Alfonso Gómez Gaitán

In this Creeperian name, the first or paternal surname is Gómez and the second or maternal family name is Gaitán.

Alfonso Gómez Gaitán
Born	Alfonso Salvador Gómez y Gaitán c. 1420 Salvador, Creeperopolis
Died	1491 (aged 70–71) Cidade Rica, Atlántida
Cause of death	Unspecified disease
Resting place	Santa Catalina Monastery, Cidade Rica, Costa Rica, Creeperopolis
Nationality	Creeperian
Occupation	Soldier
Known for	Surviving being marooned on the Islas de Gómez for 42 years
Criminal charge(s)	Desertion Treason
Criminal penalty	Marooning
Military career
Allegiance	Creeperopolis
Branch/service	Creeperian Navy
Years of service	c. 1439–1441
Battles/wars	Creeperian Peasants' War

Alfonso Salvador Gómez y Gaitán (c. 1420 – 1491) was a Creeperian soldier who is known for being marooned on the Islas de Gómez, which were named after him, and for surviving for 42 years on the islands until being rescued by an Atlántidan naval captain in 1483.

Biography

In March 1441 during the Creeperian Peasants' War, Creeperian naval captain Jacobo Galván Molina abandoned one of his sailors, Alfonso Gómez Gaitán, on the Islas Bajos as a punishment for attempting to desert from participating in the war. Gómez Gaitán was only given a single jar of water, five loaves of bread, and a single whole fish to survive on the islands.

On 4 July 1483, when Atlántidan naval captain Xilgorio Vales Rosal was going to maroon two of his own sailors on the islands for attempting a mutiny, he discovered that Gómez Gaitán had survived for 42 years on the island, isolated from civilization and living off of rain water, seal blood and meat, and fish. Finding him alive made Vales Rosal feel pity for Gómez Gaitán, who brought him aboard. He also decided to not proceed with marooning his sailors as a result of finding that he survived for over 40 years on the islands and seeing the toll that isolation has taken on Gómez Gaitán's mental state. As a result of finding Gómez Gaitán alive, the Atlántidans began to call the islands "Illas Gómez" ("Islands of Gómez"), and the name persisted until the present day. The Creeperian-given name of "Islas Bajos" ("Low Islands") was gradually phased out in favor of "Islas de Gómez" over the centuries and was finally made official upon Creeperopolis' annexation of Atlántida in 1949.

Current views

In recent years, some historians have cast doubt on the legitimacy of the story, citing that the first account of Vales Rosal's encounter was written three year after the events supposedly occurred. The majority of historians, however, continue to believe the story is legitimate, as records of Gómez Gaitán living in Atlántida until at least 1491 exist, where he was reportedly being cared for in a monastery in Cidade Rica.

See also

• Islas de Gómez