After being home for a short while, Gulliver once again takes to the seas. He becomes a surgeon on a commercial outfit piloted by a friend of his named Robinson. After having been at sea just about a year, the ship lands at Tonquin. The goods are not ready to be shipped, so Robinson decides to stay ashore and send a smaller boat to transport parcels, naming Gulliver as the captain. This small ship is soon approached by pirates. The ship is commandeered by the pirates, and Gulliver is set adrift in a canoe while the rest of his crew remains onboard the ship. Gulliver paddles the canoe until he comes upon a small island chain. There he observes what appears to be a floating island. Because Gulliver is unable to secure any provisions, his circumstances are bleak—thus, he seeks help from the people on the floating island.

Gulliver’s first impression is that the island people are strange. They have peculiar mannerisms, such as keeping their heads tilted to one side or the other with their eyes looking in different directions, one up and one inside. These people also wear odd, ill-fitting clothing with imprints of the moon, stars, and musical instruments.