-from David Pearson, Ecuador and its Galápagos Islands: The Ecotraveller's Wildlife Guide
         At the present time, it is impossible to discuss the Galápagos Islands without the image of Charles Darwin immediately coming to mind. Although he only stayed in the islands for a total of five weeks in 1835, his wonder at the immense variety of flora and fauna present provided for further reflection upon his return to England. When coupled with the ideas of Charles Lyell, Thomas Malthus, and Alfred Russel Wallace, the diversity of wildlife provided the perfect backdrop for the development of his idea of evolution by natural selection, which was published in 1859 in the famous work The Origin of Species. A source of both controversy and inspiration, The Origin of Species and Charles Darwin have since become household names, and the Galápagos Islands remain the source behind the processes involved in evolutionary theory.
         Although the Beagle is best remembered for its stop in the Galápagos, it took almost four years after leaving England for the ship to initially arrive in the islands. The primary purpose of the voyage was a surveying and mapping expedition for the British government, and among the stops of the vessel before reaching the Galápagos were in the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, the Falklands, and Tierra del Fuego. (For more on the earlier exploits of the Beagle, here are some links to The Voyage of the Beagle, as published from the notes of Darwin.) Continuing on their surveying mission, the vessel traveled up the Chilean coast to anchor off the coast of Peru. From this point, on September 7, 1835, the Beagle set sail for the Galápagos, reaching Chatham Island [San Crístobal] on 9/15.
         Like any present day visitor to the islands, the initial reaction of Darwin
was probably a mix of shock and wonder. After his return to England, Darwin stated, "one is astonished at the amount
of creative force, if such an expression may be used, displayed on these small, barren, and rocky islands, and still
more so, at its diverse yet analogous action on points so near each other." (Voyage 383) The tortoises were
obviously a source of amazement throughout his stay; he marvels at the weight of the animals, their (at that time)
abundance, and their feeding habits while hiking on Charles Island [Floreana]. Most importantly, however, it was the
ability of certain sailors to distinguish among the different island species based on the shell patterns of the reptiles
that was of influence later on in Darwin's theories.
         Throughout his notes and later writings, such a tone of amazement remains present.
He describes in his Diary the marine iguanas, which had been nicknamed "imps of darkness" by his fellow sailors.
The diversity of life is certainly manifest: whether botanical, terrestrial, avian, aquatic, or insectivorous, Darwin
took notes and collected specimens of many of the species present in islands. The tameness of the animals, especially
the birds, was also duly noted; it is interesting that over 150 years of visitors have passed with most of the animals
remaining unaffected by human presence. As it turned out, his most important observations were of the geological
formations and these avian residents.
         Darwin's descriptions of the geology of the Galápagos were also plentiful
in detail. Craters were present on Isabella, Floreana, and from a distance on Fernandina; he also described the various
lava forms as being of "smoother...subaqueous origin" (pahoehoe) or of a "rough and horrid aspect" (aa).
(Diary 337-8) While hiking on the island of Floreana, Darwin described an area which he compares to the
"the iron furnaces of Wolverhampton [England]", due to steam arising from the widespread fissures. (335-6)
While visiting Chatham Island [San Crístobal], Darwin examined the "soil" present, noting the sole residence of lizards
on such rocky terrain. Finally, the differences between the Galápagos formations and those in mainland Chile and Peru
were noted, a comparison that would later prove fruitful in the development of his ideas of speciation.
         Finally, Darwin's observations of both the mockingbirds and the finches proved
important in the later development of his theory of natural selection. After all, why were there four species of
mockingbirds spread throughout the islands; what role could each individual species serve, and why were each confined to
certain geographical locations? During his time on the Galápagos, these questions were too intriguing to let go, and Darwin
collected samples later analyzed by the noted ornithologist J. Gould. Darwin also proceded to collect finch species, and
Gould was later able to identify the 13 related species [Courtesy of the Interpretation Center,
San Crístobal, Gálapagos]. Ironically, the famous birds are never
mentioned in The Origin of Species, but their importance cannot be underestimated. Within the 13 species, the gradation
of the size of the beaks of the birds provided Darwin with evidence for multiple species descended from a single ancestor.
Later, the territorial uniqueness of the birds on certain islands brought forth the means for such speciation via geographical
separation and diversification. Certainly, the finches (and to a less common extent, the mockingbirds) remain the epitome
of Darwinian evolution.
(Side note: I have a distinct admiration for Charles Darwin, as only a handful of people would have been able to have the
observational skills to determine the importance of such ugly, gray little birds. They seemed to be a little less shy
than the other birds present, and although they were around quite a bit, they were rather unobtrusive. Like small
children, they also wouldn't sit still long enough for a decent photograph. :)
         After five weeks in the Galápagos, Darwin, FitzRoy, and the crew of the
Beagle departed from the enchanted islands, and arrived in Tahiti a few weeks later (November, 1835). After another
year with stops in New Zealand, Australia, Mauritius, and the Azores, "on the 2nd of October [1836] we made the shores
of England; and at Falmouth I left the Beagle, having lived on board the good little vessel nearly five years."
(Voyage 481) However, Charles Darwin's experiences during those five years would prove rather important, and his
forthcoming views would forever change the world.
         In the late 1830s, Darwin was surrounded by a number of British thinkers
who provided information to correspond with his raw data from the Beagle voyage. Charles Lyell was the most
important; Darwin had taken the first volume of his Principles of Geology along on his trip around the world.
In this work, Lyell outlined his uniformitarian beliefs, in that changes were brought about by slow, constant processes
over time. Based on this belief, the earth was much older than had originally been predicted (6000 years), and the same
forces present at that time could be applied to the world today. From his observations in the Galápagos, Darwin was able
to assert the validity of Lyell's theory and recognize the relative youth of the islands compared with mainland
South America; thus, the large variety of life present struck him as even more fascinating.
         After his return from the Beagle, Darwin began to read extensively
concerning domesticated plants and animals, and the ability of man to artificially select for or against certain
characteristics in the breeding of a population. However, his confusion regarding how nature could utilize a similar
means of selection was apparent until he decided to read the work Essay on the Principle of Population
by the economist Thomas Robert Malthus. In this essay, Malthus described that in the case of overpopulation, humans would struggle to survive based on a lack
of adequate food production. Thus, only those with certain characteristics (such as a reduced need for food) would
move on. Suddenly, the idea of the evolution of species began to make sense; only those that could survive under a
given set of conditions would produce offspring, while those that could not adapt would die out.
         In 1842, Darwin began to produce an abstract on the subject of natural
selection, and expanded the treatise to a manuscript of 230 pages in 1844. At this point in his career, though,
there is a gap; The Origin of Species was not published until 1859. Part of the reason was Darwin's illness,
which he had contracted during his worldwide travels. Additionally, his father passed away in 1847; partially out of grief
and partially due to physical weakness, Darwin retreated to an eight-year study of the Cirripedes, or barnacles. While many
would question the time spent on such a subject, the work is regarded today as a prominent manuscript in that particular
area of study, and the time lapse was used to regain his youthful strength and energy.
         "On occasion, and it was true of Darwin, a scientist concludes that
in order to present his new ideas for debate in the most effective manner it is necessary to undertake a sweeping
reconstruction of existing knowledge." (Ospovat 3) Thus, in 1854 Darwin began to prepare his manuscript on natural
selection via an extensive examination of his pre-existing collection of notes, including those on the Galápagos. At
this point, the importance of the islands came to light; in the descent of multiple species from a common ancestor, it
was necessary for each variety to become "adapted to many and highly diversified places in the economy of nature."
(Autobiography 72) Hence, the realization of the methodology of speciation of the finches became the classic
example of Darwinian evolution. Darwin was still preparing his manuscript in the summer of 1858, when he received
a copy of the essay On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type, which was
written by Alfred Russel Wallace from Malaysia. Essentially containing the same ideas that Darwin had begun formulating
twenty years before, Darwin rushed to joint-publish with Wallace in the Journal of the Proceedings of the
Linnean Society. Thirteen months later, The Origin of Species was published.
         Possibly the most controversial book ever published, all 1250 copies of the
first edition of The Origin of Species were sold on the very first day. In addition to the obvious conflict with
the direct account of creation in the book of Genesis, controversy surrounded the work's classification of humans as
animals subject to the same forces as the rest of the world's species. The increased role of chance in the development of
species also angered some, including men of science like Louis Agassiz, who maintained his criticism of Darwinism until
his death in 1873. The work was even controversial within Darwin's own family: his oldest daughter Henrietta threatened
on legal grounds to stop publication of the work, as it (supposedly) did not accurately reflect her father's views. Even
Robert FitzRoy could not agree with the evolutionary theories, and his inability to prevent Darwin from establishing such
a line of thinking may have led to his suicide in 1865. Despite the opposition, however, the treatise began to be embraced
by young professional scientists looking for not only a way to jump-start their careers, but also a way to distinguish
between the conflict between certain aspects of science and religion. In addition, the rational line of thought involved
began to appeal to a growing number of older scientists, and his fluid writing style made the book accessible for the
general public. Thus, the fame of Charles Darwin was assured, and his theory of evolution by natural selection began to
grow in popularity.
         Following the publication of The Origin of Species, Darwin continued
to write, with The Descent of Man arriving in 1871, The Expression of Emotions in Plants and Animals in 1872 and
his autobiography six years before his death in 1882. Of course, the controversy surrounding his theory of evolution by
natural selection did not recede; rather, as more people became aware of his writings, the more heightened the debate.
Fortunately, in the wake of religious conservatives and skeptics in the general population, there have been Darwin
supporters since his theories first came to light. As Darwin aged, Thomas Henry Huxley
(grandfather of the writer
Aldous Huxley and the Nobel prize winner Andrew Huxley) became known as "Darwin's bulldog" due to the vehemence with which
he argued in favor of Darwin's theories. In America, the botanist Asa Gray supported Darwin's later plant studies, and in
Germany, Ernst Haeckel not only devised the idea of evolutionary trees to represent the history of a given set of organisms,
but also attempted (although unsuccessfully) to fuse Darwinian evolution with religion and philosophy. Back in England,
Herbert Spencer coined the phrase "survival of the fittest", which, while initially scientific in origin, has since been
perverted by both social Darwinists and the Nazis in WWII Germany. However, the man who would produce the most important
evidence of in favor of Darwinian evolution happened to be an obscure Austrian monk working with peas around the same time
The Origin of Species was published.
         Beginning around 1900, the work of the genetics pioneer Gregor Mendel began to
be rediscovered, and through genetics the intricate, sub-cellular mechanisms behind evolutionary theory began to be
researched. As those intracellular mechanisms have been worked out, especially in dealing with allelic variation and
the chromosomal basis of heredity, the theories of Darwin have been given more credence. In recent times, Ernst Mayr
and Stephen Jay Gould
have continued to promote natural selection as fundamental to evolutionary development, the former
through synthesis of evolution and Mendelian genetics and the latter through his theory of punctuated equilibrium and the
popularization of science in the general public.
         Today, Charles Darwin is remembered throughout the Galápagos Islands: Charles
Darwin Avenue, Darwin Bay, Darwin Island, Charles Darwin Research Station, the bust of Charles Darwin on San Crístobal,
Darwin's finches. After all, it was the initial fame of Darwin and his voyage around the world that brought attention
to the islands, and with attention, tourist and money to the residents and the Ecuadorian government. It is interesting
to note that Darwin is honored in this manner, not necessarily as the originator of an evolutionary theory which contains
so much evidence present on, in, and around the islands. Ironically, 90% of the residents are Roman Catholic, and despite
the evidence around them, many still do not believe in the theory of natural selection that has made their islands so famous.
         "The voyage of the Beagle has been by far the most important event in my
life and has determined my whole career"; so says Darwin in his Autobiography. (76) Thus, his initial foray into
natural history resulted in the decisive event of his career, with the Galápagos greatly contributing to this
result. For university science students, Charles Darwin stands as a giant, along with the likes of Isaac Newton and
Albert Einstein, in shaping our intellectual beliefs and mode of thinking. Through his work, we have gained a further
appreciation of the Galapagos Islands scientifically, not just as a source of awe-inspiring geology and wonder-provoking
animals. In the words of Kurt Vonnegut, "Darwin did not change the islands, but only people's opinion of them."
The Charles Darwin Research Foundation
The Darwin-Wallace 1858 Evolution Paper, thanks to Drs.
Reveal, Bottino, and Delwiche
Darwin's Obituary, by T.H. Huxley
Darwin, Charles. Diary of the Voyage of the H.M.S. "Beagle". ed. Paul Barrett and R. B. Freeman. NYU Press: New York, 1987.
Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species. Random House, Inc.: New York, 1993.
Darwin, Charles. The Voyage of the Beagle. J.M. Dent & Sons: London, 1955.
Lack, David. Darwin's Finches. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1947.
Mayr, Ernst. One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought. Harvard University Press, 1993.
Ospovat, Dov. The Development of Darwin's Theory. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1981.
Pearson, David L. and Les Beletsky. The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide: Ecuador and its Galapagos Islands. Academic Press: San Diego, 2000.
Random House. Dictionary of Scientists. Random House: New York, 1997.
Roberts, David. History 174: Introduction to the History of Science. Lecture Notes, 2000.
Sullivan, Walter. "Introduction to The Voyage of the Beagle". Penguin Classics, 1989.
Treherne, J.E. Key Environments: Galapagos. Pergamon Press: Oxford, 1984.
Vonnegut, Kurt. Galapagos. Delta, 1999.
Map of the Voyage of the Beagle through the Galapagos
Courtesy of the Interpretation Center
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal, GalapagosDarwin's Early Career
From 1860 to the Present
Charles Darwin as an Elderly Man
Courtesy of the Interpretation Center
Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal, Galapagos
Links
Urbanowicz on Darwin by Dr. Charles F. Urbanowicz,
Professor of Anthropology at the University of California State, Chico
The C. Warren Irvin, Jr. Collection of
Charles Darwin and Darwiniana
The Darwin Page by Dr. Robert A. Hatch, University of
Florida
The Darwin Correspondence Project
On the Origin of Species
also On the Origin of Species
1st edition of On the Origin of Species
another copy of On the Origin of Species
The Voyage of the Beagle
also The Voyage of the Beagle
The Descent of Man
The Expression of Emotion in Plants and Animals
The Origins of Doubt and Rebirth of Praise, by Charles P. Henderson, Jr.
Darwin the Geologist, by Leo F. Laporte, University of California, Santa Cruz
Additional Reading
Questions, comments? E-mail me at hayeslip@wam.umd.edu.
© 2000