# More on Marooned

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-marooned/334219>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [December 5, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-marooned/334219 "2005-12-05T19:03:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Soccerboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Soccerboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soccerboy)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-marooned/334219/1 "2005-12-05T19:03:57Z")

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So, there are two islands named ‘Mas a Tierra’ - one off the coast of Chile and the other off the Caribbean coast of Central America?

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-on-marooned/334219/2 "2005-12-05T19:51:42Z")

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Welcome to the SDMB, Soccerboy. A link to the column is appreciated. Providing one can be as simple as pasting the URL into your post, making sure to leave a blank space on either side of it. Like so: [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/051202.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/051202.html)

> [@Soccerboy](#):
>
> So, there are two islands named ‘Mas a Tierra’ - one off the coast of Chile and the other off the Caribbean coast of Central America?

No, just the one off Chile. The Miskito Indians were native to the Caribbean. One Miskito Indian named Will, originally from the Caribbean, was a crewman on a British privateer. When the privateer visited Mas a Tierra off the Coast of Chile, Will went ashore. At the approach of a hostile Spanish ship, the crew of the privateer set sail hastily, leaving only Will behind. He was rescued by another British privateer about 3 years later. Alexander Selkirk was marooned on the same island about 20 years later. The island was a frequent stopover for British privateers since it afforded fresh meat and water and a good place to haul out ships for repair with less risk of discovery by the Spanish than almost anywhere else around.