Charles Darwin: Voyage around the world on the Beagle

Charles Robert Darwin (1809 - 1882) - the world famous English natural scientist, the founder of the theory of natural selection. The hypothesis of the development of the world of living nature, created by him, became the basis of modern biological science, an essential component of our culture and our worldview.

Naturalist's Journey

In his Autobiography, Darwin wrote that his interest in the history of natural science and especially in collecting various collections manifested itself in his school years. But he did not even think about the career of a naturalist for a long time. First, at the insistence of his father, Robert studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and then, intending to later become a priest, he entered the Faculty of Theology in Cambridge. However, the course of his entire future life was determined by chance. In the autumn of 1831, Darwin received an offer to sail around the world as a naturalist on the Royal Navy's expedition ship, the Beagle, which he gladly accepted.

Ship "Beagle"

The history of science knows many expeditions that had serious goals and yielded important results. But only a few of them managed to become iconic, key: for example, the discovery of America by Columbus or the circumnavigation of Magellan... lines of the list of significant achievements of mankind. When the sailboat left Plymouth harbor on December 27, 1831, nothing indicated that this "circumnavigation" would go down in history: for the ship under the command of Captain Fitz Roy, this trip was far from the first, and the task for the expedition members seemed very routine - hydrographic research and mapping of the coast of South America. On the ship, the position of a naturalist was not the main one. Just Robert Fitz-Roy decided: if the Beagle intends to go around the Earth, then some naturalist could well study the flora and fauna of the continents and islands planned to visit.

Off the coast of South America

On January 16, the ship reached the Cape Verde Islands and anchored near Santiago. On this island, Darwin made an important discovery: on the rocks that stretched along the entire coastline, he discovered a horizontal layer of white shell rock, which was located 14 meters above sea level. This observation confirmed Lyell's theory of slow changes taking place in the world over long periods of time (then this hypothesis was considered a completely new concept).

After sailing from the island of Santiago, the Beagle arrived in Brazil, in the city of Salvador. On February 29, 1832, Charles Darwin traveled to the Brazilian jungle for several days to explore the tropical rainforests. A riot of colors, miniature hummingbirds and giant lumberjack beetles, large-billed toucans and colorful parrots ... The beauty and richness of the rainforest impressed the scientist so much that in his diary he compared these places with "a magical land of fulfilled desires."

The coastal plains of Patagonia in the south of the continent looked dull against their background. Travelers only occasionally met wild llamas, anteaters and ostriches-nandu, caracara birds of prey. However, it was in Patagonia that Darwin found the fossilized skulls and skeletons of long-extinct giant mammals, which were similar in structure to modern sloths and anteaters. The scientist suggested that the edentulous living in our time descended from these ancient giants and their small size is associated with gradual changes in environmental conditions.

Exploring the flora and fauna of Chile (unique hummingbirds, armadillos and urubu vultures), Charles Darwin undertook several crossings across the Andes. He was struck by the fact that these mountains are mainly composed of lava flows, and also drew attention to the differences in the composition of flora and fauna on different sides of the mountain ranges.

A key event in the life of a famous scientist was a visit to the Galapagos Islands, where the Beagle arrived in September 1835. On the archipelago, Darwin met many species that do not live anywhere else on the globe. For example, giant turtles or penguins living in the equator. Of the ground birds, half was a group of closely related birds - nondescript Galapagos ground finches. Outwardly, they were very similar, but had an excellent type of food, and therefore had a different beak structure. The most distinctive feature of the Galapagos was that the neighboring islands were inhabited by various related species of plants and animals.

Pacific Ocean

The fauna of New Zealand also made an indelible impression on Darwin. Large predatory mammals were not there at that time, but there were outlandish flightless birds - an owl parrot and kiwi, and also the remains of the largest birds that have ever lived on our planet - moa. They were completely exterminated in the 18th century.

January 12, 1836 sailing ship "Beagle" entered the bay of Sydney (Australia). Darwin really liked the "almost British" atmosphere of the country, many beautiful houses, clean streets. The young naturalist made an exciting expedition deep into the continent. The vegetation was rather monotonous and differed sharply from the lush South American tropical flora. The scientist was very struck by the kangaroo and platypus he saw. Describing these unusual creatures, Darwin noted that God, in all likelihood, created them separately from all known animal species.

The Cocos Islands, which the ship approached in April 1836, were a typical atoll. Charles Darwin suggested that these atolls form coral reefs fringing the islands due to the gradual sinking of the ocean floor. The correctness of the young scientist was confirmed by later studies.

After his return from his circumnavigation in October 1836, Darwin carefully processed and systematized the materials he had collected during the expedition. The main result of the journey of the great naturalist is considered to be the “Diary of the Naturalist’s Researches” published in 1839, which became a kind of introduction to his famous book “The Origin of Species ...”. This massive work, which expounded in detail the theory of biological evolution, turned the scientific worldview upside down and became, without exaggeration, the foundation on which modern biology subsequently began to be based.

By the 19th century England was a large country with a developed industry and agriculture, which established dominance over many countries. The development of industry led to the fact that part of the rural population moved to the cities. The rapid development of industry required a further increase in raw materials obtained from animal husbandry and agriculture. To meet the increased demand for agricultural raw materials, English breeders began to breed highly productive breeds of sheep, cattle, poultry, high-yielding varieties of vegetables and grains. Selective breeding has become widespread. The results of selection put an end to the then prevailing ideas about the immutability of animal and plant organisms.

In order to find more and more new sources of raw materials for industry, the British government organized expeditions to other countries. Charles Darwin also participated in one of these expeditions as a naturalist (Fig. 21).

In 1831 he graduated from the university, but did not become a priest. Professor Henslow, knowing of the young Darwin's passion for the natural sciences and his ability to observe nature, gave him a recommendation to work as a naturalist on the Beagle ship, which was sent to circumnavigation. On this ship, Darwin sailed the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans for five years and visited many islands, on the east and west coasts of South America, in Australia, in the southern regions of Africa. He got acquainted with the plants and animals common there. After studying the remains of fossils and living animals and comparing them, he identified the similarities and differences between them. Comparing the animals of North and South America, Darwin noted that the llama, tapir, sloth, anteater, armadillo living in South America are not found in North America. Darwin argued that these two continents formed a single whole in ancient times, and then were separated by mountain ranges. material from the site

Galapagos

As a result, the flora and fauna of North and South America began to differ. Darwin was especially struck by the flora and fauna of the Galapagos archipelago, located at a distance of 900 km from the western coast of South America. The finches from the order of passerines and turtles, which are often found there, on each island are distinguished by their peculiar structure. The flora and fauna of the Galapagos archipelago is in general similar to that of South America, but there are still differences in individual features and properties (Fig. 23).

Darwin returned from his round-the-world trip with a very rich collection of animals and herbariums. The evidence collected during the journey served as the basis for Darwin's creation of the doctrine of the evolution of the organic world.

Charles Darwin's circumnavigation of the world

Charles Darwin's round-the-world trip - Charles Robert Darwin's round-the-world trip on the Beagle ship in 1831-1836, thanks to which the scientist founded evolutionary doctrine, putting biology on a fairly solid scientific basis. Along with the famous scientific expeditions of the 19th century, this voyage under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy occupies one of the prominent places. In the history of geographical discoveries, it left its mark by the work of surveying the terrain to map the exact coastline of southern South America and the course of the Santa Cruz River. However, the worldwide fame of the Beagle is associated with Charles Darwin.

Travel background

The tasks set by the British Admiralty in official documents, Darwin formulated in his Diary of an Explorer. The first task was a detailed survey of the eastern and western coasts of South America and the adjacent islands. Based on this survey, the expedition was to draw up accurate sea charts that would facilitate the navigation of ships in these waters. Of the five years of the Beagle's voyage, most of the time was spent on these studies. The ship was off the eastern and western coasts of South America for 3.5 years - from February 28, 1832 to September 7, 1835. Captain Fitzroy delivered to the Admiralty more than 80 maps of different parts of the coast and islands, 80 plans of bays and harbors indicating all anchorages and 40 landscape drawings of the places visited. The second task was to create a chain of chronometric measurements in a successive series of points around the globe in order to accurately determine the meridians of these points. It was to accomplish this task that the Beagle had to make a round-the-world trip: it is possible to verify the correctness of the chronometric determination of longitude, provided that the determination of the longitude of any starting point by the chronometer coincides with the same determinations of the longitude of this point, which was carried out upon returning to it after crossing the globe. These tasks openly testify to the true goals that the British government set when equipping an expensive expedition. The "mistress of the seas", who lost her North American colonies, directed her aspirations to South America. Continuing the old struggle with the once mighty Spain, Great Britain in the first third of the 19th century decided to use internal research in the Latin American republics, which had recently declared themselves independent.

Travel preparation

By the beginning of the journey, Charles Darwin was 23 years old, he was a fairly prepared, inquisitive and energetic naturalist, and after the trip he returned as a scientist who was on the verge of discovering the main patterns of the development of life on Earth. Professor Henslo offered to take part in the journey to Darwin due to the fact that the astronomer from the University of Cambridge, Professor J. Peacock, who was asked to recommend a naturalist on the Beagle, could not find the right person and asked for help. In a letter to Darwin dated August 24, 1831, Henslow wrote: I declared that I consider you, of all those whom I know, the most suitable for this purpose. I say this not because I see you as a complete naturalist, but because you have specialized enough in collecting, observing and being able to mark everything that deserves to be noted in natural history ... Do not fall through modesty into doubts or fears about your inability, because - I assure you - I am convinced that you are exactly the person they are looking for. Darwin arrived in London to negotiate with Fitzroy. For some time the captain did not give him an answer about his consent to his candidacy. Darwin learned that he was in serious danger of being rejected because of the shape of his nose. Fitzroy, an ardent follower of Lavater, considered himself a subtle physiognomist and "was sure that he could judge the character of a person by the features of his face." He doubted whether a man with a nose like Darwin's had enough energy and determination to make the journey. In early September, Charles was nevertheless included in the expedition. However, he had to buy all the equipment himself, and besides, he did not receive a salary. The British government, equipping the expedition, did not want to take any care of the naturalist, considering his presence in the expedition as unnecessary. But Fitzroy himself insisted on the presence of such a scientist.

Beagle

The Beagle was a well-built small Cherokee-class brig, displacing 235 tons. Equipped with 8 guns. Prior to this trip, the ship sailed the same waters in 1826-1830 with the Adventure ship. In 1825, the Beagle was converted into a barque for research purposes and took part in three expeditions. At the end of the expedition of Charles Darwin, he made two more voyages: in 1837-1841 under the command of John Wickem (English) Russian. for hydrographic survey of the northern coast of Australia and the valleys of the rivers there; in 1841-1843 under the command of John Stokes for the hydrographic survey of the coast of New Zealand. From 1845-1870, the Beagle was on shore duty at Southend, at the mouth of the River Thames.

The composition of the expedition

The expedition included: the captain of the ship, the head of the expedition and the director of surveys - Robert Fitzroy 2 lieutenants - John Wickem and Bartholomew John Suliven assistant director of surveys navigator John Stokes doctor Benjamin Byne ship's crew: 10 officers, boatswain, 42 sailors and 8 cabin boy naturalist Charles Darwin instrumental master John Stebbing, who was invited by the captain himself and personally paid him a salary by the artist and draftsman A. Earl, who was replaced in Montevideo due to the illness of C. Martens by the missionary R. Matthews, who was heading to Tierra del Fuego to plant Christianity among the natives three natives from Tierra del Fuego Lands taken out by Fitzroy on a previous expedition

Journey

Atlantic Ocean On December 27, 1831, the Beagle left the port of Devonport, UK, after twice being unable to start sailing due to strong south-westerly winds. On January 6, 1832, the expedition arrived on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, but was unable to land due to the news of a cholera epidemic among the locals. After standing on the road for some time, the ship moved on, and already on January 16 arrived at the island of Santiago, in the Cape Verde Islands group, and anchored near the city of Porto Praia. Darwin surveyed the island, described its geology and relief: From the sea, the environs of Porto Praia look deserted. The volcanic fires of past ages and the stormy heat of the tropical sun have rendered the soil in many places unsuitable for vegetation. The terrain gradually rises in flat ledges, over which conical hills with blunted tops are scattered here and there, and an irregular chain of higher mountains stretches on the horizon ... The naturalist conducted a study of the birds and animals there. Together with two officers, he first made an excursion to the village of Ribeira Grande in the valley of St. Martin, where they examined the ruins of the fortress and the cathedral, and the church, where there were graves of local governors of the XV-XVI centuries. Later, Darwin made a trip to the villages of San Domingos (English) Russian. (in the center of the island) and Fuentes, where he made a description of local birds. On the island of Santiago, Darwin examined the dust that fell in the morning after a fog and determined that it consisted of ciliates with silicon shells and silicon plant tissue. Before leaving, he conducted an observation of local marine animals, in particular octopuses. On February 8, the expedition left the islands and on February 16 reached the rocks of St. Paul, where they drifted. Darwin observed local birds nesting on the rocks and other animals. Having made a description and observations of rocks, he came to the conclusion that they were formed due to coral reefs (this observation gave rise to the book "The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs"). On February 17, the expedition crossed the equator.

Brazil

On February 20, the expedition arrived at the volcanic island of Fernando de Noronha, where Darwin made a description of the flora and fauna and explored the geology. A week later, on February 28, they arrived in the city of Bahia in Brazil. Darwin was very captured by the nature of the surrounding lands. He examined the vast areas around the city, describing the geology and relief. In particular, he continued the studies of syenite rocks begun by Humboldt during his trip to South America, which were “covered with a black substance as if polished with graphite”. Darwin could not help but inspect the local animals and plants. He made significant observations of the fish-urchin Diodon antennatus and determined that this small fish, when it enters the stomach of a shark, can eat through its walls and even the side of a predatory animal, while killing it. On March 18, the Beagle set sail from Bahia, continuing its round-the-world voyage.

Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of the 19th century. Drawing by Johann Moritz Rugendas

Uruguay

Nanda Darwin (Pterocnemia pennata) July 5, 1832 the ship left the harbor of Rio de Janeiro and headed south to La Plata. July 26 "Beagle" anchored in the port of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. For the next two years, the expedition conducted cartographic surveys off the eastern and southern coasts of South America south of La Plata. For the first 10 weeks, Darwin lived in Maldonado, east of Montevideo. During this time, he collected a large collection of mammals, birds (80 species) and reptiles (including 9 species of snakes). The scientist conducted a series of excursions around the area - to the Polanco River, which is 70 miles to the north, to the village of Las Minas, to the mountainous area of ​​the Sierra de las Animas and the village of Pan de Azucar. The naturalist described and studied various animals, in particular, Darwin's rhea, dolphins named after the captain of the Beagle Delphinus fitzroyi, deer Cervus campestris, many rodents (in particular, the largest modern rodent, the capybara). After a visit to Uruguay, the entire expedition on the Beagle sailed south to the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

Tierra del Fuego

Fireman. Painting by Konrad Martens On December 17, 1832, the expedition reached Tierra del Fuego. Rounding Cape San Diego, the ship entered Lemaire Strait and anchored in Good Success Bay. The members of the expedition were met by the natives - fire-earthers (English) Russian .. There were also fire-earthers on board the ship, whom Captain Fitzroy had taken on a previous voyage in 1826-1830 on the ships Adventure and Beagle, and now wanted to return to their homeland. From the next day, Darwin began to explore the island, described it, explored the beech forests. On December 21, the Beagle weighed anchor and sailed past the Barnevelt Islands and Cape Deception, reaching Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America. Due to bad weather, the expedition stayed here for 6 days and only on December 30 moved west. Due to strong storms, it was difficult to get to the islands, so on January 15, 1833, the captain left the ship and on January 24, on 4 boats, he was able to get to Tierra del Fuego. The return to the Beagle took place through the strait, later named after the ship, at the same time a survey of the area was carried out. During his entire stay on the islands, Darwin made a number of observations of Fuego Earth interesting for science, described their appearance, behavior and history.

==Beagle near Tierra del Fuego.== Painting by Konrad Martens On April 28, 1833, the Beagle returned to Maldonado. The expedition returned to Tierra del Fuego for the second time on February 2, 1834 and stayed here until March 5.

La Plata

On July 24, 1833, the Beagle sailed from Maldonado and on August 3 set out on a roadstead against the mouth of the Rio Negro. This is how Charles Darwin describes this place: It is the largest river along the entire length from La Plata to the Strait of Magellan. It flows into the sea three hundred miles south of the estuary of La Plata. About fifty years ago, under Spanish rule, a small colony was founded here, on the east coast of America it is still the southernmost place where civilized people live. From the beginning of the race, Darwin examined and described the surrounding lands, studied their geology, visited the village of El Carmen (Patagones) up the river, where there were buildings destroyed during the attacks of the Indians. This interested him, and from the inhabitants who remained alive, he began to collect information about this attack and the Indians. Also, his attention was attracted by the salt lakes of Salines, 28 km from the settlement. He studied their flora and fauna, described several species of algae and crustaceans that lived there. On August 10, Darwin decided to make an excursion trip on horseback to the city of Bahia Blanca, located between Buenos Aires and the mouth of the Rio Negro. During the tour, the scientist collected a lot of information about local animals and plants, in particular about the guanaco, Cavia patagonica agouti, Athene cunicularia owl.

Scelidotherium skeleton found by Darwin

On August 24, the Beagle arrived at Bahia Blanca and a week later sailed north to La Plata. Darwin stayed on land and decided to ride this way to Buenos Aires on horseback. The dear scientist described the surrounding territories, their topography, flora and fauna, including Darwin's South American rhea and many other bird species. In Punta Alta, he explored a tectonic section with numerous remains of giant animals and found several skeletons - Megatherium (Megatherium), Megalonyx (Megalonyx), Scelidotherium (Scelidotherium), Mylodon (Mylodon darwinii), Macrauchenia (Macrauchenia), Toxodon (Toxodon darwinii). On the way to the capital of Argentina, Darwin crossed the Sierra de la Ventana (Spanish) Russian. and the Rio South, Rio Tapalguen and Rio Salado. On September 20, he arrived in Buenos Aires, where he spent a week, and on September 27 he went northwest to the city of Santa Fe. Buenos Aires itself is a big city, and I think one of the most properly built places in the world. Each street goes at right angles to the one it crosses, and parallel streets are located at regular intervals, and the houses form continuous rectangular blocks of the same size, the so-called squares ... After Buenos Aires, on September 28, Darwin arrived in the city of Lujan, then visited in Areca. In the pampas, a naturalist observed local animals, in particular viscachas. On September 30, Darwin left for the Parana River, and on October 3 he arrived in Santa Fe. Due to a slight illness, he spent two days in bed. On October 5, the naturalist crossed the Parana to Santa Fe Bajada, where he stayed for 5 days. Here Darwin began excavating the ancient remains of giant animals - similar to the armadillo Glyptodon (Glyptodon clavipes) and the extinct horse (Equus curvidens). On October 12, due to illness, the scientist was forced to sail back along the Parana River to Buenos Aires, where he arrived on October 20, but from the mouth of the river to the city, for the sake of speed, he traveled this path on horseback. When Darwin arrived, they did not want to let Buenos Aires at first because of the coup staged by the supporters of General Rosas. Thanks to friendship with the general, the scientist was still allowed through.

Uruguay

Toxodon Skull After a two-week delay in Buenos Aires, Darwin set sail on a mail ship for Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The Beagle was anchored there. Taking advantage of his delay, the scientist planned another excursion around the country. On November 14, he left for Colonia del Sacramento, a town on the north coast of La Plata, across from Buenos Aires. The move lasted for 3 days, and on November 17 Darwin was in place. Here he observed bulls of a very rare breed, which in Uruguay and Argentina are called nyata. They were very similar to the ruminants extinct in India - the sivatherium, so the skull that the naturalist found was very valuable. On November 19, the tour arrived in the city of Las Vecas, located at the mouth of the Uruguay River. From there they headed north to the city of Mercedes on the Rio Negro, a tributary of Uruguay. After staying there for several days, the tour returned back to Montevideo, but in a straight line. On the way, Darwin stopped at a ranch, where he purchased from the owner the skull of an extinct animal Toxodon. On November 28, the scientist arrived in Montevideo, from where on December 6, on the Beagle, he sailed south to Patagonia.

Patagonia

On the way to Patagonia, Darwin studied insects that were in the air above the sea, or in the water itself far from the coast, and other arthropods, primarily crustaceans. On December 23, the expedition arrived at Desire Bay (south of the modern city of Comodoro Rivadavia), where there were the ruins of an old Spanish settlement. Going ashore, Darwin began to explore the local flora and fauna. His attention was attracted by insects, reptiles and birds, as well as guanacos. Having described the geology and relief of Patagonia, the scientist came to the idea of ​​​​a special history of this region. January 9, 1834 "Beagle" anchored in the bay of San Julian, which is 210 km to the south. Here Darwin studied the diversity of insects on salt lakes-lagoons. Also found was the skeleton of an extinct animal - Macrauchenia (Macrauchenia patagonica). After staying in the bay for 8 days, the expedition moved further southeast to the Falkland Islands.

Falkland Islands

Falkland Wolf March 1, 1833 and March 16, 1834 "Beagle" anchored in Barkley Bay, near East Falkland Island. It was on the second trip on the ship that Darwin was present. With two Argentines, the scientist made a short excursion around the island. During it, he explored its geology and relief, described the poor world of flora and fauna. On the island, the naturalist met a herd of wild horses, brought here by the French in 1764, and herds of cows. Among the endemics, the Falkland wolf and several species of birds have been described - the common caracara (Caracara plancus), the penguin Aptenodytes demersa, the geese: Anas magellanica, Anas brachyptera and Anas antarctica. Darwin also observed "corallines" - marine coral-like animals (mainly hydroids and bryozoans), which he attributed to the now obsolete genera Flustra, Eschara, Cellaria and Crisisa. On April 6, the Beagle sailed west to the Santa Cruz River (Spanish) Russian ..

Santa Cruz

On April 13, the ship anchored at the mouth of the Santa Cruz River. Captain Fitzroy decided to go up the river as long as time allowed. It was very difficult to climb up the river against the current, so the ship remained in the bay, and the journey continued on three boats. It began on April 19 and lasted 3 weeks. On the way to the origins of Santa Cruz, Darwin described and explored the geology of Patagonia. On May 5, Captain Fitzroy decided to turn back, having traveled 270 km (the total length of the river is 365 km). On May 8, the expedition returned to the Beagle.

Chile

The Beagle in the Strait of Magellan At the end of May 1834, the Beagle entered the Strait of Magellan from the east. At Cape Gregory, the expedition met the Patagonians - a people who had a fairly large stature. Darwin described them and their way of life, even wanted to take three with him. On June 1, the expedition arrived in Goloda Bay, where the scientist described the relief of the surrounding shores, local flora and fauna. Among plants, Darwin explored the local evergreen forests of beech, among animals - mouse-like rodents, tuco-tuco, seals and other animals, as well as birds. On June 8, the Beagle sailed further through the Strait of Magellan, but the last section of Fitzroy decided to pass the newly discovered Magdalena Canal in a south-westerly direction. On June 10, the expedition entered the Pacific Ocean and on June 28 reached the island of Chiloe. From here, cartographic surveys of the western coast of South America began from the Tres Montes Peninsula in the south to the city of Callao in the north, the Chiloé and Chonos archipelagos. July 23 "Beagle" anchored in the port of Valparaiso, the main port of Chile. Here the expedition could observe Mount Aconcagua, the highest point in South America: This irregular conical peak rises above Chimborazo; according to the measurements made by the officers on the Beagle, its height is at least 23,000 feet. In general, the Cordilleras that are visible from here, most of their beauty is due to the peculiarities of the local air. When the sun set in the Pacific Ocean, it was wonderful to observe how clearly their strict outlines loomed and how varied and delicate their shades were at the same time. On August 14, Darwin led an excursion on horseback to geologically explore the foothills of the Andes, which were not covered in snow. On August 15, the scientist visited the Quilliota valley, on August 17 he climbed Mount Campana, on August 19 he arrived in the town of Hahuel, where he stayed for a week. On August 26, Darwin made an excursion to the closed Guitron Valley, from where he got to the capital of Chile - Santiago. He stayed in this city for a week and on August 6 he arrived in Rancagua, on August 13 - in Rio Clara, from where he turned to the city of San Fernando. On August 27, the scientist went to the city of Valparaiso and, due to illness, stayed there until the end of October. During excursions in central Chile, Darwin made valuable scientific observations of the relief, geology and climate of the area. He paid less attention to the extinction of species. Valdivian Forests (Spanish) Russian Chiloe On November 10, the Beagle sailed south for cartographic surveys and on November 21 arrived in the city of San Carlos, the main city of the island of Chiloe. On November 24, two boats under the command of Suliven were sent to survey the east coast, the Beagle itself was surveying the western and southern coasts of the island, Darwin passed the island on horseback, first in the northern part, and on November 30 arrived east, where he met with the entire expedition. On December 1, the ship sailed to Lemuy Island, then to San Pedro Island. On December 10, the Beagle headed south and reached the Chonos Archipelago on December 13. Having stayed there until December 18, the ship turned south and on December 30 reached the Tres Montes Peninsula. January 7, 1835 the expedition returned to the Chonos archipelago, where they stayed for a week. Darwin was engaged in the description and study of the geology of the islands, while not excluding the study of flora and fauna. Many plants have been described that form forests on the islands - astelia (English) Russian. (Astelia), donatia (English) Russian (Donatia), myrtle (Myrtus), crowberry (Empetrum), rush (Juncus), among animals - sea otter, rodents of nutria and capybara, birds cheukau (English) Russian, petrels and pikas. On January 15, the Beagle left the harbor of Low, in the north of the Chonos archipelago, and after 3 days anchored a second time in the bay of the port of San Carlos on the island of Chiloe. On January 19, the expedition observed the volcanic eruption of Osorno (Spanish) Russian, which coincided with the eruption of Aconcagua and Coseguina. This interested Darwin very much, because the Koseguina volcano had not erupted for 26 years, and Aconcagua was very rarely active in general. Captain Fitzroy surveyed along the western coast of the island, and Darwin crossed it from the east in a meridional direction. Along the way, he visited Lake Cucao and an Indian settlement. On February 4, the Beagle sailed north from Chiloe and arrived in Valdivia on February 8. On February 11, Darwin had a short tour of the neighborhood, on February 20 he witnessed an earthquake, the strongest in this city in its entire history. On March 4, the expedition arrived at the port of Talcahuano in the city of Concepción, where only ruins remained after the earthquake. After staying here for 3 days, the ship sailed for Valparaiso, and on March 11, anchored in its port. Darwin departed for Santiago, from where he intended to conduct a campaign through the Andes to the Argentine city of Mendoza.

City of Mendoza in the 19th century

On March 18, the expedition set out towards the Portillo Pass. Dear Darwin kept records of his explorations of the geology of the surrounding mountains. On March 23, the scientist crossed the pass and began to descend the steep eastern slope of the Andes. On March 27, the expedition reached the city of Mendoza, and on March 29 turned back, but already through the Uspallata pass, which was located a little to the north. Darwin crossed the pass on April 1, reached the Inca Bridge on April 4, and arrived back in Santiago on April 10. A few days later he returned to Valparaiso, where he rendezvoused with the Beagle. On April 27, Darwin organized a new expedition to the north of the country, namely along the route Valparaiso - Coquimbo - Guasco - Copiapo. It was in Copiapo that Captain Fitzroy was to pick him up, and from there head north to the Galapagos Islands. At first, the path passed along the Pacific coast, but then turned deep into Chile, crossing the valleys of many rivers. On May 14, Darwin reached Coquimbo, where he described the geology of local terraces, built from the remains of ancient mollusks. On June 2, the expedition reached Guasco, where it passed through the desert plains and witnessed another earthquake, and on June 22, Copiapo. Since the Beagle had not yet arrived in port, Darwin made a short trip to the Andes, and returned on July 1. On July 4 a ship arrived and sailed the next day from Copiapo. [edit] Peru On July 12, the expedition arrived in the Peruvian city of Iquique, Darwin examined the surrounding lands. July 19 "Beagle" arrived in Callao, the main port of the country, located near the capital - Lima. Having made a tour of the surroundings, Darwin first saw and described such a phenomenon as El Niño. After staying in Peru in early September, the expedition moved northwest to the Galapagos Islands on September 7th. [edit] Galapagos Islands

marine iguana

From September 15 to October 20, the Beagle stayed in the Galapagos Islands, conducting cartographic surveys here. Darwin explored the geology and biology of the islands. On September 17, he landed on Chatham Island (San Cristobal), where he described the local flora, in particular, he was interested in one shrub of the Euphorbia family. On September 23, Darwin visited Charles Island (Floreana). On September 29, the ship sailed near the largest island of Albemarle (Isabela) and got into a storm between it and Narborough Island (Fernandina). On October 8, the expedition arrived at James Island (Santiago (Spanish) Russian). Having conducted numerous studies of the local flora and fauna, Darwin described it and collected a rather large collection of animals and plants. From mammals he caught a mouse, from birds he collected 26 specimens, including caracara and scops. Darwin studied a diverse group of related birds distributed on the islands, which he called ground finches (Geospiza, family Thraupidae) (now often called Darwin's finches). Thanks to the observation of the diversity of these birds, Darwin first had the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe variability of species. Among endemic reptiles, he singled out iguanas of the genus Amblyrhynchus, which differed in that they could swim in the sea. Having collected an almost complete collection of local insects, Darwin came to the conclusion that he had not seen an area in the world that was poorer in terms of their fauna.

“While traveling on Her Majesty's ship Beagle as a naturalist, I was struck by some facts in the field of the distribution of organic beings in South America and the geological relations between former and modern inhabitants of this continent. These facts ... illuminate to some extent the origin of species - this secret of secrets, according to one of our greatest philosophers ”(C. Darwin. The Origin of Species by Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Breeds in the Struggle for Life).

At the end of December 1831, from Devonport, near Plymouth, a barque of the British Royal Navy with the dog name "Beagle" (a small, graceful hound) set sail. Already on January 6, 1832, the little Beagle ran to Tenerife, reached the Cape Verde Islands on the 16th, where he took a breath, looked at the island of Fernando de Noronha, located opposite the eastern ledge of the South American mainland, and from there waved to the Brazilian Bahia (now San Salvador). And then for more than two years, from February 1832 to June 1834, the Beagle did not move away from the eastern shores of South America. Who was he chasing after?

The main task of the expedition was a detailed survey of the coasts of South America (from Cape Horn almost to the equator) in order to compile accurate nautical charts necessary for both the merchant fleet and the British navy. The need for maps was caused by the fact that Britain, having suffered territorial losses in North America, was seriously aiming at South America and was going to take advantage of the weakness of the young republics, just freed from the rule of Spain. During the two years of operation, the Beagle filmed in the Bahia Blanca area, twice visited Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands, and climbed the Santa Cruz River. In June 1834, the British passed through the Strait of Magellan and began work on surveying the western coast. In a little over a year, they removed the coast from the Taitao Peninsula in the south (47 ° S) to Callao in the north, as well as many islands off the coast of Chile. In total, they compiled more than 80 maps of various parts of the coast and islands, several dozen plans for bays and harbors, indicating all anchorages.

The commander of the Beagle, Robert Fitzroy, a well-known meteorologist and hydrographer, invested a lot of his own money in organizing the expedition. To speed up the work, Fitzroy hired schooners several times without the sanction of the Admiralty, which, in parallel with the Beagle, filmed off the coast of South America. By the way, the Admiralty refused to reimburse him for the money spent on this. In September 1835, the Beagle finally left South America. The expedition had one more task: to make longitudinal chronometric measurements necessary for compiling nautical charts. To achieve maximum accuracy, the local time at the time of the passage of the sun through the meridian of each point (noon) was determined simultaneously by 24 verified chronometers. To verify the correctness of the measurements made, it was necessary to determine the longitude of a certain starting point using a chronometer, then go around the globe and measure at the same point again: both values ​​\u200b\u200bshould have coincided (360 ° longitude give a local time difference of 24 hours). Bahia became the starting point.

Leaving Callao, the Beagle headed for the Galapagos Islands. After spending more than a month there, at the end of October he headed for the Society Islands and stopped for a few days in Tahiti. Then there was a transition to New Zealand, which the Beagle reached on December 20, and to Australia. At the end of January 1836, the British arrived in Tasmania, after which they headed for the Indian Ocean. In the first half of April, the Killing Islands were surveyed, and at the end of the month, the Beagle was already off the island of Mauritius. Leaving it and passing by Madagascar, at the end of May, the Beagle reached Simonstown Bay near Capstadt (now Cape Town).

Having entered St. Helena, and then Ascension Island, on August 1, the Beagle anchored a second time in Bahia, thus completing its round-the-world voyage. From here she headed northeast towards the British shores, and on October 2 she finally anchored in Falmouth Bay.

Despite the success of the expedition and serious practical results, the circumnavigation of the Beagle would have remained one of the many voyages of the 19th century, not too remarkable and even ordinary, if not for one circumstance. In mid-1831, Fitzroy turned to the Cambridge mineralogist and botanist John Henslow with a request to find a naturalist for the Beagle expedition. The professor recommended to him the young bachelor Charles Darwin, who had extensive knowledge of geology, biology and other areas of natural science. Darwin, who had not long before read Alexander Humboldt's book about a voyage to South America and was inspired by the idea of ​​participating in a great voyage, went to negotiate with Fitzroy.

For some time the captain delayed with an answer. Later, Darwin learned that Fitzroy, a follower of Lavater and a convinced physiognomist, doubted the abilities of the young scientist, seeing what shape ... his nose was. So Darwin almost stayed with his nose, that is, at home.

And yet he was included in the expedition. True, at the same time, unlike the officers of the ship, he did not receive any salary. Moreover, he had to acquire scientific equipment, equipment, hunting weapons at his own expense. The Admiralty did not consider the participation of a naturalist in the expedition mandatory and did not intend to support him. If you remember what the true goals of the campaign were, this is not surprising. Fitzroy personally invited the naturalist, but the maritime department simply did not mind.

During the voyage, the crew went about their business, and Darwin did his own. While the Beagle was filming off the coast of Brazil, Charles was exploring the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. While the ship was surveying the coast of Patagonia, Darwin made several large overland excursions in Argentina and Uruguay. When the expedition worked off the western coast of the continent, the scientist traveled along the coast of Central and Northern Chile, the Peruvian coast, climbed the slopes of the Andes. Wandering around Chile, he witnessed a devastating earthquake and tsunami caused by a powerful earthquake.

Darwin's excursions were not introductory and contemplative: he worked hard, studying geological sections, collecting rock samples, paleontological and botanical collections. He did all this extremely methodically, and kept records of all observations accurately and in great detail. Darwin adhered to the principle - not to trust his memory: if vivid impressions are replaced quickly, there is little hope for it. He was well aware that hasty, unsystematic sketches lead to a very seductive, but destructive for the scientist, desire to fill gaps in knowledge with superficial hypotheses.

Darwin continued his research in the Galapagos Islands, and in Australia, and in South Africa - wherever the Beagle called on his long voyage. He collected valuable materials on the geology of the South American coast, the Andean mountain system and oceanic islands, left unique descriptions of the earthquake and tsunami in Chile, and other natural phenomena. But most importantly, Darwin was able not only to analyze, but also to generalize. On the basis of his own geological research, he came to several important conclusions: the conclusion about the repeated slow uplift and subsidence of the South American continent, the idea of ​​a connection between volcanism and tectonic faults, and, finally, the theory of the origin of coral reefs.

After him, many people offered their versions of the development of coral islands, but Darwin's theory still has not lost its relevance; moreover, it is she who is today recognized by most scientists. The secret of the vitality of a theory lies in its synthetic nature. Darwin studied coral structures not as a narrow specialist, but comprehensively - as a zoologist, paleontologist, geologist, geomorphologist, and oceanologist. It is significant that geotectonic representations of the first half of the 19th century. were, to put it mildly, naive compared to modern ones, and this can be said about almost all sciences. But the highly specialized hypotheses of the formation of coral structures were unable to compete with Darwin's old theory, since it is distinguished by an approach to a natural phenomenon as a whole, in its unity and diversity.

Charles Darwin went down in history primarily as the creator of the theory of evolution of the organic world. And although Darwin's book "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Breeds in the Struggle for Life" appeared only in 1859, it is no secret that the evolutionary idea itself was born during the voyage of the Beagle. Darwin himself wrote about this - both in his autobiography and in the introduction to The Origin of Species. It is curious that, going on a journey, Darwin did not doubt the inviolability of the biblical teaching about the creation of all living things by God and the immutability of species. But research gradually led him to the opposite conclusion. In September 1832, when he found the bones of extinct giant edentulous near Bahia, Darwin first thought about "this secret of secrets - the first appearance on Earth of new living beings." Further research more and more contributed to a change in his views on the appearance of animal and plant species. Three years later, in the Galapagos Islands, with their unique community of living organisms, Darwin's new, revolutionary views received decisive confirmation.

Almost simultaneously with Darwin and independently of him, another Englishman, Alfred Wallace, developed and was about to publish the theory of evolution. In 1858 he sent Darwin an article in which he set forth ideas that coincided with Darwin's theory of natural selection. One can imagine how the latter, who had been working on the theory for more than 20 years, felt when he received this manuscript. Nevertheless, Darwin submitted Wallace's paper to the Linnean Society of London, along with a summary of his theory. In July 1859 they were published together. It is necessary to give credit to Wallace, who did not hesitate to recognize Darwin's priority in creating the theory.

NUMBERS AND FACTS

Main character

Charles Robert Darwin, English biologist and geologist

Other actors

Robert Fitzroy, commander of the Beagle; John Henslow, mineralogist and botanist; Alfred Russel Wallace, naturalist

Time of action

Route

From England to South America, to the Pacific Ocean, to Australia, across the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic to South America, then to England

Goals

Surveying the coasts of South America, chronometric measurements for mapping

Meaning

Compiled maps of the coast of South America, plans for bays and harbors; the results of Darwin's field research formed the basis of evolutionary theory

Charles Darwin. JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD ON THE BEAGLE

Diary of research on the natural history and geology of countries,

visited during the circumnavigation of HMS Beagle

commanded by Captain FitzRoy of the Royal Navy.

Charles Darwin M.Sc. F.R.S. 1845

Charles Lyell, Esq., F.R.S.,

this second edition is gratefully dedicated in recognition of

that the main scientific advantages, which, perhaps,

possess this "Diary" and other works of the author,

owe their origin to the study of all known,

amazing "Basic Principles of Geology"

Preface to the second edition

I I have already pointed out in the preface to the first edition of the present work and in The Zoological Results of the Voyage of the Beagle that, in response to the wish expressed by Captain Fitzroy to have a research assistant on the ship, for which he was ready to give up some of his personal comforts, I offered my services, to which was obtained - thanks to the courtesy of the hydrographer Captain Beaufort - the consent of the Lords of the Admiralty. As I feel entirely indebted to Captain FitzRoy for the fortunate opportunity of studying the natural history of the various countries which we have visited, I hope I may be allowed to express here once more my thanks to him, and to add that during the five years we have spent together, I met from him the most cordial friendship and constant help.

I shall forever remain deeply grateful to Captain FitzRoy and to all the officers of the Beagle for the unfailing cordiality with which they treated me during our long journey.

This volume contains, in the form of a diary, the history of our journey and an outline of those observations on natural history and geology which, I believe, will be of some interest to a wide circle of readers. In this edition I have greatly abridged and corrected some sections, and added something to others to make this book more accessible to the general reader; but, I hope, naturalists will remember that for details they must turn to the larger works in which the scientific results of the expedition are presented.

In "The Zoological Results of the Beagle Voyage," Professor Owen described fossil mammals, Mr. Waterhouse, modern mammals, Mr. Gould, birds, Rev. L. Jenyns, fish, and Mr. Bell, reptiles. I added to the description of each species notes about its lifestyle and area of ​​​​distribution. These writings, to which I am indebted to the great talent and unselfish zeal of the eminent scholars mentioned above, could not have been undertaken but for the generosity of the Lords of the Exchequer, who, at the suggestion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, kindly provided a thousand pounds sterling to cover part of the costs of publication.

For my part, I published separate volumes: The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, Volcanic Islands Visited on the Voyage of the Beagle, and Geology of South America. The sixth volume of "Geological Transactions" contains two of my articles - on erratic boulders and on volcanic phenomena in South America. Mrs. Waterhouse, Walker, Newman, and White have published some excellent papers on the insects that have been collected, and I hope many more will follow. The plants of the southern regions of America are described by Dr. J. Hooker in his great work on the botany of the Southern Hemisphere. The flora of the Galapagos Archipelago is the subject of a special memoir published by him in Linnean Transactions. The Rev. Professor Henslow published a list of the plants I collected from the Keeling Islands, and the Rev. J.-M. Berkeley described my collection of mystogamous plants.

I shall be happy in due time to express my gratitude to certain naturalists for the great help they have given me in the course of my work on this and other writings; but here I must only venture to state my most sincere thanks to the Reverend Professor Henslow, who chiefly instilled in me, during my student years at Cambridge, a taste for natural history, and who, during my absence, undertook the care of the collections, sent by me to my homeland, and with his letters directed my undertakings, and who - since the time of my return - has invariably given me all the help that the kindest friend can offer.

Down, Bromley, Kent, June, 1845

Chapter I. Santiago in the Cape Verde Archipelago (Bahia in Brazil)

Porto Praia Ribeira Grande. – Atmospheric dust with ciliates. - The habits of the sea snail and octopus. – Rocks of St. Paul – non-volcanic origin. - Unique inlays. – Insects are the first settlers on the islands. - Fernando de Noronha. - Baya. - Polished rocks. - Habits of fish Diodon. – Pelagic Confervae and ciliates. Causes of coloration of the sea.

TO Her Majesty's Fleet, the ten-gun brig Beagle, commanded by Captain FitzRoy of the Royal Navy, sailed from Devon Port on December 27, 1831, after being twice forced back by strong south-westerly winds. The purpose of the expedition was to complete the hydrographic survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, begun by the expedition of Captain King in 1826-1830, to survey the coasts of Chile, Peru and some Pacific islands, and, finally, to carry out a series of chronometric measurements around the globe. On the 6th January we reached Tenerife, but were not allowed to land for fear that we might bring cholera; the next morning we saw the sun, rising from behind the bizarre outline of Gran Canaria, suddenly illuminate the peak of Tenerife, while the low parts of the island were still hidden behind curly clouds. It was the first of many delightful days that I will never forget. On January 16, 1832, we anchored off Porto Praia on Santiago [Santiago], the main island of the Cape Verde archipelago.

From the sea, the surroundings of Porto Praia look lifeless. The volcanic fires of past ages and the scorching heat of the tropical sun have rendered the soil in many places unsuitable for vegetation. The country gradually rises in flat ledges, over which conical hills with blunted peaks are scattered here and there, and an irregular chain of higher mountains stretches on the horizon. The picture that opens up to the eye through the foggy air of this country is very curious; however, it is hardly possible for a person who has just been in a grove of coconut palms, where he came straight from the sea, and, moreover, for the first time in his life, can judge anything - he is so full of experienced happiness.

This island is usually considered very uninteresting, but to a person accustomed to English landscapes alone, the new view of the country, completely barren, seems to him full of grandeur, which would be violated if there were more greenery. In the vast expanses of lava fields, you can hardly find at least one green leaf, and yet herds of goats and even a few cows manage to maintain their existence there. It rains very rarely here, but there is one short period of time in the year during which there are heavy showers, and immediately after that, a faint green breaks out of every crack. It soon dries up, and the animals feed on this natural hay. This time it didn't rain all year.

At the time of the discovery of the island, there were many trees in the immediate vicinity of Porto Praia, but their reckless destruction made this area, like St. Helena and some of the Canary Islands, almost completely barren. Wide and flat valleys, many of which serve as a channel for water only a few days a year, are covered with thickets of leafless shrubs. Few living beings inhabit these valleys. The most common bird here is the kingfisher ( Dacelo lagoensis), which quietly sits on the branches of castor beans and from there swiftly pounces on grasshoppers and lizards. It is brightly colored, but not as beautiful as the European species, from which it also differs considerably in flight, mode of life and habitat, usually preferring the driest valleys.

One day I went with two officers to Ribeira Grande [Ribeira Grande], a village a few miles east of Porto Praia. Until the valley of St. Martin's country still had the same dull, gloomy look; here, however, thanks to a small stream, an oasis of luxurious vegetation has grown. Less than an hour later we arrived at Ribeira Grande, where we were struck by the sight of the ruins of a large fortress and cathedral. This town, until its harbor was filled up, was the main city of the island; now he looks rather sad, but still very picturesque. Having got a black priest as a guide, and a Spaniard who took part in the Pyrenean War of Independence as an interpreter, we visited a group of buildings, among which the old church occupied the main place. Here lie the governors and captain-generals of the archipelago.