When the eminent naturalist Charles Darwin returned from South America on board the HMS Beagle in 1836, he brought with him the notes and evidence which would form the basis of his landmark theory of evolution of species by a process of natural selection. This theory, published as The Origin of Species in 1859, sparked a fierce scientific, religious, and philosophical debate which continues heatedly today. This seminal work is presented with The Voyage of the Beagle, a vivid travel memoir as well as a detailed scientific field journal. Ordered by place, covering area from Northern Chile to Australia to Cape Verde Islands, this text contains hints of the theories that were later developed in The Origin of Species.