by Ray Setterfield

December 27, 1831 — Royal Navy ship HMS Beagle set sail from England on this day on a five-year voyage of discovery to South America. The plan was to survey the coastline in detail and chart the harbours, enabling more detailed maps of the region.

But maps and charts were not the principal interest of one person on board. Charles Darwin had seized the chance of making the trip so that he could study the area’s animals, fossils, rocks and plants.

Darwin had been recommended for the post of naturalist on the voyage by one of his professors at Cambridge University. Taking full advantage of the opportunity he spent much of the trip on land collecting samples from regions including Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, as well as the Galápagos Islands.

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