Title: Voyage of the Beagle
Author: Darwin, Charles
Published by: Penguin
Year: 1989
First published: Henry Colburn, London, 1839
Date reviewed: 12.06
ISBN: 0-140-43268-X

In the early 1830’s Charles Darwin was a young man, scientifically inclined, with a general interest in the natural world and particular interests in botany, zoology and geology. He had gained a BA from Cambridge, and would have progressed naturally into the Church where like many others he could combine the duties of a parish with pursuing his scientific interests.

All this changed when he was persuaded – initially against his father’s wishes – to take on the role of "gentleman companion" to Captain Robert Fitzroy of HMS Beagle, who had orders from the Admiralty to conduct surveys around the coast of South America. Darwin accepted, and thus at the end of 1831 set off on what was to be a 5-year circumnavigation of the globe. This book is his account of those travels.

This was a time when science was making great advances and challenging traditional views of the world. The foundations of modern geology had been laid by Charles Lyell, who had just published (in 1830) the first volume of his "Principles of Geology" in which he set out to explain the physical geography and geology we see today, including the fossil record, by movements in the earth’s surface, changes in sea levels, etc. over periods of time orders of magnitude greater than the few thousand years generally accepted by the Christian church. Robert Fitzroy was interested in Lyell’s work, and passed his copy of Vol 1 on to Darwin. The later volumes were sent out to rendezvous with the Beagle during the voyage.

So here we have the young Darwin, bright, inquisitive, meticulous in his observations and an avid collector of specimens, visiting parts of the world still relatively unfamiliar to Europeans. His enthusiasm is obvious, but he had not yet started to formulate the theories for which he was to become famous. In that sense this book is not a prequel to "Origin of Species". He did, though, observe and record many geological features which corroborated Lyell’s theories.

From an early 21st century perspective it is hard not to regret some of the ways in which it was quite normal for even an educated man like Darwin to behave. This was the time when many of the great collections of specimens were assembled – Darwin’s own were shipped back to England in great quantity – and the killing of animals in order to preserve the carcasses for study was the norm. There is an episode where Darwin, exploring the island of San Pedro off the west coast of South America, spots a fox sitting on a rock. Recognising it as one of a particularly rare species, he describes with a note of glee how he was able to take advantage of the fox’s tameness to creep up on it from behind and deliver a fatal blow to the head with his geological hammer. He concludes "This fox … is now mounted in the museum of the Zoological Society". (p221)

And then the Galapagos, which for us is a UNESCO World Heritage site of almost hallowed status, the birthplace of the theory of evolution. True, Darwin records the plants and animals, making the observations about their habitats and adaptations which he will later draw on for Origin. But he also reports without a hint of criticism how first visiting whalers and "Bucaniers", and then the recent settlers massacre the giant tortoises for food.

In the woods [of Charles Island] there are many wild pigs and goats, but the main article of animal food is derived from the tortoise. Their numbers in this island have of course been greatly reduced, but the people yet reckon on two days’ hunting supplying food for the rest of the week. It is said that formerly single vessels have taken away as many as 700 of these animals, and that the ship’s company of a frigate some years since brought down 200 to the beach in one day. (p271)

Later he tells how easy it is to kill the birds, who have not learned to fear humans.

There is not one which will not approach sufficiently near to be killed with a switch, and sometimes, as I have myself tried, with a cap or a hat. A gun here is almost superfluous; for with the muzzle of one I pushed a hawk off the branch of a tree. (p288)

Shed a tear for the dodo. In these enlightened times we can only look back with regret, recognising that the world was different then. Our descendants (if any) will look back on our time with the same feelings as they replay images of glaciers and icecaps, and the multitude of species that have disappeared as the climate changes. The difference is, we do know better.

This Penguin edition comes with an informative introduction by Janet Browne and Michael Neve. It also includes the Admiralty Orders for the Beagle’s voyage – an interesting insight into the role voyages like this played both in exploration and development of trade – and Captain Fitzroy’s essay "Remarks with reference to the Deluge". This is an attempt by an educated man of the time to reconcile the latest geological theories (Lyell again) with the biblical account of the Flood, and it illustrates the problems that scientific advances were posing for conventional beliefs.

* More correctly, "Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries Visited by H.M.S. Beagle, under the Command of Captain Fitzroy, R.N. from 1932 to 1936."