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Article: Robert Louis Stevenson: Samoan hero.(author fought for Samoan rights)
- Article from:
- Faces: People, Places, and Cultures
- Article date:
- May 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A one-legged pirate named Long John Silver, a map and hidden treasure, stormy seas and a mutiny --all are part of the thrilling adventure that Robert Louis Stevenson wove into his well-known book, Treasure Island, in 1881. Little did Stevenson know that seven years later he would embark on his own wild adventure, as he sailed through the South Pacific and settled on Samoa, where he lived the last five years of his life.
In June 1888, with his family and a small crew, Stevenson set sail from San Francisco Bay for the South Pacific islands on a schooner named the Casco. As a boy growing up in Scotland, he had developed a serious lung condition that frequently ...