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Category: Did You Know
Marooning is the action of leaving someone behind deliberately on an uninhabited island.
The word appears from the early 1700's and is derived from the term maroon, a word for a fugitive slave, which could be a corruption of Spanish cimarrón, meaning 'wild'.
The practice was oten a penalty for crewmen, or for (bad) captains at the hands of their crew.
A marooned man was set on a deserted island; often no more than a sand bar at low tide.
He would be given some food, a container of water, and a loaded pistol so he could commit suicide if he desired.
The outcome of marooning was usually fatal.
The main practitioners of marooning were pirates, to such a degree that they were frequently referred to as "marooners".
The writings of Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts (Barti Ddu) describe marooning as a punishment for cheating fellow pirates or other offences.