The barque HMS Beagle, built around 1817, was armed at first with 8 guns and subsequently equipped for scientific observations. On board for his expedition to the Galapagos, Charles Darwin wrote an important page for the history of science and of modern thought
In June 1831, the HMS Beagle, under the command of Commander Robert Fitzroy, set sail from England on a 4 year surveying mission (Fitzroy was promoted to Captain during the cruise). Fitzroy had decided to take along some one who would "profit from the opportunity of visiting different countries yet little known." The person who took up this unpaid position was 22 year-old Charles Darwin. After three years of surveying the South American coast, the HMS Beagle reached San Cristobal in the Galapagos in September 1835 and spent 5 weeks carefully charting the archipelago. Fitzroy's resulting chart was remarkably accurate and remained in use until the USS Bowditch resurveyed the area in 1942.
As we know, Darwin made careful observations about both the geology and biology of the islands and was particularly struck by the"differences between the inhabitants of the different islands". His resulting theory of evolution changed the way we understood our world.