I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull. He got a good estate by merchandise, and leaving off his trade, lived afterwards at York, from whence he had married my mother, whose relations were named Robinson, a very good family in that country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but, by the usual corruption of words in England, we are now called - nay we call ourselves and write our name - Crusoe; and so my companions always called me. What does the historical context of the writing demonstrate or tell you? In that time, it was important to know where a person's family was from. In that time, it was important to lie about the true spelling of your name. In that time, it was important to avoid using a woman's family name. In that time, it was important to write novels about genealogy and history.
