HMS Beagle: Darwin’s Trip around the World

Charles Darwin sailed around the world from 1831–1836 as a naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle . His experiences and observations helped him develop the theory of evolution through natural selection.

Biology, Geography, Earth Science, Geology, Ecology

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Charles Darwin set sail on the ship HMS Beagle on December 27, 1831, from Plymouth, England. Darwin was 22 years old when he was hired to be the ship’s naturalist . Most of the trip was spent sailing around South America. There Darwin spent considerable time ashore collecting plants and animals. Darwin filled notebooks with his observations of plants, animals, and geology . The trip was an almost five-year adventure and the ship returned to Falmouth, England, on October 2, 1836.

Throughout South America, Darwin collected a variety of bird specimens . One key observation Darwin made occurred while he was studying the specimens from the Galapagos Islands. He noticed the finches on the island were similar to the finches from the mainland, but each showed certain characteristics that helped them to gather food more easily in their specific habitat. He collected many specimens of the finches on the Galapagos Islands. These specimens and his notebooks provided Darwin with a record of his observations as he developed the theory of evolution through natural selection .

Have students work in pairs to use the map and the resources in the explore more tab to create a social media feed that includes five dates and posts from the expedition. Students may need to conduct additional research to ensure their proposed posts are factual and something Darwin would have seen on the trip. Help students brainstorm ideas for their posts by asking: What types of animals would Darwin have seen? Are any of them extinct today? What types of plants did he note? What types of geology did he see? What would you imagine some of the hardships the explorers would have encountered on this voyage?

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Charles Darwin and His Voyage Aboard H.M.S. Beagle

The Young Naturalist Spent Five Years on a Royal Navy Research Ship

Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images

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The History of H.M.S. Beagle

Gentleman passenger, darwin invited to join the voyage in 1831, departs england on december 27, 1831, south america from february 1832, the galapagos islands, september 1835, circumnavigating the globe, back home october 2, 1836, organizing specimens and writing, the theory of evolution.

the voyage of hms beagle

Charles Darwin’s five-year voyage in the early 1830s on H.M.S. Beagle has become legendary, as insights gained by the bright young scientist on his trip to exotic places greatly influenced his masterwork, the book " On the Origin of Species ."

Darwin didn’t actually formulate his theory of evolution while sailing around the world aboard the Royal Navy ship. But the exotic plants and animals he encountered challenged his thinking and led him to consider scientific evidence in new ways.

After returning to England from his five years at sea, Darwin began writing a multi-volume book on what he had seen. His writings on the Beagle voyage concluded in 1843, a full decade and a half before the publication of "On the Origin of Species."

H.M.S. Beagle is remembered today because of its association with Charles Darwin , but it had sailed on a lengthy scientific mission several years before Darwin came into the picture. The Beagle, a warship carrying ten cannons, sailed in 1826 to explore the coastline of South America. The ship had an unfortunate episode when its captain sank into a depression, perhaps caused by the isolation of the voyage, and committed suicide.

Lieutenant Robert FitzRoy assumed command of the Beagle, continued the voyage and returned the ship safely to England in 1830. FitzRoy was promoted to Captain and named to command the ship on a second voyage, which was to circumnavigate the globe while conducting explorations along the South American coastline and across the South Pacific.

FitzRoy came up with the idea of bringing along someone with a scientific background who could explore and record observations. Part of FitzRoy’s plan was that an educated civilian, referred to as a “gentleman passenger,” would be good company aboard ship and would help him avoid the loneliness that seemed to have doomed his predecessor.

Inquiries were made among professors at British universities, and a former professor of Darwin’s proposed him for the position aboard the Beagle.

After taking his final exams at Cambridge in 1831, Darwin spent a few weeks on a geological expedition to Wales. He had intended to return to Cambridge that fall for theological training, but a letter from a professor, John Steven Henslow, inviting him to join the Beagle, changed everything.

Darwin was excited to join the ship, but his father was against the idea, thinking it foolhardy. Other relatives convinced Darwin’s father otherwise, and during the fall of 1831, the 22-year-old Darwin made preparations to depart England for five years.

With its eager passenger aboard, the Beagle left England on December 27, 1831. The ship reached the Canary Islands in early January and continued onward to South America, which was reached by the end of February 1832.

During the explorations of South America, Darwin was able to spend considerable time on land, sometimes arranging for the ship to drop him off and pick him up at the end of an overland trip. He kept notebooks to record his observations, and during quiet times on board the Beagle, he would transcribe his notes into a journal.

In the summer of 1833, Darwin went inland with gauchos in Argentina. During his treks in South America, Darwin dug for bones and fossils and was also exposed to the horrors of enslavement and other human rights abuses.

After considerable explorations in South America, the Beagle reached the Galapagos Islands in September 1835. Darwin was fascinated by such oddities as volcanic rocks and giant tortoises. He later wrote about approaching tortoises, which would retreat into their shells. The young scientist would then climb on top, and attempt to ride the large reptile when it began moving again. He recalled that it was difficult to keep his balance.

While in the Galapagos Darwin collected samples of mockingbirds, and later observed that the birds were somewhat different on each island. This made him think that the birds had a common ancestor, but had followed varying evolutionary paths once they had become separated.

The Beagle left the Galapagos and arrived at Tahiti in November 1835, and then sailed onward to reach New Zealand in late December. In January 1836 the Beagle arrived in Australia, where Darwin was favorably impressed by the young city of Sydney.

After exploring coral reefs, the Beagle continued on its way, reaching the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa at the end of May 1836. Sailing back into the Atlantic Ocean, the Beagle, in July, reached St. Helena, the remote island where Napoleon Bonaparte had died in exile following his defeat at Waterloo. The Beagle also reached a British outpost on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, where Darwin received some very welcome letters from his sister in England.

The Beagle then sailed back to the coast of South America before returning to England, arriving at Falmouth on October 2, 1836. The entire voyage had taken nearly five years.

After landing in England, Darwin took a coach to meet his family, staying at his father’s house for a few weeks. But he was soon active, seeking advice from scientists on how to organize specimens, which included fossils and stuffed birds, he had brought home with him.

In the following few years, he wrote extensively about his experiences. A lavish five-volume set, "The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle," was published from 1839 to 1843.

And in 1839 Darwin published a classic book under its original title, "Journal of Researches." The book was later republished as " The Voyage of the Beagle ," and remains in print to this day. The book is a lively and charming account of Darwin’s travels, written with intelligence and occasional flashes of humor.

Darwin had been exposed to some thinking about evolution before embarking aboard H.M.S. Beagle. So a popular conception that Darwin’s voyage gave him the idea of evolution is not accurate.

Yet is it true that the years of travel and research focused Darwin's mind and sharpened his powers of observation. It can be argued that his trip on the Beagle gave him invaluable training, and the experience prepared him for the scientific inquiry that led to the publication of "On the Origin of Species" in 1859.

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the voyage of hms beagle

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the voyage of hms beagle

RETRACING THE VOYAGES OF HMS BEAGLE

A round-the-world sailing voyage is a unique adventure. The modern Beagle will retrace one of the most famous journeys in history, which stopped at many ports across the world from South America to Australia to South Africa.

HISTORY TIMELINE

the voyage of hms beagle

KEY HISTORICAL EVENTS

Read about the key events in the history of HMS  Beagle and those who sailed with her using our  history timeline . Launched in 1820, HMS  Beagle  completed three scientific expeditions and travelled all over the globe. She is most famous for her second voyage, captained by Robert FitzRoy, on which a young Charles Darwin travelled. Find out about the nineteenth-century history, including the birth and death of FitzRoy and Darwin, the expedition voyages of HMS  Beagle , and the publication of  On the Origin of Species  and Darwin’s autobiography. Also catch up on the recent history and progress of the HMS Beagle Project.

SECOND VOYAGE

the voyage of hms beagle

A VOYAGE OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY

Using our  map of HMS  Beagle ’s second voyage , find out about her route and some of the key scientific observations and collections made along the way. HMS  Beagle  left England for her second voyage on 27 December 1831 tasked with surveying the southern coast of South America. She was captained by Robert FitzRoy, and carried a young Charles Darwin onboard as the ship’s ‘naturalist’. When HMS  Beagle  returned to England in October 1836, Darwin had sailed 40,000 miles around the world, explored over 2,000 miles inland and collected more than 5,000 specimens. His notes show that he already understood how his experiences and finds were likely to challenge the established view of the unchanging nature of species.

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Discovering Galapagos

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Charles Darwin 1/2: Voyage of the Beagle

Charles Darwin was a passenger on the HMS Beagle from 1832 to 1836, which had been chartered to survey the South American coast.

A voyage of discovery

Captain Robert FitzRoy had seen the need for a geologist during HMS Beagle’s second survey of the South American coast. It was Charles Darwin who was eventually suggested to accompany Fitzroy on this voyage. The Beagle reached the Galapagos Islands on 15 September 1835, nearly four years after setting off from Plymouth, England.

The visit to the Galapagos would prove the starting point from which Darwin would develop his theories on evolution and secure his enduring fame. Like many visitors to the Islands before him, Darwin considered them bleak and ugly. Darwin had 34 days to collect species and record observations around the Islands.

Galapagos Graphics: Painting of HMS Beagle

Painting of HMS Beagle by R.T. Pritchett in 1900

Although he was employed as a geologist, Darwin had also been an avid collector of fossils, animals and plants during his voyage and took extensive notes on all he observed. He described the natural history of Galapagos as “ very remarkable: it seems to be a little world within itself; the greater number of its inhabitants, both vegetable and animal, being found nowhere else.”

Darwin travelled around the Galapagos Islands for 5 weeks visiting:

  • San Cristobal 17 -22 September 
  • Floreana 24   – 27 September
  • Isabela 29 September    –  02 October
  • Santiago 08 – 17 October

You can find out more about the voyage of the HMS Beagle  here .

Next: Charles Darwin – Origin of Species: Darwin’s Impact

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Big History Project

Course: big history project   >   unit 5, read: gallery — voyage of the beagle.

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The Route of the HMS Beagle

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5.13: Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle

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What's that big red pouch?

The Frigate bird of the Galápagos Islands. This bird can be found throughout the tropical Atlantic down to the Galápagos Islands and Ecuador, but not in Europe or South America, so Darwin may never have come across one until he landed on the Galápagos. Such a unique creature was bound to make a naturalist such as Darwin wonder why. Why do they look the way they do? What's that big red pouch? What are the advantages?

Darwin’s Theory

The Englishman Charles Darwin is one of the most famous scientists who ever lived. His place in the history of science is well deserved. Darwin’s theory of evolution represents a giant leap in human understanding. It explains and unifies all of biology.

An overview of evolution can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcjgWov7mTM (17:39).

As you view Introduction to Evolution and Natural Selection, focus on the following concepts: the meaning of "evolution," the relationship between evolution and natural selection, the relationship between natural selection and variation, the evolution of the peppered moth.

Darwin’s theory of evolution actually contains two major ideas:

  • One idea is that evolution occurs. In other words, organisms change over time. Life on Earth has changed as descendants diverged from common ancestors in the past.
  • The other idea is that evolution occurs by natural selection . Natural selection is the process that results in living things with beneficial traits producing more offspring than others. This results in changes in the traits of living things over time.

In Darwin’s day, most people believed that all species were created at the same time and remained unchanged thereafter. They also believed that Earth was only about 6,000 years old. Therefore, Darwin’s ideas revolutionized biology. How did Darwin come up with these important ideas? It all started when he went on a voyage.

The Voyage of the Beagle

In 1831, when Darwin was just 22 years old, he set sail on a scientific expedition on a ship called the HMS Beagle . He was the naturalist on the voyage. As a naturalist, it was his job to observe and collect specimens of plants, animals, rocks, and fossils wherever the expedition went ashore. The route the ship took and the stops they made are shown in the Figure below . You can learn more about Darwin’s voyage at this link:www.aboutdarwin.com/voyage/voyage03.html.

Route of the voyage of the Beagle

Voyage of the Beagle . This map shows the route of Darwin’s 5-year voyage on the HMS Beagle . Each stop along the way is labeled. Darwin and the others on board eventually circled the globe.

Darwin was fascinated by nature, so he loved his job on the Beagle . He spent more than 3 years of the 5-year trip exploring nature on distant continents and islands. While he was away, a former teacher published Darwin’s accounts of his observations. By the time Darwin finally returned to England, he had become famous as a naturalist.

Darwin’s Observations

During the long voyage, Darwin made many observations that helped him form his theory of evolution. For example:

  • He visited tropical rainforests and other new habitats where he saw many plants and animals he had never seen before (see Figure below ). This impressed him with the great diversity of life.
  • He experienced an earthquake that lifted the ocean floor 2.7 meters (9 feet) above sea level. He also found rocks containing fossil sea shells in mountains high above sea level. These observations suggested that continents and oceans had changed dramatically over time and continue to change in dramatic ways.
  • He visited rock ledges that had clearly once been beaches that had gradually built up over time. This suggested that slow, steady processes also change Earth’s surface.
  • He dug up fossils of gigantic extinct mammals, such as the ground sloth (see Figure below ). This was hard evidence that organisms looked very different in the past. It suggested that living things—like Earth’s surface—change over time.

Animals in the Galapagos: giant marine iguana, blue-footed booby, giant ground sloth

On his voyage, Darwin saw giant marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies. He also dug up the fossil skeleton of a giant ground sloth like the one shown here. From left: Giant Marine Iguana, Blue-Footed Boobies, and Fossil Skeleton of a Giant Ground Sloth

The Galápagos Islands

Darwin’s most important observations were made on the Galápagos Islands (see map in Figure below ). This is a group of 16 small volcanic islands 966 kilometers (600 miles) off the west coast of Ecuador, South America.

Map of the Galapagos

Galápagos Islands. This map shows the location of the Galápagos Islands that Darwin visited on his voyage.

Individual Galápagos islands differ from one another in important ways. Some are rocky and dry. Others have better soil and more rainfall. Darwin noticed that the plants and animals on the different islands also differed. For example, the giant tortoises on one island had saddle-shaped shells, while those on another island had dome-shaped shells (see Figure below ). People who lived on the islands could even tell the island a turtle came from by its shell. This started Darwin thinking about the origin of species. He wondered how each island came to have its own type of tortoise.

Galapagos tortoises

Galápagos Tortoises. Galápagos tortoises have differently shaped shells depending on which island they inhabit. Tortoises with saddle-shaped shells can reach up to eat plant leaves above their head. Tortoises with dome-shaped shells cannot reach up in this way. These two types of tortoises live on islands with different environments and food sources. How might this explain the differences in their shells?

The Farallon Islands – "California's Galapagos"

One of the most productive marine food webs on the planet is located on the Farallon Islands, just 28 miles off the San Francisco, California coast. These islands also host the largest seabird breeding colony in the continental United States, with over 300,000 breeding seabirds. The islands are known as the Galapagos of California. Why? Find out at http://science.kqed.org/quest/video/...ias-galapagos/ .

  • Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection states that living things with beneficial traits produce more offspring than others do. This produces changes in the traits of living things over time.
  • During his voyage on the Beagle , Darwin made many observations that helped him develop his theory of evolution.
  • Darwin's most important observations were made on the Galápagos Islands.

Explore More

Use this resource to answer the questions that follow.

  • Beagle Voyage at http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/s...beagle-voyage/ .
  • Describe Darwin's role on the Beagle.
  • Salvador, Brazil,
  • Punta Alta, Argentina,
  • Chiloe Island, Chile,
  • Galapagos Islands,
  • Sydney, Australia.
  • State the two main ideas in Darwin's theory.
  • What was Darwin's role on the Beagle?
  • Describe two observations Darwin made on his voyage on the Beagle that helped him develop his theory of evolution.
  • Why did Darwin’s observations of Galápagos tortoises cause him to wonder how species originate?

The Five Year Voyage

The voyage of the HMS Beagle took place during a time of exploration of uncharted waters and discovery of new lands. Charles Darwin was a passenger aboard the Beagle between 1832 to 1836. The crew of the Beagle had been given the objective of surveying the South American coast, which involved making maps and drawing accurate pictures as well as exploring! On these pages, you can discover all about this very important journey…

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A journey into the unknown.

It was an exciting time to be an explorer! The huge, unexplored world meant lots of opportunities for mapping newly discovered places, cataloging new bizarre species found, and making sense of the world. The purpose of the Beagle’s voyage was to survey the coast of South America. Charles Darwin was invited on board as the Captain’s Companion and naturalist . In his time aboard the Beagle, Darwin would describe and collect many new types of animals and plants. Some would be used for research while others would sent to museums or acquired by individuals for private collections.

The Beagle was made entirely of wood, and had been converted from a warship to an exploratory ship with much care and to great expense. Weighing in at 235 tons, the ship was armed with seven guns and had been re-fitted with a new deck, under orders of Captain Fitzroy . The raised deck helped stabilise it in the water as this class of ship had a bad habit of sinking. In the Navy, they were often known as  coffin brigs ! I wonder if Darwin knew this before he agreed to embark on the voyage?

It was powered by sails, and was considered to be the fifth fastest vessel in England at the time! With between 60 and 73 crew on board the Beagle, living conditions were very cramped on the rather small vessel. Darwin had to sleep in the small poop cabin in a hammock he strung up every evening over the chart table…

I intend sleeping in my hammock, I did so last night and experienced a most ludicrous difficulty in getting into it; my great fault of jockeyship was in trying to put my legs in first. The hammock being suspended I thus only succeeded in pushing [it] away without making any progress in inserting my own body.

A cross section of HMS Beagle

The crew quarters on hms beagle, captain fitzroy, hm beagle laid ashore, stepping foot on galapagos.

The Beagle set off from Plymouth, England, reaching the Galapagos Islands on 15 September 1835, after nearly four years of travelling the world. The visit to the Galapagos would prove the starting point from which Darwin would begin to explore and develop ideas about the natural world, eventually leading to his revolutionary theory of evolution through natural selection. He would become one of the greatest scientific thinkers of his time.

Like many visitors to the Islands before him, Darwin considered them bleak and ugly. He had only 34 days to collect species and record observations around the Islands. Darwin was an avid collector of fossils, animals and plants, and during his voyage he took extensive notes on all he observed. He described the natural history of Galapagos as…

…very remarkable: it seems to be a little world within itself; the greater number of its inhabitants, both vegetable and animal, being found nowhere else.

Darwin travelled around the Galapagos Islands for 5 weeks visiting:

  • San Cristobal 17 – 22 September
  • Floreana 24 – 27 September
  • Isabela 29 September – 02 October
  • Santiago 08 – 17 October

Click on the buttons to discover more about what Darwin found on each of the Islands!

San Cristóbal | Isabela | Floreana | Santiago

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Voyage of HMS Beagle (1831-1836)

Hudsonian godwit, Limosa haemastica

Hudsonian godwit,  Limosa haemastica , from Captain FitzRoy’s collection.

Some of our most famous specimens were collected by Charles Darwin and Captain Robert FitzRoy during the round-the-world voyage of HMS Beagle between 1831 and 1836.

Accepted on board as a gentlemanly companion for Captain Robert FitzRoy (1805-1865), Darwin carefully investigated the geology and zoology encountered during the long surveying mission, keeping detailed notebooks and also collecting specimens. 

Overall, he collected nearly 500 bird skins, together with further birds preserved in spirit, various bird parts and a small number of nests and eggs.

Allowed to dispose of them to the institution of his choice, Darwin gave the vast majority of his collection to the museum of the Zoological Society of London, where the specimens were examined by the renowned ornithologist John Gould (1804-1881). Thirty-nine new species and subspecies of bird were subsequently described, mostly by Gould.   

The most famous of the discovered species are undoubtedly the Galapagos finches, commonly known as Darwin’s finches. These are often credited as the inspiration that led to Darwin formulating his ideas on evolution. However, it was Gould that recognised that the finches were closely related; Darwin originally recorded them as being from a range of different bird families.   

The birds that did attract Darwin’s interest in the Galapagos were several new varieties of mockingbird, later confirmed by Gould as new species. It was the differences that Darwin noticed between the mockingbirds on different islands that were certainly a crucial part of the evidence that led him to the conclusion that species may change. 

the voyage of hms beagle

Saffron cowled Blackbird collected by Captain FitzRoy

the voyage of hms beagle

Type specimens of Galapagos mockingbirds, collected by Charles Darwin in 1835.

the voyage of hms beagle

A line-up of Charles Darwin's finch specimens from the Galapagos Islands.

Moving collections

In 1855, the Zoological Society of London's museum was broken up and the collections sold. The then British Museum purchased a significant number of them, particularly type specimens, but Darwin’s Beagle bird specimens nevertheless were widely dispersed across many public and private collections.   

Over time, more specimens reached the Museum amongst donated private collections, making it the largest single collection of Darwin’s Beagle birds with nearly 200 specimens. The remainder of known specimens are spread across seven other collections, but nearly half the original collection remains unaccounted for. 

FitzRoy’s collection

Captain FitzRoy himself was tasked with gathering specimens and several other crew members were also involved in collecting, assisting both Darwin and FitzRoy. 

As a representative of the Royal Navy, FitzRoy’s collections were not considered his own to dispose of, and were consequently presented to the then British Museum. 

FitzRoy’s surviving bird collection also numbers nearly 200 specimens, but this represents almost the entire original collection. 

Research is presently underway in the Bird Group to trace the history of FitzRoy’s birds, in particular to link them back to surviving archives in order to restore their full data. It is fascinating to compare Darwin’s and FitzRoy’s collections and examine the similarities and differences between them. We hope eventually to understand the role that FitzRoy’s collection may have played in helping Darwin develop his revolutionary ideas. 

We are examining the similarities and differences between Darwin’s and FitzRoy’s collections to determine the role that FitzRoy’s collection may have played in helping Darwin develop his revolutionary ideas.

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Related information.

  • Ornithological knowledge during the voyage of HMS  Beagle (Darwin Online)
  • The story of Darwin’s Galapagos mockingbirds
  • Full details of Charles Darwin’s bird collection from the voyage of the Beagle

the voyage of hms beagle

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iBiblio

Evotourism ®

A Smithsonian magazine special report

The Final Home of Charles Darwin’s HMS Beagle Gets Protected Status

The naturalist famously conducted the research that led to the “Origin of Species” on board the ship

Theresa Machemer

Correspondent

Dock

The HMS Beagle had many lives. It first launched on the River Thames on May 11, 1820, as a ten-gun brig in the Royal Navy, but was soon after converted into a research vessel. Most famously, the vessel played host to thefive-year journey on which Charles Darwin gathered the evidence that would lead to the theory of evolution.

In 1845, the ship was repurposed again into a customs service watch vessel, and after 25 years, it moored in the Paglesham mudflats in the town of Rochford, where the historic vessel was dismantled for scrap. Yesterday, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Beagle 's maiden voyage, the British government declared the recently discovered site of the ship's last days as a historic monument.

"We are glad to see this site in a quiet corner of Essex given national protection," Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, which recommended the site’s designation as a monument, says in a statement . "This is a fascinating example of a rare piece of maritime history."

The mud dock was uncovered last October by Wessex Archaeology, which spotted the outline of the structure using drone photography, the BBC reports. The site also has a brick slope, which would have been a stable walkway so people could walk along the side of the ship. Mud docks were probably common along major waterways, but only five have been recorded in England so far, per the Times ’ Emma Yeomans.

Historic England suggests that parts of the Beagle might still remain in the mudflats, since previous archaeological surveys of the area have turned up evidence of ship debris. But for now, no further archaeological work is planned.

From 1831 to 1836, on its second of five scientific voyages, the Beagle circumnavigated the globe, focusing on surveying the shores of South America. The ship was refitted with a third mast and a collection of surveying instruments. Charles Darwin, only 22 years old at the start of the expedition, was invited along by his botany professor.

Blueprints

The ship was so packed with people and equipment, Darwin slept in a hammock strung above a drafting table. He gathered specimens of flora, fauna and fossils throughout the journey and had to cram the collection into a compartment at the front of the ship. With those specimens, Darwin meticulously developed his theory of evolution over the next two decades.

On the Origin of Species explained how a large population of any living thing has variations in it. Some of those variations are better at surviving in the environment they’re faced with, so they’ll end up passed to more offspring. Over a long time and many generations, the population will wind up with more of the trait that’s best for the task at hand. In the Galapagos, Darwin saw this pattern in finches that had beaks that matched the food available on their island home.

By the time Darwin published Origin , the Beagle’ s days as a scientific vessel were long over. Its last research expedition, a survey of the Australian coast, ended in 1843, and it was sold to the customs service and renamed Watch Vessel No. 7. Its three masts were removed and the ship’s crew kept watch over the river system near the Paglesham mud flats, spotting smugglers along the Essex coast for 25 years. In 1870, the ship was sold for scrap at its dock in Rochford.

As a protected site, no changes can be made to the mud dock without the approval of the secretary of state, the Times reports. The local government plans to commemorate the Beagle with an observation platform that overlooks the area and to create a virtual tour of the ship as part of the year's bicentennial celebrations of the ship's first voyage.

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Theresa Machemer | READ MORE

Theresa Machemer is a freelance writer based in Washington DC. Her work has also appeared in National Geographic and SciShow. Website: tkmach.com

Charles Darwin and   ‍ The Voyage Of The Beagle

a Scroll Storytelling

Beagle sailed from Plymouth Sound on 27 December 1831 under the command of Captain Robert FitzRoy. While the expedition was originally planned to last two years, it lasted almost five—Beagle did not return until 2 October 1836. Darwin spent most of this time exploring on land (three years and three months on land; 18 months at sea).

Plymouth, U.K.

"Her Majesty's ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig, under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, R. N., sailed from Devonport on the 27th of December, 1831...to complete the survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego..."

Canary Islands

"On the 6th of January we reached Teneriffe but were prevented landing by fears of our bringing the cholera.  The next morning we saw the sun rise behind the rugged outline of the Grand Canary island and suddenly illuminate the Peak of Teneriffe whilst the lower parts were veiled in fleecy clouds."

"On the 16th of January, 1832, we anchored at Porto Praya, in St. Jago, the chief island of the Cape de Verd archipelago.  It then first dawned on me that I might perhaps write a book..."

Saint Peter and Paul Rocks

"In crossing the Atlantic we hove to the morning of February 16th close to the island of St Paul's. We found on St. Paul's only two kinds of birds—the booby and the noddy."

Fernando Noronha, Brazil

"The whole island is covered with wood; but from the dryness of the climate there is no appearance of luxuriance."

Salvador, Brazil

"The day has passed delightfully. Delight itself, however, is a weak term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by himself in a Brazilian forest."

Abrolhos Islets, Brazil

"...when not far distant from the Abrolhos Islets, my attention was called to a reddish-brown appearance in the sea. These are minute cylindrical confervae, in bundles or rafts of from twenty to sixty in each."

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

"During our stay at Brazil I made a large collection of insects."

Montevideo, Uruguay

"We anchored at Monte Video. The Beagle was employed in surveying the extreme southern and eastern coasts of America, south of the Plata, during the two succeeding years."

Bahía Blanca, Argentina

"We passed the night in Punta Alta, and I employed myself in searching for fossil bones; this point being a perfect catacomb for monsters of extinct races."

Port Desire, Argentina

"The guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the plains of Patagonia; it is the South American representative of the camel of the East. They are generally wild and extremely wary."

Tierra del Fuego

"In the morning the Captain sent a party to communicate with the Fuegians. When we came within hail, one of the four natives who were present advanced to receive us, and began to shout most vehemently, wishing to direct us where to land."

"I do not think that our Fuegians were much more superstitious than some of the sailors; for an old quartermaster firmly believed that the successive heavy gales, which we encountered off Cape Horn, were caused by our having the Fuegians on board."

York Minster

“…we fetched within a few miles of the great rugged mountain of York Minster (so called by Captain Cook), when a violent squall compelled us to shorten sail and stand out to sea.”

Falkland Islands

"An undulating land, with a desolate and wretched aspect, is everywhere covered by a peaty soil and wiry grass, of one monotonous brown colour."

Rio Negro, Argentina

"The country near the mouth of the river is wretched in the extreme: on the south side a long line of perpendicular cliffs commences, which exposes a section of the geological nature of the country."

Gregory Bay

Río santa cruz, argentina.

"...scarcely anything was known about this large river. Captain Fitz Roy now determined to follow its course as far as time would allow."

Valparaiso, Chile

"The Beagle anchored late at night in the bay of Valparaiso.  When morning came, everything appeared delightful. After Tierra del Fuego, the climate felt quite delicious. The view from the anchorage is very pretty."

Chiloé Island, Chile

"In the wooded island of Chiloe, which has an extremely humid climate, this little bird [Trochilus forficatus], skipping from side to side amidst the dripping foliage, is perhaps more abundant than almost any other kind."

Valdivia, Chile

"There is not much cleared land near Valdivia: after crossing a river at the distance of a few miles, we entered the forest, and then passed only one miserable hovel, before reaching our sleeping-place for the night."

Concepción, Chile

"The mayor-domo of the estate quickly rode down to tell me the terrible news of the great earthquake of the 20th:—'That not a house in Concepcion or Talcahuano (the port) was standing; that seventy villages were destroyed; and that a great wave had almost washed away the ruins of Talcahuano.'"

Iquique, Chile

"The town contains about a thousand inhabitants, and stands on a little plain of sand at the foot of a great wall of rock, 2000 feet in height, here forming the coast. The whole is utterly desert."

"Lima stands on a plain in a valley, formed during the gradual retreat of the sea. Steep barren hills rise like islands from the plain, which is divided, by straight mud-walls, into large green fields. In these scarcely a tree grows excepting a few willows, and an occasional clump of bananas and of oranges."

Galápagos, Equador

"As I was walking along I met two large tortoises, each of which must have weighed at least two hundred pounds: one was eating a piece of cactus, and as I approached, it stared at me and slowly walked away; the other gave a deep hiss, and drew in its head."

"The survey of the Galapagos Archipelago being concluded, we steered towards Tahiti and commenced our long passage of 3,200 miles."

Pahia, New Zeland

"New Zealand is favoured by one great natural advantage; namely, that the inhabitants can never perish from famine. The whole country abounds with fern: and the roots of this plant, if not very palatable, yet contain much nutriment."

Sydney, Australia

"At last we anchored within Sydney Cove. In the evening I walked through the town, and returned full of admiration at the whole scene. "

Hobart, Tasmania

"Late in the evening we anchored in the snug cove on the shores of which stands the capital of Tasmania. The first aspect of the place was very inferior to that of Sydney; the latter might be called a city, this is only a town. "

Cocos Islands

"The ring-formed reef of the lagoon-island is surmounted in the greater part of its length by linear islets. On entering, the scene was very curious and rather pretty; its beauty, however, entirely depended on the brilliancy of the surrounding colours."

"In the morning we passed round the northern end of Mauritius. From this point of view the aspect of the island equalled the expectations raised by the many well-known descriptions of its beautiful scenery."

Cape Town, South Africa

"With regard to the number of large quadrupeds, there certainly exists no quarter of the globe which will bear comparison with Southern Africa."

"This island, the forbidding aspect of which has been so often described, rises abruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean. Near the town, as if to complete nature's defence, small forts and guns fill up every gap in the rugged rocks."

Pernambuco, Brazil

"The flat swampy land on which Pernambuco stands is surrounded, at the distance of a few miles, by a semicircle of low hills, or rather by the edge of a country elevated perhaps two hundred feet above the sea."

"...thence we proceeded to the Azores, where we stayed six days."

Falmouth, U.K.

"On the 2nd of October we made the shores of England; and at Falmouth I left the Beagle, having lived on board the good little vessel nearly five years."

London, U.K.

23 years after Darwin's return, On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life is published by John Murray.

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Michael Neve

The Voyage of the Beagle Paperback – Abridged, January 1, 1989

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  • Print length 448 pages
  • Language English
  • Publisher Penguin Books
  • Publication date January 1, 1989
  • Dimensions 5.1 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
  • ISBN-10 014043268X
  • ISBN-13 978-0140432688
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The natural history of this archipelago is very remarkable: it seems to be a little world within itself; the greater number of its inhabitants, both vegetable and animal, being found nowhere else. As I shall refer to this subject again, I will only here remark, as forming a striking character on first landing, that the birds are strangers to man. So tame and unsuspecting were they, that they did not even understand what was meant by stones being thrown at them; and quite regardless of us, they approached so close that any number of them might have been killed with a stick.

The Beagle sailed round Chatham Island, and anchored in several bays. One night I slept on shore, on a part of the island where some black cones – the former chimneys of the subterranean heated fluids – were extraordinarily numerous. From one small eminence, I counted sixty of these truncated hillocks, which were all surmounted by a more or less perfect crater. The greater number consisted merely of a ring of red scoriae, or slags, cemented together: and their height above the plain of lave, was not more than from 50 to 100 feet. From their regular form, they gave the country a workshop appearance, which strongly reminded me of those parts of Stratfordshire where the great iron foundries are most numerous.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Abridged edition (January 1, 1989)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014043268X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140432688
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
  • #135 in Travelogues & Travel Essays
  • #158 in Scientist Biographies
  • #233 in Traveler & Explorer Biographies

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About the authors

the voyage of hms beagle

Michael Neve

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the voyage of hms beagle

Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin, (/ˈdɑːrwɪn/; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and in a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding.

Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. By the 1870s, the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. In modified form, Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.

Darwin's early interest in nature led him to neglect his medical education at the University of Edinburgh; instead, he helped to investigate marine invertebrates. Studies at the University of Cambridge (Christ's College) encouraged his passion for natural science. His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle established him as an eminent geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell's uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author.

Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin began detailed investigations and in 1838 conceived his theory of natural selection. Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists, he needed time for extensive research and his geological work had priority. He was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay that described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication of both of their theories. Darwin's work established evolutionary descent with modification as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. In 1871 he examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His research on plants was published in a series of books, and in his final book, he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.

Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history; he was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Henry Maull (1829–1914) and John Fox (1832–1907) (Maull & Fox) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Janet Browne

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The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle

An introduction by r. b. freeman.

the voyage of hms beagle

Darwin contributed a geological introduction to Part 1, the Fossil Mammalia (pp. 3-12), and a geographical introduction to Part II, the Mammalia (pp. i-iv). He also contributed notices of habits and ranges throughout the text of Mammalia and Birds, and there are frequent notes, mostly from his labels, in the text of the Fish and the Reptiles. The authors of the parts were Richard Owen ( Fossil Mammalia ), George Robert Waterhouse ( Mammalia ), John Gould ( Birds ), Leonard Jenyns ( Fish ) and Thomas Bell ( Reptiles ). One issue only; it has not been translated, but there is a facsimile of Part V. reptiles. A three volume facsimile was published by Nova Pacifica in 1980, F1899, in The Works of Charles Darwin published by Pickering, 1986-1989 and a four volume edition by CIL Limited in 1994.

the voyage of hms beagle

C. D. Sherborn ( Ann. Mag. nat. Hist. Vol. 20, p. 483, 1897) has listed the dates of issue of the numbers as given to him by the publishers, and these correspond to the dates printed on the numbers themselves. Unfortunately, he calls each number a part, whereas the set, as mentioned above, consists of nineteen numbers, which together make up the five parts. The full details of the issue in numbers are given in F8, and those for the parts issue and the same in volume form in F9. Inserted advertisements may vary from set to set, but there are usually four pages of publisher's general advertisements in Numbers III and IV; an advertisement for the forthcoming geological results, in a form in which these never appeared, in Number V; and a notice to subscribers to Sir Andrew Smith's Zoology of South Africa in Number XV. I have however seen the geological advertisement in Number VII.

The unbound parts cost £8. 15 s . and the publishers advertised the completed work as available 'in half russia or cloth binding, at small addition'. The English Catalogue gives a price of £9. 2 s. for the bound work. I have not identified the publisher's half russia, but the original cloth casing was in five volumes, one part in each. Copies also occur in publisher's cloth in three, Fossil Mammalia and Mammalia in the first, Birds in the second and Fish and Reptiles in the third. This form was, presumably, later than that in five, but no volume titles seem to have been issued for it.

Click here for a full bibliographical list.

Bound complete volumes:

Darwin, C. R. ed. 1840. Fossil Mammalia Part 1 of The zoology of the voyage of HMS Beagle . by Richard Owen. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image PDF F9.1 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1839. Mammalia Part 2 of The zoology of the voyage of HMS Beagle . by George R. Waterhouse. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image PDF F9.2 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1841. Birds Part 3 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. by John Gould. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin. London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image PDF F9.3 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1842. Fish Part 4 of The zoology of the voyage of HMS Beagle . by Leonard Jenyns. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image PDF F9.4 Courtesy of the Trustees of the Natural History Museum (London). Darwin, C. R. ed. 1843. Reptiles Part 5 of The zoology of the voyage of HMS Beagle . by Thomas Bell. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Image PDF F9.5 Courtesy of the Trustees of the Natural History Museum (London). Introduction by Daniel Pauly

Original issues in numbers:

Darwin, C. R. ed. 1838. Fossil Mammalia Part 1 No. 1 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Richard Owen. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Includes by Darwin: Preface pp. [i]-iv and Geological introduction (pp. 3-12). Text Image Text & image F8.1 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1838. Mammalia Part 2 No. 1 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By George R. Waterhouse. Includes by Darwin: Geographical introduction (pp. i-v) and A notice of their habits and ranges. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin. London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.2 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1838. Birds Part 3 No. 1 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. by John Gould. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.3 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1838. Mammalia Part 2 No. 2 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By George R. Waterhouse. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.4 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1838. Mammalia Part 2 No. 3 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By George R. Waterhouse. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.5 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1839. Birds Part 3 No. 2 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. by John Gould. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.6 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1839. Fossil Mammalia Part 1 No. 2 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the command of Captain Fitzroy, during the years 1832 to 1836. By Richard Owen. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.7 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1839. Fossil Mammalia Part 1 No. 3 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Richard Owen. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.8 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1839. Birds Part 3 No. 3 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. by John Gould. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.9 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1839. Mammalia Part 2 No. 4 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By George R. Waterhouse. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.10 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1839. Birds Part 3 No. 4 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. by John Gould. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.11 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1840. Fish Part 4 No. 1 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Leonard Jenyns. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin. London: Smith Elder and Co. Introduction Text Image Text & image F8.12 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1840. Fossil Mammalia Part 1 No. 4 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Richard Owen. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.13 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1840. Fish Part 4 No. 2 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Leonard Jenyns. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.14 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1841. Birds Part 3 No. 5 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. by John Gould. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.15 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1841. Fish Part 4 No. 3 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Leonard Jenyns. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.16 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1842. Fish Part 4 No. 4 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Leonard Jenyns. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.17 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1842. Reptiles Part 5 No. 1 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Thomas Bell. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.18 Darwin, C. R. ed. 1843. Reptiles Part 5 No. 2 of The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. By Thomas Bell. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin . London: Smith Elder and Co. Text Image Text & image F8.19

From: Freeman, R. B. 1977. The works of Charles Darwin: an annotated bibliographical handlist . 2d ed. Dawson: Folkstone.

NOTE: With thanks to The Charles Darwin Trust and Dr Mary Whitear for use of the Bibliographical Handlist . Copyright. All rights reserved. For private academic use only. Not for republication or reproduction in whole or in part without the prior written consent of The Charles Darwin Trust, 31 Baalbec Road, London N5 1QN.

Corrections and additions copyright John van Wyhe, The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online - National University of Singapore.

File last up 22 August, 2023 e -->e -->

The second Voyage of the HMS Beagle

HMS Beagle in the seaways of Tierra del Fuego, painting by Conrad Martens

The HM.S. Beagle

The Cherokee-class of 10-gun brig-sloops was designed by Sir Henry Peake in 1807, and eventually over 100 were constructed. The Beagle’s keel was laid in June 1818, and the ship was launched on 11 May 1820. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review on the River Thames, celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom.

The First Voyage to South America

Captain Pringle Stokes was appointed captain of HMS Beagle on 7 September 1825 and led its first voyage, accompanying the larger ship HMS Adventure on a hydrographic survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego , under the overall command of the Australian Captain Phillip Parker King , Commander and Surveyor. Unfortunately, Captain Stokes became severely depressed during the journey and shot himself. Captain Parker King then replaced Stokes with the First Lieutenant of the Beagle, Lieutenant W.G. Skyring as commander. In Montevideo , the ship was put under the command of Flag Lieutenant Robert Fitz Roy . During the journey, the only 23-year-old aristocrat FitzRoy proved an able commander and meticulous surveyor. During this survey, the Beagle Channel was identified and named after the ship.

Tha Famous Second Voyage of the Beagle

The second voyage of the Beagle took place from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836. Its main purpose was to conduct a hydrographic survey of the coasts of the southern part of South America as a continuation and correction of the work of previous surveys, to produce nautical charts showing navigational and sea depth information for the navy and for commerce. On 27 June 1831 FitzRoy was commissioned as commander of the voyage, and Lieutenants John Clements Wickham and Bartholomew James Sulivan were appointed. The ship was one of the first to test the lightning conductor invented by William Snow Harris. FitzRoy obtained five examples of the Sympiesometer , a kind of mercury-free barometer patented by Alexander Adie and favoured by FitzRoy as giving the accurate readings required by the Admiralty.

FitzRoy was fully aware of the stress he would probably face during the journey as this was the first time, he had no commanding officer or second captain to consult. He felt the need for a gentleman companion who shared his scientific interests and could dine with him as an equal. The first person who was suggested to FitzRoy was Reverend Leonard Jenyns, however, he declined in the last minute. Soon, the 22-year-old Charles Darwin who had just completed the ordinary Bachelor of Arts degree which was a prerequisite for his intended career as a parson, and was on a geology field trip with Adam Sedgwick was suggested. However, this time FitzRoy responded to be strongly against Darwin joining the expedition. Still, Darwin traveled to London and was able to persuade FitzRoy. The geologist Charles Lyell asked FitzRoy to record observations on geological features such as erratic boulders.[ 7 ] Before they left England, FitzRoy gave Darwin a copy of the first volume of Lyell’s Principles of Geology which explained features as the outcome of a gradual process taking place over extremely long periods of time.

From Plymouth Sound to South America

On the morning of 27 December, the Beagle left its anchorage in the Barn Pool, under Mount Edgecumbe on the west side of Plymouth Sound and set out on its surveying expedition. On 6 January the expedition reached Tenerife in the Canary Islands, but was quarantined there because of cholera in England and they were denied landing. Their first landing turned out to be at Porto Praya on the volcanic island of St. Jago in the Cape Verde Islands . There, Darwin’s description in his published Journal begins. Darwin had a special position as guest and social equal of the captain, so junior officers called him “sir” until the captain dubbed Darwin Philos for ship’s philosopher , and this became his suitably respectful nickname.

The Galapagos Islands, New Zealand and Australia

In South America, Beagle carried out its survey work going along the coasts to allow careful measurement and rechecking. Darwin made long journeys inland with travelling companions from the locality. He spent much of the time away from the ship, returning by prearrangement when the Beagle returned to ports where mail could be received and Darwin’s notes, journals, and collections sent back to England. The crew reached the Galápagos Islands on 15 September 1835. He was disappointed that he did not see active volcanoes or find strata showing uplift as he had hoped, though one of the officers found broken oyster-shells high above the sea on one of the islands. Darwin industriously collected all the animals, plants, insects and reptiles, and speculated about finding “ from future comparison to what district or ‘centre of creation’ the organized beings of this archipelago must be attached. “

1846 “General Chart of Australia”, showing coasts examined by Beagle during the third voyage in red, from John Lort Stokes’ Discoveries in Australia

The expedition sailed on, dining on Galapagos tortoises, and passed the atoll of Honden Island on 9 November. They passed through the Low Islands archipelago, with Darwin remarking that they had “a very uninteresting appearance; a long brilliantly white beach is capped by a low bright line of green vegetation.” At Tahiti , Darwin found interest in luxuriant vegetation and the pleasant intelligent natives who showed the benefits of Christianity, refuting allegations he had read about tyrannical missionaries overturning indigenous cultures. They reached New Zealand in December and Australia in January 1836. They made contact with a group of aborigines who looked “good-humoured & pleasant & they appeared far from such utterly degraded beings as usually represented”. They gave him a display of spear throwing for a shilling, and he reflected sadly on how their numbers were rapidly decreasing.

In 1837 HMS Beagle set off on a survey of Australia, and is shown here in an 1841 watercolour by Captain Owen Stanley of Beagle’s sister ship HMS Britomart.

From the Indian Ocean back to England

On April 1, the crew arrived at Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean, where Darwin found a coconut economy. At Mauritius , Darwin toured the island, examining its volcanic mountains and fringing coral reefs. Around 15 June Darwin and FitzRoy visited the noted astronomer Sir John Herschel . In his diary Darwin called this “ the most memorable event which, for a long period, I have had the good fortune to enjoy. ” On 23 July they set off again longing to reach home, but FitzRoy wanted to ensure the accuracy of his longitude measurements and so took the ship across the Atlantic back to Bahia in Brazil to take check readings. The Beagle departed for home on 17 August. After a stormy passage including a stop for supplies at the Azores, the Beagle finally reached Falmouth, Cornwall, England on 2 October 1836.

Darwin’s Diary

Back home, Darwin set to work reorganising and trimming his diary, and incorporating scientific material from his notes. He completed his Journal and Remarks (now commonly known as The Voyage of the Beagle ) in August 1837, but FitzRoy was slower and the three volumes were published in August 1839. Darwin had shown great ability as a collector and had done the best he could with the reference books he had on ship. It was now the province of recognised expert specialists to establish which specimens were unknown, and make their considered taxonomic decisions on defining and naming new species.

References and Further Reading:

  • [1]  The Second Voyage of the HMS Beagle – Voyage Overview
  • [2]  Charles Darwin’s diary of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle
  • [3]  The HMS Beagle Voyage at AboutDarwin.com
  • [4]  Robert FitzRoy – From Darwin’s famous voyage to Meteorology , SciHi Blog
  • [5]  Charles Darwin and the Natural Selection , SciHi Blog
  • [6]  Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’ , SciHi Blog
  • [7]  Charles Lyell and the Principles of Geology , SciHi Blog
  • [8] HMS Beagle at Wikidata
  • [9]  Charles Darwin’s Beagle Diary, John van Wyhe , John van Wyhe @ youtube
  • [10]  Darwin, Charles (1839).   Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty’s Ships   Adventure   and   Beagle   between the years 1826 and 1836, describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the   Beagle ‘s   circumnavigation of the globe. Journal and remarks. 1832–1836 . Vol. III. London: Henry Colburn.
  • [11] FitzRoy, Robert  (1836).  “ Sketch of the Surveying Voyages of his Majesty’s Ships   Adventure   and   Beagle, 1825–1836. Commanded by Captains P. P. King, P. Stokes, and R. Fitz-Roy, Royal Navy. (Communicated by John Barrow)” .  Journal of the Geological Society of London .  6 : 311–343 .  
  • [12]  FitzRoy, Robert   (1839).   Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836, describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagle ‘s  circumnavigation of the globe. Proceedings of the second expedition, 1831–36, under the command of Captain Robert Fitz-Roy, R.N.   Vol. II. London: Henry Colburn.
  • [13] Marquardt, Karl ,  HMS Beagle: Survey Ship Extraordinary   Conway Maritime Press , 2010. 
  • [14] Timeline for the HMS Beagle, via Wikidata

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  1. The Voyage of the Beagle

    The Voyage of the Beagle is the title most commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his ... Bright Sparcs - The Journal of Syms Covington, Assistant to Charles Darwin Esq. on the Second Voyage of HMS Beagle This page was last edited on 28 February 2024, at 23:50 (UTC). Text is available under the ...

  2. HMS Beagle: Darwin's Trip around the World

    Join Charles Darwin on his voyage around the world from 1831 to 1836 as a naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle. Learn how his experiences and observations shaped his groundbreaking theory of evolution through natural selection. Explore the map and timeline of his journey, and discover the places and species that inspired him.

  3. Charles Darwin

    The HMS Beagle resting on the sands near Rio Santa Cruz, Patagonia, South America. The vessel was commanded by British naval officer and scientist Robert Fitzroy and carried a crew, which included British naturalist Charles Darwin, on a survey mission that circumnavigated the world between 1831 and 1836.

  4. Beagle

    Beagle, British naval vessel aboard which Charles Darwin served as naturalist on a voyage to South America and around the world (1831-36). The specimens and observations accumulated on this voyage gave Darwin the essential materials for his theory of evolution by natural selection.. HMS Beagle (the third of nine vessels to bear this name) was launched on May 11, 1820, at Woolwich, the site ...

  5. HMS Beagle

    Armament. 10 guns, reduced to 6 guns for first survey voyage, changed to 7 guns during second survey voyage. HMS Beagle was a Cherokee -class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames.

  6. Charles Darwin's Beagle Voyage

    Article A Stunning Invitation In August 1831, Darwin received a letter offering a chance of a lifetime—an invitation to go on a trip around the world as a naturalist. Article A Very Small Vessel Darwin knew that life would be cramped aboard the Beagle, but it was still a shock to see how small the ship was: just 90 feet long. Article A Five-Year Journey The captain and crew of the HMS Beagle ...

  7. Second voyage of HMS Beagle

    The second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, made under her newest commander, Robert FitzRoy. (During Beagle's first voyage, Captain Pringle Stokes had died by suicide. The expedition's leader appointed Beagle's 1st Lieutenant, W. G. Skyring, as her acting commander.

  8. Charles Darwin and His Voyage Aboard H.M.S. Beagle

    Charles Darwin's five-year voyage in the early 1830s on H.M.S. Beagle has become legendary, as insights gained by the bright young scientist on his trip to exotic places greatly influenced his masterwork, the book " On the Origin of Species ." Darwin didn't actually formulate his theory of evolution while sailing around the world aboard the ...

  9. The Voyage of the HMS Beagle

    The Voyage of the HMS BeagleOverviewCharles Darwin (1809-1882) was among the most influential scientists who ever lived. He began his career as a naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle, on its five-year surveying mission around South America and across the Pacific. Darwin's work was to make the Beagle's journey one of the best documented surveys of its time.

  10. The Voyages

    HMS Beagle left England for her second voyage on 27 December 1831 tasked with surveying the southern coast of South America. She was captained by Robert FitzRoy, and carried a young Charles Darwin onboard as the ship's 'naturalist'. When HMS Beagle returned to England in October 1836, Darwin had sailed 40,000 miles around the world ...

  11. Voyage of the Beagle

    A voyage of discovery. Captain Robert FitzRoy had seen the need for a geologist during HMS Beagle's second survey of the South American coast. It was Charles Darwin who was eventually suggested to accompany Fitzroy on this voyage. The Beagle reached the Galapagos Islands on 15 September 1835, nearly four years after setting off from Plymouth ...

  12. READ: Gallery

    The Route of the HMS Beagle. The HMS Beagle, captained by Robert FitzRoy, set sail from Plymouth Sound in England on December 27, 1831. Initially planned as a two year survey expedition, the voyage lasted nearly five years and circumnavigated the world. Darwin recorded his observations in journals and later published them in 1839.

  13. 5.13: Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle

    The Voyage of the Beagle. In 1831, when Darwin was just 22 years old, he set sail on a scientific expedition on a ship called the HMS Beagle.He was the naturalist on the voyage. As a naturalist, it was his job to observe and collect specimens of plants, animals, rocks, and fossils wherever the expedition went ashore. The route the ship took and the stops they made are shown in the Figure below.

  14. The Five Year Voyage

    The Five Year Voyage. The voyage of the HMS Beagle took place during a time of exploration of uncharted waters and discovery of new lands. Charles Darwin was a passenger aboard the Beagle between 1832 to 1836. The crew of the Beagle had been given the objective of surveying the South American coast, which involved making maps and drawing ...

  15. Voyage of HMS Beagle (1831-1836)

    Voyage of HMS Beagle (1831-1836) Hudsonian godwit, Limosa haemastica, from Captain FitzRoy's collection. Some of our most famous specimens were collected by Charles Darwin and Captain Robert FitzRoy during the round-the-world voyage of HMS Beagle between 1831 and 1836. Accepted on board as a gentlemanly companion for Captain Robert FitzRoy ...

  16. The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin

    The Voyage of the Beagle Note: See also PG#3704 illustrated edition Language: English: LoC Class: QH: Science: Natural history: Subject: Natural history Subject: Beagle Expedition (1831-1836) Subject: Geology Subject: Voyages around the world -- History -- 19th century Subject: South America -- Discovery and exploration Category: Text: EBook-No ...

  17. The Final Home of Charles Darwin's HMS Beagle Gets Protected Status

    The HMS Beagle had many lives. It first launched on the River Thames on May 11, 1820, as a ten-gun brig in the Royal Navy, but was soon after converted into a research vessel.

  18. Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle

    This map shows the entire trajectory of Charles Darwin, onboard the HMS Beagle, between the years 1831 and 1836. ... Charles Darwin and ‍ The Voyage Of The Beagle. a Scroll Storytelling. Beagle sailed from Plymouth Sound on 27 December 1831 under the command of Captain Robert FitzRoy. While the expedition was originally planned to last two ...

  19. The Voyage of Charles Darwin

    The Voyage of Charles Darwin was a 1978 BBC television serial depicting the life of Charles Darwin, focusing largely on his voyage on HMS Beagle.The series encompasses his university days to the 1859 publication of his book On the Origin of Species and his death and is loosely based on Darwin's own letters, diaries, and journals, especially The Voyage of the Beagle and The Autobiography of ...

  20. The Voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin: 9780140432688: Amazon.com: Books

    Charles Darwin's account of the momentous voyage which set in motion the current of intellectual events leading to The Origin of Species When HMS Beagle sailed out of Devonport on 27 December 1831, Charles Darwin was twenty-two and setting off on the voyage of a lifetime. His journal, here reprinted in a shortened form, shows a naturalist making patient observations concerning geology, natural ...

  21. Darwin Online: The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle

    Darwin, C. R. ed. 1843. ReptilesPart 5 of The zoology of the voyage of HMS Beagle. by Thomas Bell. Edited and superintended by Charles Darwin. London: Smith Elder and Co. Image PDF F9.5 Courtesy of the Trustees of the Natural History Museum (London). Introduction by Daniel Pauly.

  22. The second Voyage of the HMS Beagle

    On December 27, 1831, the HMS. Beagle set sail from Plymouth Sound under captain Robert FitzRoy [] with the young graduate Charles Darwin on board for her 5 years voyage. By the end of the expedition Charles Darwin had already made his name as a geologist and fossil collector, and the publication of his journal which became known as The Voyage of the Beagle gave him wide renown as a writer.[5,6]

  23. Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle

    The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Under the Command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N., during the Years 1832 to 1836 is a 5-part book published unbound in nineteen numbers as they were ready, between February 1838 and October 1843. [1] It was written by various authors, and edited and superintended by Charles Darwin, publishing expert ...