62 pages • 2-hour read
The Voyage of the Beagle
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Chapters 16-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 16 Summary
Darwin continues on an overland expedition across Chile to Copiapó, a town up the Chilean coast where he plans to rejoin the crew of the Beagle. The Chilean landscape is increasingly barren, and Darwin laments the lack of interesting flora and fauna for his records.
Because he cannot observe the habits of animals, he records a number of thoughts on the Chilean miners (apires) who work the coastal hills. He is surprised and critical that the miners quickly spend their money on alcohol and clothes, comparing them to reckless sailors. Darwin attributes this “extravagance” to the fact that they are not forced to provide for themselves; food and shelter are provided to both the sailors and the miners, so they easily give in to temptation.
The funeral practices of the Chilean miners also surprise Darwin. He observes a funeral procession in which the men carrying the corpse are running, passing the deceased to new groups along the route as the pallbearers grow tired. The funeral procession continues in this way until the point of burial.
Darwin is astonished by the mining conditions he encounters: The apires carry loads of up to 300 pounds up long, steep passages and are reportedly prohibited from resting along the way. Darwin is impressed by their strength—he himself cannot lift what is considered a light load—but clearly disturbed by the long-term effects of mining on the apires’ bodies.
At Coquimbo, Darwin records the presence of fossilized shells on the terraces that comprise the valley walls. He rejects the theory that these fossils were deposited on dry land, arguing that the fossils confirm Charles Lyell’s theory that this part of the continent was once underwater. Darwin suggests that water erosion and rising land masses have been slowly shaping the Chilean landscape.
The Beagle sets sail from Copiapó and anchors in Lima, Peru. Political turmoil in Peru prevents Darwin from exploring beyond the town’s borders, where he is largely critical of what he finds. Lima may have once been a powerful city, but Darwin is unimpressed by the filth and decay he sees.
Chapter 17 Summary
Arriving in the Galapagos Islands, Darwin is astonished to find that most of the living creatures he encounters are unique to their island or to the archipelago. What’s more, the related species he encounters on various islands differ in significant ways. He is also surprised by the number of new species he encounters, as well as the fact that new species can arise on an island. Darwin observes 26 species of bird unique to the archipelago. He devotes particular attention to the regions’ goldfinches: His observation of the diversity of beak size across the archipelago’s species makes him wonder if the birds share a common ancestor.
Darwin’s observations of two species of iguanas help clarify his arguments about adaptation based on environment. One species is entirely aquatic, and their adaptations reflect this: Their webbed feet, flattened tail, and strong legs help them swim between the islands of the archipelago, and their claws have adapted to handle the black lava rocks on which the iguanas sometimes rest. The second species of iguana lives exclusively on land and protects itself from predators and the sun by burying its body in shallow tunnels in the sand. These iguanas can survive long stretches without water and feed on the succulents that populate the island. Darwin also observes the iguanas climbing acacia trees in search of berries. The two species of iguana, though closely related, have each developed adaptations that allow them to thrive in their particular environment.
For Darwin, the most remarkable thing about the Galapagos is the diversity and specificity of the species that populate the islands. He is astonished to find not only that each island has its own unique species of finches, tortoises, and lizards, but that those unique species play similar ecological roles within their respective environments. Darwin ponders the astonishing “creative force” that animates the diversity of life in these islands.
Chapter 18 Summary
The HMS Beagle leaves the Galapagos Island and begins the 3,200-mile journey to Tahiti, a large island in the Pacific Ocean near Australia. Darwin and the crew disembark at Point Venus, a beautiful and lush city at the base of a mountain. Darwin is delighted by both the Tahitian landscape—which produces all kinds of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and trees—and the people of the island. He describes the Tahitian men as beautiful, writing that their intricate tattoos remind him of vines embracing a tree. They are skilled hunters and fishers, and Darwin compares their dexterity to that of amphibious animals. He is less complimentary of the Tahitian women, criticizing the way they cut their hair and calling them “inferior” to the men in every way.
Darwin is impressed by the extent to which the Tahitians have adopted European traditions. The crew of the Beagle trades extensively with the Tahitian people, who are more familiar with trading practices than other Indigenous people Darwin has encountered. He notes that some Tahitians have grown rich from their encounters with Europeans and often buy horses and boats costing up to $100. Darwin is also impressed by the Tahitian acceptance of Christianity, noting that the Tahitians strictly observe religious restrictions governing the Sabbath and prayer.
While in Tahiti, Darwin develops a taste for tropical fruit. He is especially fond of bananas, pineapples, and coconuts, and he records the rehydrating powers of coconut water. He observes Tahitian culinary practices, such as the roasting of meat and vegetables in banana leaf packets buried under hot coals. He is pleased to report that as a result of missionary activity, the Tahitians avoid alcohol.
In December 1835, the Beagle leaves Tahiti for New Zealand, which Darwin describes as very unpleasant. He remarks that the Indigenous New Zealanders are the “fiercest,” most “warlike” people he has encountered and shares examples of occasions in which misunderstandings led to murder. Darwin denigrates the tattoo traditions of New Zealand, comparing them negatively to those he saw in Tahiti. His criticism of the people of New Zealand is not limited to the Indigenous groups: He also criticizes the English residents of New Zealand, calling them the refuse of society. Darwin is glad to leave the country at the end of December and begin the new year in a more agreeable place.
Chapters 16-18 Analysis
Darwin’s descriptions of miners “leaning with their arms on the steps, their legs bowed, their muscles quivering” are designed to evoke shock and pity in the minds of European readers (318). Darwin himself certainly feels empathy for the unfair labor practices the miners experience. However, the use of animalistic imagery in describing the miners’ faces—“nostrils distended, the corners of their mouth forcibly drawn back” (318)—also reflects the imperialist worldview that allows mining companies to exploit Chilean miners.
Darwin also likens the people of Tahiti to animals, though in a more conscious and complimentary sense: The ease with which they move between land and water puts him in mind of amphibians that have adapted to both regions. In fact, Darwin’s experiences in Tahiti bring him to a place of true transcendence; his description of the Tahitians as recalling humanity in a “primeval land” is Edenic. In another passage, Darwin recounts meeting a Tahitian party on the beach at sunset. The description of children playing on the beach—backlit by “bonfires which illumined the placid sea and surrounding trees” and set to the “very pretty chorus” of local songs (375)—captures Darwin’s sensory delight. However, the final line of the passage suggests that even in these moments of joy, Darwin feels disconnected from the people he encounters; the scene makes him keenly aware of his position on a shore “in the far-famed South Sea” (375). The phrase “far-famed South Sea” (south of where?) suggests that his Eurocentric viewpoint has not totally faded, as does his approval of the Tahitian people’s adoption of Christianity and other European practices. That he cannot imagine any Tahitian “discontent” with the presence of missionaries likewise speaks to the assumptions with which he approaches Indigenous peoples.
Chapter 17 contains the most famous passages in the book, including the moment when Darwin first floats the idea of natural selection as the mechanism for the origin of species. His observations on the gradation of finch beaks in the Galapagos lead him to an exciting new conclusion: “[O]ne might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends” (352) The phrase “one might really fancy” suggests the novelty of this idea—Darwin understands that it sounds like a fantasy. This encounter with the finches is essential to Darwin’s later work on the Adaptation of Species to Their Environment, natural selection, and the origin of species.
Darwin’s nonchalant descriptions of eating tortoise and iguana are evidence of his continued growth as an explorer. The Charles Darwin of earlier chapters would likely have derided the local practice of eating amphibians; after five years with the Beagle, however, Darwin recognizes the significance of both fresh meat and accurate data. He explicitly praises the taste of roasted turtle meat and of turtle soup, and although he sarcastically claims that only people who have stomachs without “prejudices” enjoy iguana meat, the text suggests that he has had experience eating it.
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