E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Juan Fernandez.
A rocky island in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chili. Here Alexander Selkirk, a buccaneer, resided in solitude for four years, and his history is commonly supposed to be the basis of Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.
1
Sailors commonly believe that this island is the scene of Crusoe’s adventures; but Defoe distinctly indicates an island on the east coast of South America, somewhere near Dutch Guiana.
