Abstract
H.M.S. Beagle in 1835-36 spent 127 days on the transect of the South Pacific Ocean with Charles Darwin aboard. 54 of those days were spent in or near island environments as the ship visited several of the Islands of the Galápagos, the main island of Tahiti and the Bay of Islands, New Zealand: Darwin also had good views of about a dozen other islands. His methods of working were largely similar to that adopted on other sectors of the voyage – the transects of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. He was relatively well-equipped, observed and recorded carefully, constantly revising his notes as new information came to hand and as he compared one island environment with another. Although there are few signs of evolutionary insights at this stage, he was using conceptual frameworks that were important to him later. Thus, he was interested in the behaviour of animals, sometimes adopted an ecological approach, and was considering landscapes in the context of change through geological time. There are signs that he was already adopting a ‘Lyellian' or gradualist viewpoint, particularly in the context of the development of volcanic and coral islands. This paper evaluates these visits, where appropriate, making comparisons with recent visits by the present author, in which he has attempted ‘to take the archives to the field' comparing the present situation with Darwin's records.
Highlights
Charles Darwin‘sVoyage of the Beagle’ can be seen in terms of four major oceanic transects: Atlantic Southbound (Plymouth, England to Tierra del Fuego, December 1831 – May 1834), the Pacific (Callao, Peru to Port Jackson [Sydney], Australia, September 1835 to January 1836), the Indian Ocean (King George‘s Sound, Australia to Cape Town, South Africa, March 1836 - May 1836); the Atlantic Ocean, Northbound (Cape Town to Falmouth, June to October, 1836)
A case can be made for analysing the voyage in terms of each of these oceanic traverses
Left Callao in Peru on 7 September 1835, and, he wrote: ̳Early in the morning‘ of 12 January 1836 ̳a light air carried us towards the entrance of Port Jackson [Sydney, New South Wales, Australia]‘
Summary
Charles Darwin‘sVoyage of the Beagle’ can be seen in terms of four major oceanic transects: Atlantic Southbound (Plymouth, England to Tierra del Fuego, December 1831 – May 1834), the Pacific (Callao, Peru to Port Jackson [Sydney], Australia, September 1835 to January 1836), the Indian Ocean (King George‘s Sound, Australia to Cape Town, South Africa, March 1836 - May 1836); the Atlantic Ocean, Northbound (Cape Town to Falmouth, June to October, 1836). Left Callao in Peru on 7 September 1835, and, he wrote: ̳Early in the morning‘ of 12 January 1836 ̳a light air carried us towards the entrance of Port Jackson [Sydney, New South Wales, Australia]‘ He had spent many months previously exploring Tierra del Fuego, the Islands of Chiloéand of the Chronos Archipelago, and the Andes; in the weeks ahead he was to cross the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, and spend a fortnight in Tasmania. Smith in 1987 [10]
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