Philistines were upon him; but that God had forsaken him;

      Saul, the first king of the Israelites, summons the spirit of the prophet Samuel and tells him, "I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams" (1 Samuel 28:15).

    7. start

      Startle

    8. Chimera

      Monstrous imagining (more literally, a monster in Greek mythology, with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail)

    9. Wait on the Lord, and be of good Cheer, and he shall strengthen thy Heart; wait, I say, on the Lord

      Psalm 27:14 and Psalm 31:24

    10. I will never, never leave thee, nor forsake thee

      Hebrews 13:5

    11. Call on me in the Day of Trouble, and I will deliver, and thou shalt glorify me.

      Psalm 50:15

    12. He is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give Repentance, and to give Remission

      Acts 5:31

    13. Call upon me in the Day of Trouble, and I will deliver, and thou shalt glorify me

      Psalm 50:15

    14. Chequer Work

      Checkerboard

    15. made

      Arrived at

    16. a Stone’s Cast

      A stone's throw, or a very short distance

    17. Magazine

      Supply or storehouse

    18. Squab

      A cushion forming part of the inside fittings of a carriage

    19. Muschatoes

      Mustachios

    20. a large Pair of Mahometan Whiskers

      A long moustache, such as a Muslim man might have worn

    21. Moletta

      A variation of the word "mulatto," here used to refer to brown skin

    22. Frog

      A loop attached to a belt, designed to hold a sword or bayonet

    23. Thongs

      Cords

    24. Spatter-dashes

      Long gaiters or leggings of leather, to keep boots and trousers from being spattered with mud

    25. Buskins

      Calf-high or knee-high boots

    26. Pantaloons

      Breeches or trousers

    27. crazy

      Feeble

    28. What a Table was here spread for me in a Wilderness

      "Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?" (Psalm 78:19)

    29. answer’d my End

      Served my purpose

    30. Forecast

      Crusoe's comical failure to anticipate that, the larger his enclosure is, the harder it will be to catch the goats inside

    31. Drills

      Small streams or rills

    32. Contrivance

      Foresight; planning or ingenuity

    33. to have a Reprieve brought to them upon the Ladder

      To have a pardon granted a moment before execution. (A criminal sentenced to hanging would have stood on a ladder with the noose around his neck, and the executioner would kick the ladder out from beneath his feet in order to hang him.)

    34. S. S. E.

      South-southeast

    35. E. S. E.

      East-southeast

    36. Graplin

      Grappling-iron

    37. Cakes I should rather call them

      Because they are unleavened

    38. Memorandum

      In Latin, literally "a thing which must be remembered"

    39. answer’d

      Served the need

    40. made shift

      Contrived (ie. a makeshift waistcoat)

    41. feeding Elijah by Ravens

      God, displeased with the pagan practices of the Israelite king Ahab, sends the prophet Elijah to tell him that a great drought will be inflicted on Israel as punishment. When Ahab grows angry with Elijah, God commands Elijah to hide in the wilderness and sends the ravens to bring him food (1 Kings 17:1-6).

    42. to give daily Thanks for that daily Bread

      An echo of a line from the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread . . ."

    43. neither had they been wanting to me

      Neither had they failed

    44. flea

      To flay or skin them

    45. Want

      Lack

    46. a Gross

      A square dozen, or 144 of something

    47. dress

      Cook

    48. Fewel

      Fuel

    49. as Father Abraham to Dives

      According to one of Christ's parables, a rich man dies and goes to hell, while Lazarus, the leper outside his gates, dies and is taken to Abraham's bosom. When the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus down from heaven to grant him reprieve from hellfire, Abraham refuses, telling him, "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed" (Luke 16:26). Crusoe places himself in Abraham's position of spiritual transcendence over the rest of the world.

    50. Declivity

      A downward slope, so that the boat might slide down into the water.

    51. Solomon

      Solomon, King of Israel and Judah, was said to have built a great temple to Yahweh, which housed the Ark of the Covenant and was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 B.C.)

    52. Periagua

      A small, flat-bottomed Caribbean boat similar to a canoe, but with a sail.

    53. to rub it out

      To remove the seed from the husk

  2. May 2016
    1. Puddings

      In Britain, pudding can refer to a number of sweet and savory dishes, including desserts and various types of sausages made from entrails. Here, it refers to a sweetened bread.

    2. Yeast

      While yeast is necessary to make leavened bread rise, it is still possible to make unleavened, flatter bread without it

    3. dress my Meal

      Separate the grain from the chaff

    4. Search

      Searce; another word for a sieve

    5. against

      Until

    6. to raise Past

      To make pastry

    7. Pipkins

      Small earthenware pots

    8. bruised

      Ground

    9. but an assistant to my Work

      Crusoe's conversations with the parrot are recreational, rather than work

    10. POLL

      An abbreviation of "Polly"

    11. to my Mind

      To my liking

    12. Thrash

      Threshing, or the process of separating the seeds of corn from the husks

    13. Harrow

      A very large frame set with iron teeth that is dragged over arable land to break up clods of earth

    14. as we serve notorious Thieves in England

      As late as the eighteenth century, the heads of executed criminals were displayed on pikes at the southern gatehouse of London bridge.

    15. Peck-loaf

      A two-gallon loaf; Crusoe's crop is so small to begin with, that every grain the birds eat is a significant loss

    16. Autumnal Equinox

      Occurring between September 22-24, depending on the year

    17. Poll

      So Crusoe names his parrot

    18. Penguins

      Humboldt penguins are a species native to Chile and Peru

    19. Leaden-hall Market

      A covered market in Gracechurch Street, London, dating from the fourteenth century

    20. for they are Cannibals, or Men-eaters

      The portrayal of aboriginal cultures as savage or alien has an ample precedent: Herodotus describes a mythical race of man-eating "androphagi," and Shakespeare's Othello talks of encountering "The Cannibals that each other eat, / The Anthropophagi and men whose heads / Do grow beneath their shoulders" (I.iii.143-145)

    21. Spanish Dominions

      Spain's colonies at this time included Venezuela and Colombia, so Crusoe's island is probably located off the northern coast of South America.

    22. W. S. W.

      West-southwest

    23. fain

      Eagerly, gladly

    24. Case-Bottles-Square

      A bottle with a square-shaped base, often used for gin

    25. as I shall observe in its Order

      Crusoe will relate the adventure alluded to here in due course, later in the text

    26. Peck

      An imperial unit of dry volume, approximately 2 gallons

    27. Vernal Equinox

      This falls between March 19-21, depending on the year

    28. Humiliation

      In this context, meaning humility, rather than embarrassment

    29. cast

      Counted

    30. the eating of Grapes kill’d several of our English Men who were Slaves there, by throwing them into Fluxes and Feavers

      There is no scientific basis for this supposition. More likely, the symptoms Crusoe describes were a result of scurvy, a condition caused by vitamin C deficiency and common among sailors.

    31. Cassava Root

      A woody shrub native to South America

    32. as the Children of Israel did, when they were promis’d Flesh to eat

      God grants the hungry Israelites manna to eat as they cross the desert, bound for the promised land (Exodus 16:1-13)

    33. Meat

      Food generally, not necessarily restricted to animal's flesh

    34. Vapours

      Physiologically, the four humors (sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic) were thought to emit "vapors" that ascended to the brain and shaped one's temperament. When the humors were unbalanced, the vapors caused distemper and illness.

    35. 100 Weight

      An imperial hundredweight, or about 112 lb

    36. light

      Alight

    37. above half a Hundred Weight

      More than 56 lb (a full hundredweight is 112 lb)

    38. Traffick

      Violent altercation

    39. that these Winds and Rain being the Consequences of the Earthquake

      Defoe's scientific reasoning is interesting, but inaccurate: there is, in fact, no causal link between seismic activity and hurricanes.

    40. and I believe the [94] Shocks were stronger under the Water than on the Island.

      An astonishingly accurate observation, given that Defoe had probably never experienced an earthquake himself, and that plate tectonic theory was only introduced in the 20th century.

    41. Of which in its Place

      Crusoe will describe this predicament at greater length farther along in the narrative (i.e. "More about this later.")

    42. Chickens Meat

      Chicken's food; in this case, barley (referred to here sometimes as corn), which Crusoe realizes must have germinated and sprouted.

    43. Staves

      Wooden planks from which barrels are made.

    44. Cask to be hooped

      A typical wooden barrel, consisting of vertical wooden staves bound with lateral metal hoops.

    45. Runlet

      A roundlet, or, in wine-measure, a barrel holding about 48 gallons.

    46. jealous

      Fearful, apprehensive, or wary.

    47. Hodd

      An open receptacle for carrying mortar, bricks, stones, or coal.

    48. Iron Gudgeons

      The cylindrical shaft running through the center of a wheel, upon which it pivots.

    49. Iron Tree

      The Brazil Ironwood, sometimes called the Leopard Tree, has yellow flowers and extremely hard, spotted wood.

    50. shoal

      Shallow

    51. overset

      Overturned

    52. Magazine

      Storehouse

    53. Adze

      A tool like a pickax, with a blade at right angles to the handle.

    54. Works

      Some subsequent editions misread this word as the intransitive verb "to work," printing the line as "I set my self to enlarge my Cave, and work farther into the Earth." However, the first edition treats it as a noun.

    55. Iron Crows

      Crowbars

  3. Mar 2016
    1. husbanded

      Economized or eked out, so they would last

    2. Popish

      Catholic

    3. 9 Degrees 22 Minutes North

      The 9th parallel north intersects both Colombia and Venezuela, from which we can estimate that Crusoe's island is somewhere off the northern coast of South America. [Insert map here.]

    4. 240 l.

      240 lb.

    5. tho’ had the Powder took fire, I had never known who had hurt me.

      Had the explosive gunpowder caught fire from the lightning, Crusoe would ironically not have survived the explosion to have suffered harm at the hands of man or beast.

    6. Semi-diameter

      Radius

    7. Spritsail-yard, and the Missen-yard

      The cross-beams attached at right angles to the masts, from which the various sails hang

    8. Hawser

      A large rope used in warping or mooring a ship

    9. Hogshead of Bread

      A large cask, or a quantity sufficient to fill a hogshead

    10. Maggazin

      Here not referring exclusively to an arsenal of weaponry, but more generally to Crusoe's store of provisions.

    11. fain

      Eager

    12. Iron Crows

      Crowbars

    13. Grindstone

      A stone on which to sharpen stone tools

    14. Powder-horns

      A container for gunpowder, made from an ox or buffalo horn.

    15. Rack

      A kind of liqueur

    16. Cordial Waters

      Medicinal concoctions, often consisting of brandy or whiskey mixed with various spices.

    17. Skipper

      Master of the ship

    18. Application

      Ingenuity and determination (archaic usage)

    19. Forecastle

      The forward part of a ship below the main deck, usually the crew's living quarters.

    20. a Furlong

      One eighth of a mile, or 220 yards.

    21. two Shoes that were not Fellows

      did not comprise a single pair

    22. when a Malefactor who has the Halter about his Neck, is tyed up, and just going to be turn’d off, and has a Reprieve brought to him: I say, I do not wonder that they bring a Surgeon with it, to let him Blood that very Moment they tell him of it, that the Surprise may not drive the Animal Spirits from the Heart, and overwhelm him

      Crusoe compares himself to a criminal condemned to be hanged, who receives a last-minute pardon or reduced sentence. Bleeding was thought to release adverse humors from the body, in this case those produced by the shock of the lightened sentence.

    23. a League and a Half

      Approximately three and a half miles

    24. Coup de Grace

      Death blow

    25. a-stern of us

      Towards the rear of the boat

    26. under the Lee of the Land

      In such a position that the land intercepts the wind, so that it does not buffet the boat.

    27. Den wild Zee

      "The wild sea"

    28. stav’d

      The hull probably bashed in

    29. Carrible-Islands

      Caribbean islands

    30. beyond the River Amozones, toward that of the River Oronoque, commonly call’d the Great River

      The Amazon River extends from Peru through Brazil, and the Orinoco River from Venezuela to Colombia. [Insert map here.] These details help the reader to estimate whereabouts Crusoe's island is.

    31. so that he found he was gotten upon the Coast of Guinea

      This clause can be rather misleading: Defoe means here not Guinea, the African country for which Crusoe was bound, but the Guianas, a region in South America to the north of Brazil. [Insert map here.]

    32. Calenture

      Feverish delirium prevalent in the tropics.

    33. 7 Degrees 22 Min.

      The degree, the primary unit if latitude, can be subdivided twice into smaller units: each degree consists of 60 minutes, and each minute of 60 seconds.

    34. Isle Fernand de Noronha

      An archipelago off the coast of Brazil, northwest of Cape St. Augustine. [Insert map here.]

    35. Cape St. Augustino

      [Insert map of Brazil depicting the Cape St. Augustine here.]

    36. because they could not publickly sell the Negroes when they came home

      Presumably because slave traders needed a special license from the Spanish or Portuguese crown.

    37. straiten’d for

      lacking

    38. Guinea

      An country south of Guinea-Bissau and north of Sierra Leone, along the west coast of Africa. [insert map here]

    39. Permission of the Kings of Spain and Portugal, and engross’d in the Publick, so that few Negroes were brought

      In reality, the sugar and tobacco plantations of colonial Brazil were heavily dependent on slave labor and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In 1888, Brazil became the last country in the Western world to abolish slavery.

    40. St. Salvadore

      [Insert a map of Brazil with Salvador highlighted here]

    41. 100 Wt.

      A hundredweight, also known as a centum weight or quintal, equal to eight stone, or about 112 lb according to the imperial system. (The American hundredweight, by contrast, equals 100 lb.)

    42. Pounds Sterl.

      British pounds are also referred to as pounds sterling.

    43. Plantation and a Sugar-House

      Portugal colonized Brazil in the late sixteenth century and instituted the lucrative sugar plantation system, which relied on African and Native American slave labor. In the seventeenth century, Brazil was the world's leading exporter of sugar.

    44. Ducats

      A gold or silver trade coin, formerly current in most European countries.

    45. Twenty-two Days

      This duration is actually remarkably short. Merchant vessels carrying slaves and cargo could take anywhere from four weeks to several months to travel from the Gold Coast to the Americas.

    46. Bay de Todos los Santos, or All-Saints Bay

      A bay near Salvador. [Insert map of Brazil with the Bay of All-Saints highlighted here.]

    47. 80 Pieces of Eight

      Eighty Spanish dollars ("Pieces of eight" were so called because one was worth eight Spanish reales.)

    48. to a tittle

      Down to the smallest detail; to the highest degree

    49. Antient

      INSERT NOTE HERE.

    50. Antient and Pendants

      INSERT NOTE HERE.

    51. all the Ships from Europe, which sail’d either to the Coast of Guiney, or to Brasil, or to the East-Indies

      European merchant vessels would have carried salt, gold, and slaves away from Africa, and sugar and spices back from Brazil and the Indies respectively.

    52. the River Gambia or Sennegall, that is to say, any where about the Cape de Verd

      The area south of Morocco, near modern Senegal, was an epicenter for British trade in salt and slaves. [Insert map of west coast of Africa here.]

    53. almost Musquet-bore

      "Bore" refers to the interior of the barrel of a gun, and the diameter of the bore determines the calibre. Crusoe's gun, then, is musket calibre.

    54. Slugs

      Bullets

    55. the Islands of the Canaries, and the Cape de Verd Islands also, lay not far off from the Coast

      There is a geographical inconsistency here. Crusoe and Xury are somewhere along the southwest Moroccan coast if the Canary Islands are close by. Therefore, they are to the southwest of their starting point at Sale, which is in northwest Morocco. However, Crusoe claims to have sailed south and east of Sale - this is, in fact, impossible, since traveling southeast of Sale would entail "sailing" inland. [Insert map of Morocco and Canary Islands here]

    56. a Dram

      A small portion of a drink; a swig or sip.

    57. if any of our Vessels were in Chase of me, they also would now give over

      If any of his Master's men had tried to follow him, he was by now so far away that they would have given up.

    58. Barbarian Coast

      The North African coast, between Tripoli and Morocco.

    59. presented

      Aimed

    60. Fowling-pieces

      Guns

    61. Twist

      Crotch

    62. Cadiz

      A coastal city in southwest Spain [insert map of Spain here]

    63. Curlieus

      A wading bird of mottled brown color with a long, slender beak. [Insert picture of a curlew here.]

    64. Pinnace

      A light rowboat carried aboard large merchant and war vessels.

  4. Feb 2016
    1. gib’d

      Shifted from one side of the vessel to the other when running before the wind.

    2. Maresco

      Moor

    3. Usage I had there

      Treatment I experienced there

    4. Sallee

      A city in northwest Morocco.

    5. Broadside

      The battery of cannon located on the side of the ship; cannon fire.

    6. the Line

      The Equator

    7. Calenture

      Feverish delirium

    8. 300 l

      Three hundred British pounds.

    9. L. 5.9 Ounces

      5 lb, 9 oz.

    10. Adventure

      Quantity of capital or valuables

    11. 40 l.

      Forty pounds

    12. Mess-mate

      Person with whom one regularly takes meals.

    13. Fore-mast Man

      Common sailor

    14. like Jonah in the Ship of Tarshish

      The Biblical Jonah boarded a ship bound for Tarshish, but was thrown overboard and swallowed by a whale when the crew discovered that he was fleeing God's commandment, and held him responsible for the violent storms encountered by their ship.

    15. an Emblem of our Blessed Saviour’s Parable, had even kill’d the fatted Calf for me

      Another allusion to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, when the father kills the fatted calf to feast and celebrate his ruined son's return (Luke 15:23).

    16. if the Boat was stav’d upon Shore he would make it good to their Master

      If the boat was crushed or damaged while running aground, he would reimburse their master.

    17. Winterton Ness

      An area of foreland along the North Norfolk coast of England.

    1. Colliers

      Coal barges.

      (Shinagel 12; footnote 6)

    2. cut away the Foremast,

      In adverse weather conditions, one may cut away the mast of a ship to prevent its capsizing. Without the force of the heavy wind on the mast, the boat has a lower probability of tipping over.

    3. Boat-Swain

      Senior crew member.

    4. at all Adventures

      At the mercy of all risks/dangers.

    5. Steerage

      The lower deck of a ship, just below the main deck and above the ballast; lower classes of passengers often purchased cheaper tickets to travel in this part of the ship.

    6. Sheet Anchor

      A very large, heavy spare anchor stored in the waist of the ship, used in emergencies.

    7. come home

      Come loose.

    8. Forecastle in

      With the bow (the foremost part of the hull) in the water.

    9. rid

      Remained anchored; floated stationary.

    10. Ground-Tackle

      Equipment used to anchor a ship.

    11. Yarmouth Roads

      A stretch of sea east of the coastal town of Great Yarmouth, in the English county of Norfolk.