The Voyage of the Beagle

“At length [the enslaved people] were discovered, and a party of soldiers being sent, the whole were seized with the exception of one old woman, who, sooner than again be led into slavery, dashed herself to pieces from the summit of the mountain. In a Roman matron this would have been called the noble love of freedom: in a poor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy.”

This passage highlights the prevailing racial attitudes of Darwin’s time, in which white colonizers considered themselves “superior” to the people they enslaved, who were seen as “irrational” and “savage” even in death. The dismissal of the enslaved woman’s actions as “mere brutal obstinacy” shows how the dominant culture viewed resistance to slavery as a negative and irrational trait. Darwin challenges this view with his comparison to the “Roman matron,” revealing how race and ethnicity shape the way in which people are perceived and developing the theme of Human Diversity and the Challenges of Cultural Exchange.

“It may be said there exists no limit to the blindness of interest and selfish habit.”

Darwin is critical of the slave trade and the actions of enslavers throughout the text; he is particularly disturbed by the separation of families at auction houses, such as this instance in Brazil. This passage suggests that he sees slavery as an economic sin, the result of an excess of self-interest and the desire for capital. Darwin’s obvious disgust with the practice of enslavement does not always align with his belief in the imperial project.

“One day, as I was amusing myself by galloping and whirling the balls round my head, by accident the free one struck a bush; and its revolving motion being thus destroyed, it immediately fell to the ground, and like magic caught one hind leg of my horse; the other ball was then jerked out of my hand, and the horse fairly secured. Luckily he was an old practiced animal, and knew what it meant; otherwise he would probably have kicked till he had thrown himself down. The Gauchos roared with laughter; they cried they had seen every sort of animal caught, but had never before seen a man caught by himself.”

This passage demonstrates Darwin’s sense of humor as a narrator and is an early example of his ability to reflect on his own actions. Darwin’s embarrassment after falling is balanced by his appreciation for the gauchos’ good humor and respect for their skills as riders. Additionally, the incident provides a clear counterargument to colonial assumptions about the “superiority” of European technology and traditions.

“Everyone here is fully convinced that this is the most just war, because it is against barbarians. Who would believe in this age that such atrocities could be committed in a Christian civilized country?”

Darwin extensively criticizes General Rosas’s attempts to eliminate the Indigenous population of Buenos Aires. Here, he highlights the irony of the supposed “civilized” and Christian country carrying out such atrocities against people they consider less advanced. Nevertheless, in using the term “barbarians,” Darwin repeats the same paternalistic and colonialist attitudes that drive General Rosas’s campaign. Even as Darwin recognizes the violence and injustice inherent in colonialism, he cannot help repeating colonialist language.

“Few countries have undergone more remarkable changes, since the year 1535, when the first colonist of La Plata landed with seventy-two horses. The countless herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, not only have altered the whole aspect of the vegetation, but they have almost banished the guanaco, deer, and ostrich.”

This passage highlights the significant ecological impact that the introduction of domesticated animals had on the landscape of La Plata, Argentina. The reference to the “countless herds” of horses, cattle, and sheep emphasizes the scale of this ecological shift. It is worth noting that Darwin presents this ecological transformation as a fact, rather than as an ideological position or value judgment.

“That country will have to learn, like every other South American state, that a republic cannot succeed till it contains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice and honor.”

Darwin’s observations of the political turmoil in Paraguay lead him to offer this paternalistic piece of advice. The suggestion that political freedom cannot exist until a population is “imbued” with the principles Darwin associates with European societies indicates Darwin’s belief in a hierarchy of human societies. The passage suggests that, despite his general support for Indigenous people, Darwin does not believe that the people of South America are sufficiently evolved to have earned political peace.

“Upon finding out we did not catch our animals with the lazo, they cried out, ‘Ah, then, you use nothing but the bolas.’ The idea of an enclosed country was quite new to them.”

This humorous anecdote highlights the cultural differences between Darwin and the Argentinian gauchos. The gauchos assume that all ranchers use lazos (lassos) and bolas in ranching, as these are the primary tools they use in their environment. Darwin’s use of the word “enclosed” hints at a different worldview, one in which land is divided and not available for ranchers to roam, while the gauchos’ surprise at this idea indicates their own cultural assumptions about land ownership and use.

“To admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct—to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and yet to call in some extraordinary agent and to marvel greatly when a species ceases to exist, appears to me much the same as to admit that sickness in the individual is the prelude to death—to feel no surprise at sickness—but when the sick man dies to wonder, and to believe that he died through violence.”

This passage represents a critique of catastrophism, the tendency to attribute extinction to extraordinary or violent events rather than the gradual processes of nature. Darwin analogizes attributing the extinction of species to sudden catastrophic events to believing that death only occurs through violence rather than accepting that it is a natural part of the human lifecycle. By connecting sickness and death to the concept of extinction, Darwin highlights the universality of natural processes.

“If I had space I could prove that South America was formerly here cut off by a strait, joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, like that of Magellan.”

This simple sentence demonstrates the enormous confidence Darwin has as a scientist and writer. Despite his young age, Darwin is engaging with the keenest intellectual minds of his time and is clearly aware of the importance of the journal he’s keeping. A less confident writer might try to demonstrate their prowess by providing an abundance of evidence; Darwin, however, simply states his theory as a fact, leaving more space for his observations of the natural world.

“Viewing such men, one can hardly make oneself believe that they are fellow-creatures, and inhabitants of the same world.”

This passage suggests that Darwin views the Fuegians, as “primitive” and “uncivilized,” even “subhuman,” due to their perceived lack of cultural and technological development. His incredulity that they are “fellow-creatures” emphasizes the vast difference in circumstance between the Fuegians and Europeans like himself, highlighting the cultural divide he sees between them. The passage reveals Darwin’s Eurocentric perspective of other cultures as “inferior.”

“In the southern provinces of France, magnificent forests, intwined by arborescent grasses and with the trees loaded with parasitical plants, would hide the face of the land. The puma and the jaguar would haunt the Pyrenees.”

Chapter 11 ends with an imaginative recapitulation in which Darwin transposes the climate, flora, and fauna of South America onto more familiar European landscapes. This passage represents a marked departure from the detailed geographical notes and environmental observations that comprise the rest of the chapter, suggesting that Darwin understands his audience’s desire to be transported by the text. By resituating unfamiliar species like orchids and pumas in familiar landscapes, Darwin makes the wonders of South America accessible for his European audiences.

“At night heavy rain set in, which was hardly sufficient to drive away from our tents the large circle of lookers on. An Indian family, who had come to trade in a canoe from Caylen, bivouacked near us. They had no shelter during the rain. In the morning I asked a young Indian, who was wet to the skin, how he had passed the night. He seemed perfectly content, and answered ‘Buy bien señor.’”

Darwin’s curiosity about the Indigenous people he encounters frequently—but not always—extends to empathy. Here, Darwin is obviously concerned about the Indigenous family’s lack of shelter, but not concerned enough to offer them shelter in his own tent. His tone actually suggests annoyance at the presence of people beyond their party. Darwin’s quick acceptance of the boy’s willingness to sleep outside may be an attempt to assuage his guilt at not sharing shelter.

“A bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations: the earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath our feet like a thin crust over a fluid; one second of time has created in the mind a strange idea of insecurity, which hours of reflection would not have produced.”

The violence of the earthquake Darwin witnesses at Concepcion powerfully moves him. The metaphor of a “thin crust over a fluid” reflects Darwin’s understanding of the Earth’s geography as constantly in flux and, in its evocation of precariousness, suggests how catastrophic natural phenomena can have a profound psychological impact. He suggests that such experiences can shake our fundamental assumptions about humanity’s place in the world, causing feelings of vulnerability and anxiety—much as Darwin’s writing itself would.

“The sound spoke eloquently to the geologist; the thousands and thousands of stones which, striking against each other, made the one dull uniform sound, were all hurrying in one direction. It was like thinking on time, where the minute that now glides past is irrevocable. So was it with these stones; the ocean is their eternity, and each note of that wild music told of one more step towards their destiny.”

Darwin is at his most eloquent when musing on Uniformitarianism and the Gradual Process of Geological Change. This description of the powers of erosion on the Chilean landscape impresses upon the reader the scale of the geological history Darwin is documenting. The metaphor likening the rushing waters to music emphasizes the connection between human and natural spheres of activity.

“My geological examination of the country generally created a good deal of surprise amongst the Chilenos. […] I found the most ready way of explaining my employment, was to ask them how it was that they themselves were not curious concerning earthquakes and volcanos? […] These bare questions at once satisfied and silenced the greater number; some, however (like a few in England who are a century behind hand), thought that all such inquiries were useless and impious; and that it was quite sufficient that God had thus made the mountains.”

This passage highlights the differences in attitudes toward science and curiosity between Darwin and the Chileans. The Chileans seem to be satisfied with the idea that the mountains and the earth were made by God and see no need to question or investigate beyond the mines. Darwin sees this attitude as hindering scientific progress and compares the Chileans to a previous generation of Englishman, implying that the Chileans are on average less “advanced” as a society.

“It is the circumstance that several of the islands possess their own species of the tortoise, mocking-thrush, finches, and numerous plants—these species having the same general habits, occupying analogous situations, and obviously filling the same place in the natural economy of this archipelago—that strikes me with wonder.”

The Galapagos Islands were a profoundly important site for the development of Darwin’s ideas about adaptation and natural selection. The observations he records here of different species occupying the same environmental roles on different islands lead him to believe that natural selection based on environmentally appropriate adaptations leads to the development of new species. This passage represents the earliest iteration of the ideas that would eventually underpin The Origin of Species.

“A white man bathing by the side of a Tahitian was like a plant bleached by the gardener’s art compared with a fine dark green one growing vigorously in the open fields. Most of the men are tattooed, and the ornaments follow the curvature of the body so gracefully that they have a very elegant effect. […] The simile may be a fanciful one, but I thought the body of a man thus ornamented was like the trunk of a noble tree embraced by a delicate creeper.”

Darwin’s descriptions of the people of Tahiti demonstrate how deeply environmental thinking has influenced his writing. The comparisons between European and Tahitian bodies and between humans and plants demonstrate the interconnectedness of living creatures in Darwin’s imagination. The fact that the Tahitians receive the more favorable comparison suggests Darwin’s growth as an empathetic narrator and the decline of his Eurocentrism.

“From the varying accounts which I had read before reaching these islands, I was very anxious to form, from my own observation, a judgement of their moral state; although such judgment would necessarily be very imperfect. First impressions at all times very much depend on one’s previously acquired ideas.”

Darwin acknowledges that his judgment of the Tahitians—and all Indigenous groups he encounters—will be imperfect, but he wants to rely on his own observations rather than the varying accounts he has read. Darwin’s emphasis on the importance of forming one’s own judgment reflects his scientific approach and commitment to empirical observation. Additionally, his recognition that first impressions are influenced by previously acquired ideas highlights his awareness of the importance of recognizing inherited biases.

“Besides these several evident causes of destruction, there appears to be some more mysterious agency generally at work. Wherever the European has trod, death seems to pursue the aboriginal. We may look to the wide extent of the Americas, Polynesia, the Cape of Good Hope, and Australia, and we find the same result.”

Darwin is deeply disturbed by the widespread deaths of Indigenous people on the islands of Tasmania and New Zealand and acknowledges European colonialism’s devastating impact on the human populations of the countries it exploits. The melancholy tone evident in this passage haunts the remainder of the text and offers an important counterbalance to Darwin’s otherwise upbeat conclusions about travel and cultural exchange.

“We feel surprise when travelers tell us of the vast dimensions of the Pyramids and other great ruins, but how utterly insignificant are the greatest of these, when compared to these mountains of stone accumulated by the agency of various minute and tender animals.”

Darwin’s descriptions of the coral formations that comprise the Keeling Islands (now known as the Cocos Islands) compare the majesty of human structures to the intricacies of the natural world and find the latter more impressive. The comparison suggests that the flora and fauna Darwin observes are as worthy (or more) of admiration and protection as human-made wonders like the Pyramids. Darwin’s observations of these coral structures were also essential to his understanding of how atolls formed, as described in The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs.

“And these deeds are done and palliated by men who profess to love their neighbors as themselves, who believe in God, and pray that His Will be done on Earth! It makes one’s blood boil, yet heart tremble, to think that we Englishmen and our American descendants, with their boastful cry of liberty, have been and are so guilty.”

This passage represents Darwin’s most fervent expression of disgust and disbelief at the fact that those who claim to be Christian practice slavery. He condemns the hypocrisy of people who claim to love their neighbors while simultaneously treating them as property. The phrase “palliated by men” suggests that there are those who try to justify or excuse the practice of slavery, which only adds to Darwin’s outrage. The contrast between the professed belief in a loving God and the inhumane treatment of fellow human beings highlights his understanding of the moral contradictions and conflicts underpinning the colonial project.

“Among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed in sublimity the primeval forests undefaced by the hand of man; whether those of Brazil, where the powers of Life are predominant, or those of Tierra del Fuego, where Death and decay prevail. Both are temples filled with the varied productions of the God of Nature:—no one can stand in these solitudes unmoved, and not feel that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body.”

This passage describes Darwin’s awe at the majesty of the untouched, ancient forests of Brazil and Tierra del Fuego. Despite their differences, Darwin views these forests as equally sacred places, evidence of the wild diversity of the natural world. The experience of standing within these forests fills Darwin with a sense of humility and reverence, leading him to believe that humans are more than just physical beings. This passage highlights Darwin’s deep appreciation for the natural world and his recognition of its power to inspire awe and wonder in humans.

“Africa, or North and South America, are well-sounding names, and easily pronounced; but it is not until having sailed for weeks along small portions of their shores, that one is thoroughly convinced what vast spaces on our immense world these names imply.”

Darwin reflects on the vastness of the world’s continents and how their names only give a small indication of their actual size. Darwin believes that it is only possible to understand the scale and significance of these regions by exploring them firsthand. Overall, Darwin’s reflection highlights the limits of language in conveying the true magnitude of the world.