Charles Darwin’s Galápagos Voyage and Theory of Evolution 

Charles Darwin’s Galapagos Voyage and Theory of Evolution. Posted by Ocean Generation.

A fresh breeze, the sounds of gulls calling, cold sea spray touching the cheeks, the slightest hint of rotten eggs in the air.

What was going through the mind of 26-year-old Charles Darwin on 15 September 1835, as he stood on the deck of HMS Beagle with the shapes of the Galápagos islands approaching? 

His letters home suggest two things. First, that he was homesick. Understandable after nearly four years away from England, which he had left at 22 years old – he truly was the pioneer of the gap year. He was also incredibly excited.

What Charles Darwin observed during his five week visit to the Galápagos would plant the seeds that would eventually grow into his Theory of Natural Selection 

In this article we will explore who Darwin was, how he came to be on the Galápagos, and the sparks of inspiration that he found there for his theory of evolution.  

Who was Charles Darwin? How did he end up on the Galápagos? 

Charles Darwin was nearly a little-known priest in Shropshire, in England. His father wanted Charles to get good employment, either following his footsteps to become a doctor or to become a man of the church. Aged 16, his father sent him to medical school in Edinburgh. His foray into the medical world was brief, however. After witnessing the brutality of surgery without anaesthetic (on a child), Charles knew he was not to be a doctor. He left the course after only two years.  

In those two years, Edinburgh did give him some important foundations; Darwin was taught geology, biological classification and taxidermy. He was also exposed to the radical ideas of the day. These denied the Divine design of humans and suggested that animals shared human mental abilities, like thinking, remembering or making decisions.  

Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle, posted by Ocean Generation
HMS Beagle image from The Popular Science Monthly, Volume 57

On leaving Edinburgh he went to Christs College, Cambridge University, to complete a degree and take holy orders – ministry beckoned. He breezed through the degree and enjoyed his time at Cambridge. He would go out drinking, shooting and beetle collecting. College folklore claims the sounds of his shotgun would ring out as he fired blanks to extinguish candles in his rooms. 

It was at Christs that he met Professor John Stevens Henslow. Professor Henslow encouraged discussion around natural philosophy and introduced Darwin to some of the greatest minds of the era.  

It was Professor Henslow who got Charles Darwin on the voyage to the Galápagos. The Professor had been approached to be a naturalist and gentleman companion to accompany Captain Robert FitzRoy on a ship called HMS Beagle. His wife was… unwilling to let him go, so he instead recommended his protege, Charles Darwin.  

What was the mission of the HMS Beagle? 

The Beagle was sent on a two-year mission to map South America. It ended up being a five-year circumnavigation of the globe. Captain FitzRoy had completed a similar mission the year previous, and had thought a ‘naturalist’ would benefit the scientific productivity of the voyage. Few could argue with the scientific output of the Beagle.  

It was the Ocean that really started Darwin’s thinking about evolution.

While at Edinburgh Charles Darwin would collect sea slugs and sea pens, and was mentored by Robert Grant, an expert on sponges who encouraged him to study marine invertebrates. He began exploring classification and gave talks on his findings at the university.  

The Ocean got Darwin thinking, posted by Ocean Generation.
Sea pen image via Britannica

Onboard the Beagle, he made himself a plankton net with which he drew up trawls full of Ocean life. He wrote, “Many of these creatures, so low in the scale of nature, are exquisite in their forms and rich colours. It creates a feeling of wonder that so much beauty should be apparently created for such little purpose”.  

If the accepted worldview of the time was correct, and God made everything for humankinds’ benefit, why do these tiny organisms exist out at sea where no one sees them? The Ocean was creating Darwin’s first glimmers of insight.  

What are the Galápagos Islands? 

About 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific, are a group of islands called Islas Encantas, or Enchanted Isles. They are better known as the Galápagos.

The initial descriptions of the islands are at odds with the image of “enchanted islands”. The first man to discover the Galapagos, Fray Tomás de Berlanga, speaks of the inhospitality and lack of water on the islands.  

Captain Fitzroy, leader of the expedition Charles Darwin was part of, describes the first viewing of the Galapagos: “Black, dismal-looking heaps of broken lava, a shore fit for pandemonium”. Darwin himself compares them to the iron-foundries of Staffordshire, or the furnaces of Wolverhampton. Hardly flattering for either party.

So, not a tropical paradise. 

The Galpagos Islands is a volcanic archipelago off the coast of Ecuador. Posted by Ocean Generation.

The word galápagos comes from the Spanish word for saddle, the shape of some of the shells of the most famous residents of the islands – tortoises.  

Darwin reported that locals could determine the island tortoise by the shape of its shell. The implications of this did not occur to Darwin until later.

Unfortunately for science, and the tortoises, they were an excellent food source for long voyages. The Beagle collected 50, none of which made it back to England.  Tortoises became extinct on the island of Floreana in the 1840s, just ten years after Charles Darwin’s visit. However, careful genetic analysis and targeted breeding has created the possibility of de-extinction (click here for more). 

The names of the islands and the tortoises immediately hint at the special nature of the Galápagos.

Galapagos means saddle in Spanish.

From their discovery, the Galápagos were renowned for their rich biodiversity. 

Whalers came to benefit off the many sperm whales that gathered there, and tales of the lizards that lived there reached across the globe. 

It is important to clarify that Darwin was not struck with a bolt of genius immediately on seeing the islands.  

He was inquisitive, curious and observant about the natural world. He saw many things in the Galápagos, and documented and collected evidence he would later use to build and justify his arguments for evolution. 

But what was Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution? 

Darwin’s thinking was radical at the time. He was opposing the accepted position that species were ‘fixed’ – unchanging. This was tied into the strong Christian influence of the time – God had created all life, and it hadn’t changed since – with humankind superior to all. 

His work was an attack on the accepted views of his time: that man was supreme by divine making, and the order of the world was fixed. 

Observing the animals of the Galápagos and beyond, Darwin’s theory of natural selection proposed that the natural world was ever-changing, evolving.  

Within this, the idea that species change over time. Further, he suggested a world in which animals were not below humans, but simply different, surviving using different strategies.  

Darwin himself recognised that his theories opposed widely held beliefs. He likened publishing his work to confessing a murder. 

What did Charles Darwin find on the Galápagos? 

Darwin was in the archipelago (an area that contains a group of islands) for five weeks. During that time, he explored the islands, at one stage camping for nine days with only a few others, and collected specimens.  

Birds, reptiles, plants and plankton were all stashed in crates on board the Beagle. He was intrigued by what he found, writing in his journal, “the natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well deserves attention.  

What’s the deal with Darwin and finches? 

If you have heard of Darwin, you have probably heard something about finches. He collected loads of finches from the Galápagos, and they became an iconic example of his theory of natural selection.  

The birds would even come to be named after the naturalist – Darwin’s finches. 

Darwin's finches are an iconic example of his theory of natural selection. Posted by Ocean Generation.
Drawing of the finches by John Gould, from “Voyage of the Beagle” , 1845

Far from being an example of his genius, the finches are an example of Darwin being human.  

He misidentified many of the finches he collected as blackbirds, wrens and “gross-bills”, and did not write down which bird came from which island. It was ornithologist John Gould of the Zoological Society of London who reported that this collection were all finches.  

After this realisation, Darwin looked again, and the differences in their beaks does lead him to commentone might really fancy… [that] one species had been taken and modified for different ends”. However, his poor documentation meant they could not be used as evidence in his work, and they do not appear in his book.  

Modern work has made the beaks of finches a poster child for natural selection. It was a clear visual example of the adaptions that can allow different animals to survive.  

On the Origin of Species: Darwin’s work, published 

Darwin held the Galápagos dear for the rest of his life. On The Origin of Species, his seminal work on natural selection, was not published until 1859, 23 years after returning to England.

The first sentence of the book affirms the importance of the voyage in developing his theory of evolution:  

When on board H.M.S. ‘Beagle,’ as naturalist, I was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of South America, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent. These facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species—that mystery of mysteries, as it has been called by one of our greatest philosophers.” 

In the interim, Darwin had been gathering evidence and forming arguments, bracing for the backlash and interrogation his theory would receive.  

On the Origin of Species, written by Charles Darwin is one of the most important scientific books.
Page from the 1859 Murray edition of the Origin of species by Charles Darwin.

How was Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution received?  

Darwin’s theories certainly made a splash.  

The book sold out the first edition before being released, and divided opinion.  

Predictably, the Church took a strong stance against it, along with some prominent scientists such as Darwin’s former Cambridge peer, Adam Sedgewick. International press put out cartoons and insults, often focused on the idea that humans descended from apes.  

But many scientists, especially geologists, supported Darwin’s work. Atheists were especially enthusiastic.  

Charles Darwin kept in close correspondence with supporters and opponents alike. Debate continued for decades after, until his theory was general accepted in the 1940s. 

The book went to six editions during Darwin’s lifetime and is now seen as one of the most important scientific books ever written.  

It fundamentally changed how people viewed the natural world and the place of humans within it; a lifetime’s work, from a man that explored and observed, inspired by the Ocean and the Galápagos.  

Quotes from Charles Darwin: Even the best scientists have bad days  

We can all relate to Darwin, on a very personal level, after reading some of his journal inserts and letters. Here are a few quotes that remind us even the brightest minds have down days:  

“But I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything.” – C. Darwin, letter to Charles Lyell 1861 

“I am rather low today about all my experiments, – everything has been going wrong” – Letter to W. D. Fox 1855 

“I beg a million pardons. Abuse me to any degree but forgive me- it is all an illusion (but almost excusable) about the Bees. I do so hope that you have not wasted any time for my stupid blunder. – I hate myself I hate clover & I hate Bees-” Letter to John Lubbock, 1862 

“I am very tired, very stomachy & hate nearly the whole world. so good night, & take care of your digestion which means Brain” – Letter to T. H. Huxley, 1860 


Thank you to Prof David Norman of Christ’s College for his time and writing. 

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What is the UN Ocean Decade: Everything you need to know

We’re halfway through the UN’s Decade of Ocean Science

2025 is the year NASAs Artemis III mission hopes to land the first people on the moon since 1972, we’ll welcome the year of the Snake in the Chinese New Year, there will be a total eclipse visible across some of North America, Greenland and Europe – and 2025 marks the halfway point in the Ocean Decade.  

What is the Ocean Decade? 

In 2017 the UN General Assembly announced something exciting. 2021- 2030 would be the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, or (much catchier) the Ocean Decade.  

Its vision is encapsulated in the phrase, ‘the science we need for the Ocean we want’. 

The science we need for the Ocean we want encapsulates the vision of the UN Ocean decade.

The aims of the Ocean Decade are;  

  • Stimulating Ocean science and knowledge generation 
  • Creating new opportunities for sustainable ecosystem development 
  • Accelerating the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Life Below Water which is all about conservation and sustainable use of the Ocean
  • Fostering international cooperation in Ocean science. 

That is a lot of long words to say, the goal of the Ocean Decade is to put the Ocean front and centre.

How is the Ocean Decade helping the Ocean? 

The UN has identified key Ocean Decade challenges and set targets to address them. 10 Ocean Challenges, aiming for 7 Outcomes of collective impact.  

The 10 key UN Ocean Decade Challenges, posted by Ocean Generation.

Here’s a simplified breakdown of the challenges (in reverse order just to keep you on your toes).  

Challenge 10: Restore society’s relationship with the Ocean
Challenge 9: Skills, knowledge, technology and participation for all 
As the great Jacques Cousteau said, “people protect what they love”. Restoring a link between people and the Ocean, instilling stewardship through education, is key to improving its health.  

Challenge 8: Create a digital representation of the Ocean 
Challenge 7: Sustainably develop the Global Ocean Observing System  
7 and 8 offer how to deepen that knowledge of the Ocean and use technology to further it and share it. Making models, exploring further and don’t forget to tell everyone about it. 

Challenge 6: Increase coastal resilience to Ocean and coastal risks
Challenge 5: Unlock Ocean-based solutions on climate change 
We can enlist the Ocean as an ally. It already absorbs up to 89% of our excess heat and has taken up 40% of carbon dioxide emitted. However, intensification of storms and rising sea levels threaten communities closest to the sea. Challenges 5 and 6 look at the practicalities of our relationship with the Ocean. 

The goal of the UN Ocean Decade is to put the Ocean front and centre.

Challenge 4: Develop a sustainable, resilient and equitable Ocean economy
Challenge 3: Sustainably nourish the global population 
Beyond that, our Ocean can be a cornucopia, providing food and resources. To ensure it is, these two aim to tackle the management and guidance needed to avoid a harmful relationship with the Ocean and benefit everyone. 

Challenge 2: Protect and restore ecosystems and biodiversity
Challenge 1: Understand and beat marine pollution 
Finally, Ocean Decade challenges 1 and 2 aim to protect and restore. Undo the harm that has been done to our Ocean, and tackle how it is still being damaged.  

For a healthy planet, we need a healthy Ocean. 

These challenges cover the full range, from prompting a sense of responsibility in people to tackling the specific threats.  

The goal is simple – nurture an Ocean that is healthy, resilient, clean, productive and safe, but also predictable, accessible and inspiring. These are the outcomes the Ocean Decade targets. (Read: Why is the Ocean so important?

For a healthy planet, we need a healthy Ocean. Posted by Ocean Generation.

We are all part of the Ocean Decade 

Ocean Generation’s mission is to bring the Ocean to everyone, everywhere.  

We translate complex Ocean science into engaging content and run three youth engagement programmes for 3 – 25-year-olds. Our Ocean Intelligence approach is endorsed by UNESCO as an Ocean Decade Project; making us part of Ocean Decades solutions.  (Which challenge are we meeting?).

Look through the challenges, see if you can engage with any.

UN Ocean Decade: First look complete 

Over the coming year, we’ll check in with the Ocean Decade. We will explore the plans it has, discover how it ties in with the different elements of the work we do, and summarise the progress it has made in a final check up at the end of the year.  

We are all part of the UN Ocean Decade.

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We asked artists to showcase imperfect environmentalism

Peaceful man in the forest, surrounded by trees. Image via Ocean Generation in an article about imperfect environmentalism.

What does imperfect environmentalism look like to you?

At Ocean Generation, we recognise that the world doesn’t need a handful of perfect environmentalists. Our Ocean – our planet – needs millions of imperfect people, taking daily action, learning as they go and always striving to do better.  

Hands holding up the planet carefully shared by Ocean Generation: an Ocean conservation charity in the UK.

We set a creative challenge for university students: Create something that embodies imperfect environmentalism.

It was April 2024 and our Youth Engagement Lead, Gemma, was in Bournemouth, UK to launch an exciting project with the AUB Futures Team at the Arts University Bournemouth.  

First, she delivered a bespoke Wavemaker workshop to the students. 

Building an Ocean Intelligent Creative Business or Practice” was specifically aimed at the array of emerging artists studying at AUB. Focusing on case studies of visual and performing artists who have responded to the threats facing our Ocean through creativity, we then set the students a challenge. 

The brief: Create artwork that highlights what “imperfect environmentalism” means to you. 

We had submissions from a wide variety of artists. Painters, photographers and others working with textiles and illustration.  

A panel of judges from Ocean Generation and AUB decided on an overall winner – the artist who responded to the brief most effectively. But we were so impressed with the submissions that we wanted to offer some of them other opportunities as well.  

Woman presenting an Ocean education workshop to classroom of students. Image by Ocean Generation. Image by Olivia Herring
Wavemaker workshop being delivered. Image by Olivia Herring

Here’s the winning art, and the artists behind it:

From fashion to an entire illustrated storybook and thought-provoking posters, here’s a look at some of the submissions we received. 

1. A costume made entirely of discarded plastic. 

Our overall winner was Beverley Baker, who created a beautiful costume to raise awareness about pollution in our Ocean. We had a little chat with Beverley about her work and how she was inspired to create this design of the AUB Green Futures Live Brief.   

Fashion student created 
a mermaid creature 
costume from 
trash to raise 
awareness 
about pollution 
in our Ocean. Shared by Ocean Generation charity.

Beverley, who are you and what are you studying? 

Beverley: I’m a multi-disciplined artist creating between Somerset and Arts University Bournemouth where I’ve just completed my second year studying Performance Design and Film Costume.  

I am exploring costume and set design for film and theatre and I also keep up my fine art practice alongside my studies, enjoying primarily self-portraiture as well as traditional painting and drawing in a mixed media style. I’m passionate about details and colour, utilising colour theory to tell stories. 

Do you remember the first time you saw the Ocean? 

Beverly: I don’t remember the first time, probably because in Somerset, UK where I grew up I was relatively close to the coast so lucky enough to see the Ocean often.  

My family and I would visit places like Lyme Regis, Kilve, Weston-Super-Mare, Burnham-on-Sea and Brean, all beautiful beaches of the South West of England.

As a child the Ocean felt magical, it seemed like it went on forever and made me feel I was the only one in the world just for a second – the coast felt made-up, like I’d just walked into a book.

Mermaid creature 
costume from 
pollution to raise 
awareness 
about pollution 
in our Ocean. Shared by Ocean Generation charity.

What inspired you to create this piece for the AUB Green Futures Brief with Ocean Generation? 

Beverly: Alongside 7 team members for the second project of second year, our group was briefed by SISATA, an outdoor theatre company, to create a ‘Mercreature’ costume each for a touring production of Peter Pan twisted to fit the folklore of Portland, Dorset.   

Inspired by oil spills and the presence of micro-plastics in our seas, my costume loosely takes the shape of the ‘Veasta’, a half fish half seahorse creature that is said to lurk off the coasts of Dorset.

A visit to Portland influenced the textures and techniques I used, incorporating 15 techniques: free machine embroidery, hand embroidery, tie-dye, dip-dye, applique, reverse applique, trapunto, form-fixing, finger knitting, puff binder, foiling, batik, heat gun, eyeleting and hand painting. 

What is the number one thing you wish everyone knew about the Ocean? 

Beverly: Less than 5% of the world’s Ocean is protected which needs drastic change right now; many human-made problems have impacted the Ocean including coral reef bleaching, oil spills and plastic pollution. I think many people are unaware of the impact of the fishing industry; discarded fishing gear makes up a significant proportion of Ocean pollution

Find out more about Beverley’s work here.  

Watch: How we bring our Ocean education workshops to students, during design challenges like these 

YouTube player

2. An illustrated storybook teaching children about the importance of the Ocean. 

One of the submissions to the AUB Green Futures Brief really felt like it had a story to tell, and so we asked Dala to work with us on generating a Wavemaker Story about his submission.  

Empowered by our Wavemaker Workshop, Dala illustrated a storybook about how our actions can change the world. Dala’s story, written for children, explores the moment when someone comes along and says ‘Hey, this isn’t right. We need to do better.’ 

Read Dala’s Wavemaker Story and download the book here.   

Noah finds a forest in the sea is an illustrated storybook for children about plastic pollution. Shared as A Wavemaker Story by Ocean Generation

3. Two impactful posters, now incorporated into our workshops, will go on to educate hundreds of young people 

Finally, we had a very interesting submission that we decided to do something a little different with.  

Lucy Coble (they/them) is a non-binary designer and illustrator based in Bournemouth, UK. They are passionate about creating work that leaves a lasting impression, and love to work with like-minded creatives. Lucy’s interests lie in LGBTQIA+ advocacy, advertisement work and illustration aimed at a young adult audience. They have worked with clients such as Scribbler UK, the Plum Agency and many other independent projects. 

For this brief, Lucy submitted two illustrations:  a pair of hermit crabs using mismatched items as shells – one a soda can and the other a teapot.  

These designs were centred around the idea of taking the initiative in recycling and reusing items we might consider waste – actively taking responsibility for recycling, reusing and re-loving old items is essential for helping the Ocean heal. 

Through their work, Lucy asks us to consider charity shops and donation bins. The idea for these images came to them during their own house move last year, where they spent an entire day back and forth on the bus with bags and bags of clothes to donate that simply didn’t fit or that they’d never worn. 

So much of our waste is items that could have been recycled or perfectly good stuff someone else might have loved!”  

Lucy’s work will now be used as a case study of how to create a great visual campaign in our visual arts and “How to be an Ocean Storyteller” Wavemaker Workshops.  

Find out more about Lucy and their work here.   

Book Ocean Generation to deliver a project like this  

We offer live briefs in various creative pursuits across the UK, from illustration to theatre and filmmaking to game design.

If you are interested in bringing an experience like this one to your college, university or youth group, please get in touch here.

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