Written by Jules Verne as En Magellanie but heavily edited and first published posthumously as Les naufragés du Jonathan by his son, Michel Verne in 1909. 

This is the 2nd part of a 2-part story:

Survivors of The Jonathan
The Masterless Man (Part 1 of 2)
The Unwilling Dictator (Part 2 of 2)

The story of a ship filled with immigrants, who are wrecked on an island near the Straits of Magellan. A local man becomes their helper and benefactor, but only up until things get difficult. A social study. 

Cover art by Jozef Gross