The Beagle was a 242 ton, 10 gun, 90 ft long ship. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on May 11, 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames.
The Beagle set sail from Plymouth on May 22, 1826 on her first voyage, under the command of Captain Stokes. The mission was to accompany the larger ship HMS Adventure (380 tons) on a hydrographic survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego,
It's second voyage was Charles Darwin's famous 1831-36 voyage to the Pacific. Darwin took part in the expedition as a self-financing gentleman naturalist and companion to the captain. The Beagle departed from Devonport on December 27, 1831 with 74 on board.
Also on board was an English-born landscape artist Conrad Martens. Below is his painting of HMS Beagle in the seaways of Tierra del Fuego.
Darwin's father strongly opposed Charles going on the voyage as he felt his son's calling was to the Church.
Darwin paid his own way on the trip spending £500pa.
Charles Darwin had been told that the Beagle was expected to sail about the end of September 1831, but fitting out took longer. Repeated Westerly gales caused delays, and forced them to turn back after departing on 10th and 21st of December. Drunkenness at Christmas lost another day. Finally, on the morning of December 27th, the Beagle left its anchorage on the west side of Plymouth Sound.
Darwin was nearly rejected as ship's naturalist on the Beagle because of shape of his nose. The captain, Robert Fitzroy was not certain that anyone with such a broad, squat nose would have the character to survive such an arduous journey.
Darwin’s job as naturalist aboard the Beagle gave him the opportunity to observe the various geological formations found on different continents and islands along the way, as well as a huge variety of fossils and living organisms. In his geological observations, Darwin was most impressed with the effect that natural forces had on shaping the earth’s surface.
The Beagle set sail from Plymouth on May 22, 1826 on her first voyage, under the command of Captain Stokes. The mission was to accompany the larger ship HMS Adventure (380 tons) on a hydrographic survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego,
It's second voyage was Charles Darwin's famous 1831-36 voyage to the Pacific. Darwin took part in the expedition as a self-financing gentleman naturalist and companion to the captain. The Beagle departed from Devonport on December 27, 1831 with 74 on board.
Also on board was an English-born landscape artist Conrad Martens. Below is his painting of HMS Beagle in the seaways of Tierra del Fuego.
Darwin's father strongly opposed Charles going on the voyage as he felt his son's calling was to the Church.
Darwin paid his own way on the trip spending £500pa.
Charles Darwin had been told that the Beagle was expected to sail about the end of September 1831, but fitting out took longer. Repeated Westerly gales caused delays, and forced them to turn back after departing on 10th and 21st of December. Drunkenness at Christmas lost another day. Finally, on the morning of December 27th, the Beagle left its anchorage on the west side of Plymouth Sound.
Darwin was nearly rejected as ship's naturalist on the Beagle because of shape of his nose. The captain, Robert Fitzroy was not certain that anyone with such a broad, squat nose would have the character to survive such an arduous journey.
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| The Beagle replica in February 2016 |
Darwin’s job as naturalist aboard the Beagle gave him the opportunity to observe the various geological formations found on different continents and islands along the way, as well as a huge variety of fossils and living organisms. In his geological observations, Darwin was most impressed with the effect that natural forces had on shaping the earth’s surface.
The HMS Beagle reached the Galápagos Islands on September 15, 1835. The ship landed at Chatham or San Cristobal, the easternmost of the archipelago. Charles Darwin's observations of species of animals and plants (including the giant tortoises) on Galapagos Islands were different to everywhere else and even differed from island to island. The year he spent studying there suggested to him that animals and plants were not replicas created by a heavenly snap of fingers. Darwin's observations during the voyage led to his theory of modification of species.
After returning to England in 1836, Darwin began recording his ideas about changeability of species in his Notebooks on the Transmutation of Species. By 1838 he had arrived at a sketch of a theory of evolution through natural selection. For the next two decades he worked on his theory and other natural history projects. Darwin’s complete theory was published in 1859, in On the Origin of Species.
Robert Fitzroy became one of Darwin's fiercest critics on scriptural grounds. Tragically he later committed suicide for the part he believed he played in undermining the Bible.
Source Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia
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