The Queer Dutchman Castaway on Ascension: Left on a Desert Island for “Unnatural Acts”, and Left to God’s Mercy

In 1725 a sailor aboard a Dutch East India Company ship was forcibly marooned on Ascension Island. Accused of unnatural acts, the man, Jan Svilt, kept a journal of his fight for life on the deserted island in the South Atlantic.
Svilt's journal was found by a British captain who stopped at Ascension to turn turtles. A mutilated copy (1748) is in the Rare Book Room of the New York Public Library. THE QUEER DUTCHMAN is a unique, fascinating and moving reading experience. It will appeal to a wide audience.