Charles Darwin's HMS Beagle

1 Darwin’s cabin on the voyage

‘My cabin is the drawing one, & in the middle is a large table, over which we 2 sleep in hammocks, but for the first 2 months there will be no drawing to be done, so that it will be quite a luxurious room & good deal larger than the Captains cabin’ Darwin to his sister Susan, 17 September 1831

Reconstruction of Darwin’s cabin by the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge

Darwin’s cabin, roughly 10ft (3m) x 11ft (3.35m), was shared with naval officer, John Lort Stokes (during the day) and midshipman, Philip Gidley King. Space was limited; as well as housing hammocks, a set of drawers, a wash stand, bookcases, his microscope and a large drawing table, there was a small library, as FitzRoy had advised that there would be ‘plenty of room for books’

Before setting sail Darwin noted in his diary:

‘Went on board & returned in a panic on the old subject want of room, returned to the vessel with Cap FitzRoy, who is such an effectual & goodnatured contriver that the very drawers enlarge on his appearance & all difficulties smooth away.’

John Lort Stokes 1811-1885

When at sea Darwin spent most of the time working at the table or lying down on it, attempting to recover from his ongoing seasickness. Darwin’s cabin mate, John Stokes, wrote:

‘After, perhaps, an hour’s work he would say to me, ‘Old fellow, I must take the horizontal for it,’ that being the best relief position from ship motion; a stretch out on one side of the table for some time would enable him to resume his labours for a while, when he had again to lie down.’

Overhead view of the Poop cabin drawn by Philip Gidley King and annotated by Darwin

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More about Darwin’s cabin mates: John Lort Stokes, Philip Gidley King

More about Darwin’s microscope

2 Darwin and Captain Robert FitzRoy

‘The Captain continues steadily very kind & does everything in his power to assist me.— I never in my life met with a man who could endure nearly so great a share of fatigue.— He works incessantly, & when apparently not employed, he is thinking.’ Darwin to his father, Robert Darwin, 8 February–1 March, 1832

FitzRoy sought a ‘well educated and scientific person’ who was likewise a social peer and companion, for the second voyage of HMS Beagle. The opportunity came to Darwin after being declined by both Leonard Jenyns and John Stevens Henslow. Darwin liked FitzRoy on sight and considered him his ‘beau’ ideal of a captain. He wrote to his sister Caroline in 1831:

‘…if I believe all I hear the Captain is as perfect as nature can make him— It is ridiculous to see how popular he is, ladies can hardly splutter out big enough words to express their big feelings’

Robert FitzRoy 1805-1865 Robert FitzRoy (Fitzroy, Fitz-Roy) by London Stereoscopic & photographic Company albumen print on card mount, early-mid 1860s, NPG x128426
mw115429 © National Portrait Gallery, London CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Throughout the voyage Darwin and FitzRoy shared meals and conversation in the Captain’s cabin; both interested in, and respectful of, each other’s research. Darwin was not under FitzRoy’s command or discipline, perhaps enabling a closer relationship where confidences might be exchanged. After the voyage their friendship gradually soured. They disagreed over scientific research that had previously united them and FitzRoy could not support Darwin’s developing ideas due to his religious beliefs and conservative politics.

FitzRoy was a pioneering meteorologist, whose influence is still felt, but he is also remembered for his explosive temperament and bouts of melancholy, which Darwin had observed. FitzRoy committed suicide in 1865, thus realising Darwin’s fears expressed to his sister Susan in 1836:

‘He is an extra ordinary, but noble character, unfortunately however affected with strong peculiarities of temper. Of this, no man is more aware than himself, as he shows by his attempts to conquer them. I often doubt what will be his end, under many circumstances I am sure, it would be a brilliant one, under others I fear a very unhappy one.’

Looking for more on Robert Fitzroy?

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Recreate Darwin and FitzRoy’s first meeting, drawing on letters exchanged

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3 Improvements for the second voyage

‘She looks most beautiful, even a landsman must admire her. we all think her the most perfect vessel ever turned out of the Dock yard.— one thing is certain no vessel has been fitted out so expensively & with so much care.’ Darwin to Henslow, 15 November 1831

Robert Fitzroy’s captaincy of HMS Beagle for part of the ship’s first voyage, proved invaluable for recommending subsequent improvements before it set sail on its second. The ship was substantially rebuilt, strengthened and the bottom was re-coppered to make it more seaworthy. HMS Beagle was also one of the first to have a lightning conductor installed in the masts and spars.

One of two surviving marine chronometers from the Beagle voyage CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
© The Trustees of the British Museum

FitzRoy funded many of the changes himself, including raising the upper deck by 8 inches (20cm) aft and 12 inches (30cm) forward, which increased headroom and made the ship more stable. He installed 22 marine chronometers, used to measure time around the globe in relation to time at Greenwich, to determine longitude. The Admiralty bought five of the chronometers whilst FitzRoy paid for 17 at a cost of £300 each. FitzRoy also employed George James Stebbing (son of a mathematical instrument maker) to specifically maintain the chronometers and other navigational instruments, at a salary of £300.

FitzRoy insisted on carrying additional boats to speed up inshore surveying work. As a result, HMS Beagle was equipped with four whaleboats, a yawl, a dinghy and a cutter for the second voyage. One further cost to FitzRoy followed the Admiralty refusing his request to exchange the iron cannons on board for brass ones (to prevent them interfering with the navigational equipment). On reaching Rio de Janeiro, FitzRoy paid for them to be exchanged. The extensive costs for the refit of HMS Beagle amounted to only £220 less than the original construction cost (£7,308.00).

Looking for more on the design of HMS Beagle?

Design a cabin for the voyage

Darwin describes the ship to his sister, Susan

George Stebbing’s important role on board

4 Who was on board?

‘We all jog on very well together, there is no quarrelling on board, which is something to say:— The Captain keeps all smooth by rowing every one in turn, which of course he has as much right to do, as a gamekeeper to shoot Partridges on the first of September.’ Darwin writes to his sister Catherine, 20-9 July 1834

Syms Covington 1816-1861
© Merimbula-Imlay Historical Society Inc. Syms Covington from Ferguson, B. J. (compiler).
Syms Covington of Pambula, assistant to Charles Darwin on the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, 1831-1836.
Merimbula, N.S.W. The Society, 1988.
Second edition, revised and enlarged.

Many of the crew had served for at least part HMS Beagle’s first voyage (and went on to join the third voyage). Darwin found the gunroom officers to be a fine set of fellows.

Syms Covington

Initially ‘fiddler and boy to the poop cabin’, Syms Covington became Darwin’s servant and assistant, paid for by his father. Following Covington’s formal appointment Darwin wrote to his family: ‘I shall now make a fine collection, in birds and quadrupeds, which before took up far too much time’

Darwin taught Covington how to shoot and skin birds and to preserve and pack specimens. Covington accompanied Darwin and prepared food for him on expeditions throughout the voyage. He remained in Darwin’s employ until 1839 when he left for New South Wales, from where he continued to assist Darwin by sending specimens, including a box of barnacles in 1850, leading Darwin to remark:

‘I see that you are one of those very rare few who will work as hard for a friend when several thousand miles apart as when close at hand.’

Bartholomew James Sulivan 1810–1890 Sulivan, Henry Norton, ed. 1896.
Life and letters of the late Admiral Sir Bartholomew James Sulivan,
KCB, 1810–1890. London: John Murray.

Bartholomew Sulivan

Darwin’s closest friendship during the voyage was with Lieutenant Bartholomew Sulivan, whom he described as a real good rattling fellow. Sulivan had a good sense of humour and enjoyed practical jokes. He also spoke fluent Spanish, which helped ease communication. Darwin and Sulivan were most united by their love of natural history, with Sulivan assisting Darwin where possible on the voyage. As Sulivan’s naval career progressed he, like others, sent Darwin specimens from subsequent voyages. Sulivan was an integral part of the lifelong network formed by members of the crew (‘the Beagles’) and organised a reunion at Darwin’s home, Down House, in 1862.

Fuegian Hostages

All those on board HMS Beagle had a specific role except for three captive native Fuegian people who were being returned home. They had been taken hostage by Captain FitzRoy during the first Beagle voyage, following the theft of a small surveying boat. After capture, FitzRoy had decided to educate his hostages in England and to teach them Christian religion with a view to them becoming moral exemplars to their own people and useful interpreters for passing ships.

Four hostages were taken, Boat Memory (named by FitzRoy but whose actual name is not known) died from small pox shortly after reaching Plymouth. The three remaining young people, Orundellico (Jemmy Button), Yokcushlu (Fuegia Basket), and Elleparu (York Minster), had been taken to London where the boys were housed with FitzRoy and Yokcushlu with a local family. During their enforced time in England, they attended school, church and were introduced to selected members of society. They were returned to their homeland on HMS Beagle’s second voyage.

Orundellico (Jemmy Button) c. 1816-1864 CUL CCA.24.2
Jemmy Button in 1833 from 'Fuegians' in The narrative of the voyages of H.M. Ships Adventure and Beagle. Vol.2. FitzRoy, R. 1839. Proceedings of the second expedition, 1831-36. 'Fuegians' [plate] pp.324-325
Cambridge University Library

Elleparu (York Minster), c.1804-1873 CUL CCA.24.2
York Minster in 1832 from 'Fuegians' in The narrative of the voyages of H.M. Ships Adventure and Beagle. Vol.2. FitzRoy, R. 1839. Proceedings of the second expedition, 1831-36. 'Fuegians' [plate] pp.324-325 Cambridge University Library

Yokcushlu (Fuegia Basket), c.1820-1883 (or later) CUL CCA.24.2
Fuegia Basket 1833 from 'Fuegians' in The narrative of the voyages of H.M. Ships Adventure and Beagle. Vol.2. FitzRoy, R. 1839. Proceedings of the second expedition, 1831-36. 'Fuegians' [plate] pp.324-325
Cambridge University Library

Looking for more on who was on board?

More about the crew

Catching up with crew members

More about the life of Orundellico

More about the life of Elleparu

More about the life of Yokcushlu

5 Darwin’s collections from the voyage

‘Send home every scrap of Megatherium skull you can set your eyes upon.—& all fossils. Use your sweeping net well for I foresee that your minute insects will nearly all turn out new’ John Stevens Henslow to Darwin, 31 August 1833

Fragment of the cranium of Megatherium cuvieri Illustrated by G Scharf, Plate XXX The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Beagle, Part 1, Fossil Mammalia, Richard Owen, 1838-40

Being an independent traveller aboard HMS Beagle gave Darwin freedom to join and leave the ship as he pleased, but more importantly it meant that the specimen collections he amassed became his personal property, rather than being claimed by the Admiralty.

Darwin avidly collected rocks and fossils, insects, fish, animals and plants. He cluttered up the deck with his barrels and boxes, often storing items in whatever was available, (including pillboxes, used bottles and food barrels) and preserving them in vinegar or alcohol.

Darwin’s experience of fieldwork had been limited but his collecting and preserving skills developed over the course of the voyage. Henslow, initial recipient of all his specimens, suggested there was room for improvement in packing and labelling:

‘For goodness sake what is No. 223 it looks like the remains of an electric explosion, a mere mass of soot – something very curious I daresay’

However, he could not fail to be excited by all that Darwin sent:

Pillboxes used to store geology specimens

‘Every individual specimen once arrived here becomes an object of great interest, & tho’ you were to send home 10 times as much as you do, yet when you arrive you will often think & wish how you might & had have sent home 100 times as much!’

The specimens were sent to England via returning ships throughout the voyage. When Darwin returned in 1836, the importance of his collections had already made him a celebrity within scientific circles. Back in Cambridge he spent months sorting his specimens and sending them to experts around the world for identification and classification, thus creating a scientific network that was essential to his future life and work.

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Darwin describes his collecting - his mind is ‘a perfect hurricane of delight and astonishment’

Darwin frets about losing the labelling on megatherium bones

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6 Artists on board

‘…his landscapes are really good (compared with London men) though perhaps in figures he cannot equal Earle— He is very industrious— and gentlemanlike in his habits,—(not a small recommendation’ Captain FitzRoy describes Conrad Martens, the second ship’s artist, to Darwin

Ruins. North side of the harbour of Port Desire, Puerto Deseado, Argentina, 1833 Conrad Martens, Sketchbook III

As well as paying for many of the refurbishments to the ship, Captain FitzRoy arranged to pay for the passage of Augustus Earle, ship’s artist (though the admiralty paid for his rations). Earle was a keen traveller and had lived in South America. In 1832, he depicted a notable scene from HMS Beagle’s second voyage; the ritual celebrating crossing the equator.

Crossing the line, c.1839, Print for book illustration by Augustus Earle British Museum collection number: 1893, 0516.83
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Conrad Martens, ca. 1840 Painted by Maurice Felton
ML 28 Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

The line crossing ritual, complete with blindfolded crew, Neptune and novices (‘griffins’), involved the whole ship, including the captain. Darwin recorded in his diary:

‘— They then lathered my face & mouth with pitch and paint, & scraped some of it off with a piece of roughened iron hoop. —a signal being given I was tilted head over heels into the water, where two men received me & ducked me. —at last, glad enough, I escaped’

In 1833, when the ship reached Montevideo, Earle left the voyage due to ill health. Darwin befriended his replacement, Conrad Martens, a British born landscape painter who remained with the voyage until late 1834.

Chiloé, July 1834 Conrad Martens, Sketchbook I
Cambridge University Library

After leaving the voyage, Martens travelled on to Sydney where he settled and raised a family. Darwin contacted Martens in 1862 (the letter is missing) and Martens wrote back congratulating Darwin on the publication of On the Origin of Species but expressing his doubts:

‘I am afraid of your eloquence, and I don’t want to think I have an origin in common with toads and tadpoles, for if there is anything in human 〈n〉ature that I hate it is a toady, but of course I know nothing of the subject…’

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Martens remembers the ‘jolly cruize’ and prepares to send Darwin a sketch

Alison Pearn presents a short film of Marten’s sketches

Flip through Conrad Martens sketchbooks
Sketchbook III
Sketchbook I

7 Health and dangers of the voyage

‘In short I find a ship a very comfortable house, with everything you want, & if it was not for sea-sickness the whole world would be sailors.’Darwin writes to his father, 8 February -1 March 1832

Darwin was at sea for approximately 18 months of the five-year voyage and endured the misery of seasickness throughout. He wrote in his diary:

‘This morning a glorious fresh trade wind is driving us along; I call it glorious because others do; it is however bitter cruelty to call anything glorious that gives my stomach so much uneasiness. — Oh a ship is a true pandemonium, & the cawkers who are hammering away above my head veritable devils.’ Darwin’s diary, 13 February 1832.

The ship was lucky to avoid outbreaks of disease, perhaps due in part to the preventative supplies listed by FitzRoy in his account of the voyage:

‘various antiscorbutics—such as pickles, dried apples, and lemon juice—of the best quality, and in as great abundance as we could stow away; … and from the Medical Department we received an ample supply of antiseptics, and articles useful for preserving specimens of natural history.’

Some individual crew members did not survive; Midshipman Charles Musters, Seaman Morgan and Boy Jones died, possibly of yellow fever. FitzRoy’s personal clerk, Edward Hellyer, drowned whilst attempting to retrieve a bird he had shot. Purser George Rowlett, the oldest officer aboard at 38, is likely to have died from phthisis. Ill health caused other crew to leave the voyage but they were replaced as the voyage continued.

The volcano of Mt Osorno, Chile. Conrad Martens, Sketchbook I CUL Add. 7984
Cambridge University Library

In January 1835, whilst travelling along the coast of Chile, Darwin experienced the volcanic eruption of Mount Osorno. A month later, an associated earthquake and tidal waves followed. Darwin notes that he felt the shock of the quake in Valdivia (where he was based), but in Concepcion a vast number of mud and stone built properties were destroyed. He wrote:

‘The earthquake commenced at half-past eleven o'clock in the forenoon. If it had happened in the middle of the night, the greater number of the inhabitants (which in this one province amount to many thousands) must have perished, instead of less than a hundred: as it was, the invariable practice of running out of doors at the first trembling of the ground, alone saved them.’

In neighbouring Talcahuano, the situation was made worse by a series of tidal waves. Darwin remarked:

‘In Concepcion each house, or row of houses, stood by itself, a heap or line of ruins; but in Talcahuano, owing to the great wave, little more than one layer of bricks, tiles, and timber, with here and there part of a wall left standing, could be distinguished.’

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Captain FitzRoy’s health and an earthquake

Darwin’s family worry about his health and urge him to return

Studying the impact of earthquakes

8 Food on the voyage

‘The Beagle is in a state of wonderful bustle & confusion.—there is not a corner, even to the officers cabins where food is not stowed.’ Darwin to his sister Caroline, 24 October - 24 November, 1832

Darwin took most of his meals on board in Captain FitzRoy’s cabin. He was keen to convince his sister Susan that rumours about bad meals at sea were not true:

‘You shore-going people are lamentably mistaken, about the manner of living on board.— We have never yet (nor shall we) dined off salt meat.— Rice & Peas & Calavanses are excellent vegetables & with good bread, who could want more? Judge Alderson could not be more temperate, as nothing but water comes on the table.’

Food rations on ships in the first half of the nineteenth century were often better than what was available to labouring classes on land. Meals comprised of bread, meat, vegetables, cocoa and tea, with occasional flour, suet and oatmeal. It was in the interest of the Royal Navy to keep sailors nourished and fit to work. Grog (rum diluted with water) was also rationed, with varying degrees of success depending on the regime aboard. Captain FitzRoy took the health of his crew seriously and found ways to distract them at times when excessive drinking might ensue. On Christmas day in 1833 he organised an ‘Olympic games’ at Port Desire (now Puerto Deseardo), Patagonia, where, Darwin noted in his diary, The captain distributed prizes to the best runners, leapers and wrestlers. Darwin concluded that it was: Certainly a much better way of passing Christmas day than the usual one, of every seaman getting as drunk as he possibly can.

Rhea Darwinii Illustration by John Gould in Proceedings of Zoological Society, 1837, p.35

Whilst in Patagonia Darwin began searching for a rare bird, reportedly distinct from other rheas. He was informed of their abundance in an area one and a half degrees south of the Rio Negro. Conrad Martens, the ship’s artist, had recently shot a bird at Port Desire but it was only when they were enjoying their dinner that Darwin realised they were eating the bird that he had been searching for. He noted later in his Journal of Researches:

‘Fortunately the head, neck, legs, wings, many of the larger feathers, and a large part of the skin, had been preserved; and from these a very nearly perfect specimen has been put together, and is now exhibited in the museum of the Zoological Society.’

Whilst on the Galapagos Islands Darwin spent time watching giant tortoises making their slow, deliberate progress to springs to drink. Giant tortoises were a food source for locals and passing sailors. Darwin noted in his diary that numbers had dwindled compared to earlier accounts, but they were still a source of food for him:

‘During our residence of two days at the Hovels, we lived on the meat of the Tortoise fried in the transparent Oil which is procured from the fat…Young Tortoises make capital soup — otherwise the meat is but, to my taste, indifferent food.’

Giant tortoise, Galapagos Islands. Illustration by R. T. Pritchett in C. R. Darwin, Journal of Researches, p. 397. London: John Murray. 1890.

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Bartholomew Sulivan reminisces about a Christmas day lunch during the voyage

Darwin eats guanacos for Christmas lunch in Patagonia and prefers fossil bones to partridge hunting