Charles Darwin's Journey

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Television series
German title Charles Darwin's Journey
Original title The Voyage of Charles Darwin
Country of production United Kingdom and Germany
original language English
year 1978
length each approx. 57 minutes
Episodes 7th
genre History , drama
Director Martyn Friend
music Wilfred Josephs
First broadcast October 31 - December 12, 1978 (Great Britain) on BBC2
German-language
first broadcast		 July 9, 1979 on ARD
occupation

Charles Darwin's Journey is a BBC-produced television series that first aired on October 31, 1978 and broadcast in the UK and Germany. It describes the life of the great scientist and researcher, but above all (episodes 2–6) his great journey around the world from 1831 to 1836 with the survey ship HMS Beagle . The series, written by Robert Reid, adheres closely to historical facts and was filmed with great effort on the original locations. The barque '' Marques '', built in Valencia in 1917 and registered in Great Britain, acted as the '' Beagle '' in the series.

Episode guide

Part 1 (I Was Considered a Very Ordinary Boy) (1825–1831)

The 16-year-old Charles Darwin and his two sisters grow up in Mount near Shrewsbury with his father Robert Darwin, who runs a successful medical practice there. At his father's request, he begins to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh , but quickly realizes that this is not for him: When he is supposed to observe a surgical operation for the first time, the young Charles fled, covered in sweat.

In the summer he visits his uncle Josiah Wedgwood, son of the famous pottery entrepreneur Josiah Wedgewood and a highly respected member of parliament, and his wife and daughters at Maer Hall in Staffordshire , and in January 1828, on his father's suggestion, he begins to study theology at Christ's College , Cambridge .

Around this time - in December 1828 - Lieutenant Robert FitzRoy, who was three years older than him, took over his first command on board the British survey ship HMS Beagle off Tierra del Fuego , as its captain Pringle Stokes had committed suicide. As part of a punitive action, three natives of the Yámana tribe are taken hostage, and FitzRoy decides to take them to England to turn them into `` civilized Christians ''. He personally teaches the most intelligent of the three, who is given the English name Jemmy Button, the English language.

Meanwhile, Darwin spent three years in Cambridge devoting himself more to beetle hunting than his studies, attending only a few compulsory lectures. In his first summer semester, his friend Fox took him to the Botanical Garden, where he heard Professor Henslow, a clergyman and botanist, give a lecture. Henslow, who notices that Darwin's enthusiasm for science is considerably stronger than that for theology, turns to the young man and from now on the two meet for walks together almost every day.

In the summer of 1831, the HMS Beagle was overhauled in Devonport before she was to set out on a second voyage under FitzRoy's command to South America to complete the survey work in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, to map the coasts of Chile and Peru, and to take chronological measurements around the world perform. Prof. Henslow recommends Darwin as the ideal naturalist for this three-year expedition because of his ability to collect, observe and describe. Darwin's father is initially against it, but Uncle "Joshua" Josiah Wedgwood eventually manages to change his mind and he pays the cost of about £ 500 for his son's trip. The conservative FitzRoy is initially skeptical about Darwin's lack of experience, but finally, thanks to Henslow's intercession, decides for him.

With the three natives trained at FitzRoy's expense, who are supposed to found a Christian colony in Tierra del Fuego, and a set of excellent chronometers on board, the voyage is to begin at the end of 1831. FitzRoy gives Darwin the just published Principles of Geology by Charles Lyell before he leaves. The day before departure, Darwin had severe heart problems, but decided not to tell anyone about it so as not to endanger his journey.

On December 27, 1831, the Beagle and her crew of 70 lifted anchor and set sail. Darwin later recalls, "The Beagle's journey would be by far the most important event in my life and affect my entire future."

Part 2 (My Mind Was a Chaos of Delight) (1831–1832)

Darwin suffers badly from seasickness, and the not only very correct but sometimes extremely moody Fitzroy slows down the journey a little so that he can relax. When Darwin shortly thereafter found volcanic dust on deck, he decides in topgallants - Stag of the foremast to collect a larger sample of it to clarify its origin and wins by this climbing action the respect Fitzroy and crew. Under the microscope , he discovers dozens of organic life forms, which, due to the prevailing winds, probably originate from South America. Fitzroy places the young Covington as Darwin's assistant, and on the occasion of his first crossing of the equator, the naturalist has to endure the traditional ritual of “ Neptune's baptism ” .

On February 20, 1832, the Beagle reached San Salvador , which had been the capital of Brazil until 1763, and where Darwin, the expedition painter Augustus Earle and Lieutenant Wickham found themselves in the midst of the carnival hustle and bustle. Darwin explores the Brazilian rainforest with Covington and is enthusiastic about the lush exotic flora and fauna , which he meticulously observes, as he learned in Cambridge. In retrospect, he sees the beginning of his career as a scientist there. He watches coatis foraging , and the mysterious lack of large mammals in South America preoccupied him for many months.

In March the Beagle sails south along the Brazilian coast, and Darwin turns his attention to marine animals such as B. the porcupine fish . After two weeks of surveying the coast, FitzRoy sets course for Rio de Janeiro , where Darwin is initially fascinated by the enormous geological formations. Since Lt. Wickham will be repairing the ship for a month, Darwin roams the countryside with Covington, collecting numerous plants and insects, observing leaf cutter ants , tarantulas , frogs and catching butterflies.

When FitzRoy discovers discrepancies between his and previous French measurements, he decides to sail back towards San Salvador. So that Darwin can continue his research on land during the correction measurements, he introduces him to the Scottish plantation owner Patrick Lennon, who owns a large estate 100 miles inland. Darwin and Lennon ride to his country estate with Earle and Covington. On the way, Darwin observes the apparently highly organized wandering ants and is fascinated by the mutability of caterpillars. A parasitic wasp that lays its eggs on a paralyzed spider and uses them as a source of food for its offspring prompts him to say: "The extent of cruelty is a factor that nature seems to take no notice of." Four-day trip and after arriving at Lennon's estate, Darwin has repeatedly shown himself to be a critic of both the British class system and slavery in Brazil - much to Lennon's annoyance. And back on the ship he got into a heated argument with Fitzroy about the subject, but this was soon forgotten, because after going ashore, some of the men fell ill with a fever, and by May 19, 1832 three of them, including the young Muster, that FitzRoy was particularly fond of, the lake.

Part 3 (How Wide Was the Distance Between Savage and Civilized Man) (1832–1834)

On September 22, 1832, Darwin and Covington explored the then completely uninhabited Argentine coast near Punta Alta , about 300 miles south of the Río de la Plata . They observe a colony of sea ​​lions and examine the shell layer of a coastal waste, discovering the fossils of a megatherium (a long-extinct giant sloth ), a toxodon and a type of giant armadillo within a radius of just 200 meters . Darwin wonders why these huge animals all died out to be replaced by so much smaller ones, and how many millennia ago that might have been. FitzRoy objects that Archbishop Ussher dated creation to the year 4004 BC. BC, and while Darwin suspects a change in climate or vegetation for the extinction, the captain is convinced that the giant animals would not have survived the flood . He reminds Darwin of his theology studies, but Darwin now not only doubts Ussher's dating of creation, but also that he would make a good clergyman.

In December 1832, the Beagle was caught in a severe storm off Cape Horn and Darwin was again plagued by seasickness. Only after 24 days of fighting the sea does FitzRoy give up the attempt to circumnavigate the cape and look for the passage further north in the Beagle Channel . Now the three Tierra del Fuego from the Yámana tribe, who FitzRoy had taken to England, are to be brought back ashore in the company of the young Reverend Richard Matthews in order to found a Christian mission. While the painter Earle - who already got to know the Maoris of New Zealand - thinks that the natives should be protected from the mysteries of divine salvation and better taught practical things that make their lives easier, the pious FitzRoy sees himself responsible for this experiment. At Christmas, Matthews and the three Yámana - Jemmy Button, York Minster, and Fuegia Basket - are brought ashore and camp is set up under the protection of Marines. The natives pouring in at once pounce on the presents, but Jemmy Button is ashamed of his "dirty, wild" compatriots, and when he meets his brother, he addresses him first in English and then in Spanish. Darwin regrets Jemmy, who has apparently forgotten his mother tongue, and is shocked by the deep gulf between savages and civilized people. The three Yámana remind him of injured animals that have been tamed and nursed back to health, but have got used to captivity and have lost the instinct to survive in the wild. The Reverend Matthews argues against it with the soul of man, which distinguishes it from the animals, whereas the officers Wickham and Sulivan in turn object to cannibalism and the brutality of the natives, and Sulivan even bets a sovereign on it : “Matthews comes in the soup pot before the next Tuesday."

The crew set out again to measure the western arm of the Beagle Channel. Darwin is impressed by the inhospitable landscape, of rock, ice and snow as well as the huge glaciers, and FitzRoy then decides to name the highest mountain in the area "Mount Darwin" . Before winter sets in, the ship returns to Wulaia, as FitzRoy promised Matthews, but there they find the young Reverend utterly exhausted, and he and Jemmy Button report that the Yámana attacked them and stole everything from them. The mission experiment has failed, but while Matthews is happy to be able to return to the '' Beagle '', Jemmy - despite FitzRoy's offer to come along - wants to stay in his home. The captain promises to come back the following summer. Since FitzRoy is not yet satisfied with the records of the coast of Argentina, the '' Beagle '' returns to the Atlantic again, and Darwin, like everyone on board, must expect that it will be five long years before he sees his family again .

At home in England, Darwin's father is not so worried about his son's repeated inquiries by letter for more money, but because, in his opinion, he has hardly any scientific results. Josiah Wedgwood strongly contradicts this, who says that Prof. Henslow considers some of the samples that Darwin sent him to Cambridge to be unique and that the scientific world is enormously impressed.

In February 1834 the Beagle sails back to Tierra del Fuego - a year after the first visit. At first there is no sign of life from the three Yámana, and the camp is deserted. Just as FitzRoy is about to set sail again, a canoe appears in which Jemmy Button paddles up with a woman next to him. He lives like his ancestors again, brings presents for FitzRoy, Darwin and also for his teacher in England, and then rowed away with his wife again. FitzRoy is disappointed, but still hopes that “a seed has been sown”.

4th part (Can Any Mountains, Any Continent, Withstand Such Waste?) (1834)

In April 1834, FitzRoy tried to reach the Andes by taking a boat up the Río Santa Cruz in southern Argentina, but the operation failed. In the meantime, Lt. Wickham beached the Beagle sideways and repaired it, and Darwin found beach pebbles in the Andean foothills 200 miles from the coast. While Darwin believes that the Patagonian plain was once covered by the sea, FitzRoy is again guessing a flood disaster. Darwin, on the other hand, argues that the 40 days of the biblical flood, not even 400 days, would be enough to grind pebbles so round, and also points out to the captain that it is impossible to work on an ark of 300 by 50 cubits like the one in the Bible is described to accommodate two copies of each of the millions of animal species on earth, whereupon FitzRoy accuses him of blasphemy.

Not satisfied with the coast's records, the captain wants to sail north to the Río de la Plata again. He wants to buy a second ship, the Adventure , with his own money in Buenos Aires for the measurements and suggests that Darwin put him ashore at the mouth of the Río Negro the following day so that he can roam the pampas to Buenos Aires. He arranges for him the English trader Harris, who accompanies Darwin together with a few gauchos to General Rosas' camp on the Río Colorado , since the pampas are full of dangerous Indians .

One of the few animals that Darwin can observe in the pampas are the rheas, or “South American ostriches” as he incorrectly calls them, and whose breeding behavior he studies. On the other hand, he observes the guanacos , llamas living in the wild, by arousing their curiosity with strange poses - as was recommended to him.

After three days, the group reached Rosas 'camp, where Darwin's secretary, who thought he was a spy, had to show his documents in order to be allowed to ride through the pampas to Buenos Aires, while Rosas' arrogant court jester Octavio tried to scare him to hunt both from Rosas and the Indians. The next day, General Rosas, the future dictator of Argentina, whose ultimate goal is to kill as many Indians as possible, provides Darwin with a guide and escort and invites him to come back in three years if the country like he says to be “Indian free” and will belong to the gauchos. Darwin asks himself: "What good is civilization if it is enforced against all moral concepts?"

Arrived in Buenos Aires, Darwin goes back on board the Beagle , where he learns that the painter Augustus Earle will be returning to England for health reasons, but also because of differences with FitzRoy. After that, the ship sails back to Tierra del Fuego, and in addition to the temperatures, the morale and health of the crew are falling: flu and frostbite are rampant. Even FitzRoy seems discouraged and seems to have completely lost the enthusiasm for the trip. After the paymaster dies, he decides to head north to Valparaíso in Chile, but plans to return to Tierra del Fuego after that, as he is still not satisfied with the measurements.

In Valparaíso, Darwin meets an English friend from the college who gives him and Lt. Sulivan arranged a guide with mules over the Andean passes to Mendoza . On this first expedition through the Andes from August 14th to September 27th, 1834, Darwin ponders the constant loss of rock in the mountains due to sediment extraction from the rivers and is astonished to find that mules have more intelligence, confidence, endurance and a longer life expectancy than theirs parents of different kinds, so that “the unnatural surpasses nature”. He is also impressed by the seemingly effortless gliding of the condors through the air in search of carrion. And at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level, he finds fossilized shells - for Darwin proof that the Andes have been lifted out of the sea by thousands of earthquakes over time.

Part 5 (I Felt Myself Brought Within Reach of That Great Fact - That Mystery of Mysteries) (1834–1835)

In the fall of 1834 Darwin and Lt. Sulivan returned from her crossing of the Andes after four weeks, but on the way back Darwin fell ill with an ailment, the cause of which he never fathomed, but which would haunt him again and again for the rest of his life. Back in Valparaíso, Lt. Wickham Darwin that FitzRoy is suffering from deep depression. The Admiralty wrote a letter to reprimand him for buying the "Adventure" and does not want to reimburse him for the cost of the ship or the additional 20 men, which is why the Adventure now has to be sold. When Darwin shows him the fossilized shells he found in the Andes, FitzRoy goes into a fit of rage because he believes Darwin is trying to undermine his faith and the authority of the Bible. The ship's doctor, Lt. Benjamin Bynoe, even fears that FitzRoy - like his uncle Viscount Castlereagh - could commit suicide. The captain even hands over command of the Beagle to Wickham, who shortly thereafter sells the Adventure for the good price of $ 7,500 - $ 1,500 more than FitzRoy paid for it. Although FitzRoy receives a letter from the Admiralty confirming his promotion from commander to captain, he does not want to withdraw his resignation. Wickham then reminds him of the orders from the Admiralty, according to which only as much of the coast is to be measured as time allows. Accordingly, Wickham suggests firstly not to sail further than Cape Tres-Montes, which would leave enough time to complete the measurements to Valparaíso; and second, that FitzRoy take command again, as every man on board wants. FitzRoy agrees, thanks Wickham and suggests holding a reception for the Valparaíso dignitaries on board to thank them for their hospitality.

At this on-board reception on February 20, 1835, the liberal Darwin and the conservative FitzRoy clash this time on the subject of politics, but several tremors turn out to be far more serious and even slightly shake the ship in port. When Darwin walks along the harbor bank with Covington the next day to collect some more samples, they are surprised by an aftershock. A few days later, Darwin and FitzRoy ride to a village near Concepción , where the epicenter of the quake was and where they are presented with a picture of the most terrible devastation. There are over 100 dead in the area, and many people are still buried under the rubble. What is most remarkable for Darwin is that the coast has risen by about a meter and now rocks protrude from the sea, which were previously covered by the water.

In September 1835, the Beagle set course for the Galapagos Islands about 965 kilometers west of the South American continent and directly on the equator. On the way there, Darwin watches dolphins and a manta ray . Darwin and the entire crew are curious about the barren and mysterious "Los Islas Encantadas" ("The Enchanted Islands"), while FitzRoy Lt. Wickham draws attention to the dangerously strong ocean currents between the islands.

The captain and Darwin row with some men to the island of San Cristóbal to get provisions and do some explorations. The landscape formed by the volcanic origin of the islands appears to both of them like a “foretaste of hell”, which for Darwin raises fundamental questions. For once, FitzRoy agrees with the “philosopher,” as he and Wickham Darwin often call them, that these islands must have been formed much later than mainland South America. Darwin is fascinated by the cannibalistic behavior of the bright red cliff crab and the iguanas - the only lizards that not only swim nimble and nimble in the sea, but also look for their food - seaweed - exclusively there. He also notices that the iguanas regulate their body temperature by either lying flat on the hot ground or standing in the cooling wind, and that each of the islands is inhabited by its own species of iguana. All of this strengthens Darwin's belief that the natural history of the Galapagos Islands is very special.

The next day, the Beagle sails to the only inhabited island, Charles Island , to visit the English governor there and to receive urgently needed drinking water. On Charles Island, Darwin observes Cuban flamingos and comes to the conclusion that the basis for organic life exists everywhere on earth. In the highlands, Darwin and FitzRoy encounter the Galapagos giant tortoises for the first time , which live on all islands and after which the Galapagos are named. Darwin now doubts that these islands and their living beings were the result of a simultaneous act of creation, since they are probably younger than the continent.

The following evening, FitzRoy and Darwin dine with Governor Nicholas Lawson, director of the prison camp on Charles Island. They eat “Galapagos turtle” and Lawson explains to them that the turtles on each island have differently shaped shells. Darwin is amazed at the variety of species on these so closely spaced and seemingly similar islands and writes about it much later: “However the various forms of life may have reached these shores - carried by the wind, on the claws or in the plumage of birds, or floating on driftwood - however many different species may have survived this dangerous crossing, the fact that changes occurred even within their own species after their arrival could no longer be doubted or overlooked. On the Galapagos I felt brought close to the riddle of riddles, the beginning of all life on this earth, in time and space. "

Part 6 (Suppose That All Animals and All Plants Are Represented by the Branches of a Tree - The Tree of Life) (1835–1839)

In October 1835, the Beagle had been in the Galapagos Archipelago for about three weeks. And the more islands Darwin visits, the clearer it becomes to him the importance of this region in its natural and historical uniqueness. Most of the plants and animals he observes are endemic , so they only occur here, and even if some are related to species on the South American mainland, he is amazed that they differ from one another in extraordinary ways from island to island - although he is convinced that in the recent geological past none of the islands protruded from the sea. The turf war between two iguanas seems to him to be guided by a fundamental instinct and he has the feeling of being very close to the beginning of all life. In seabirds like the frigate birds with their glowing red throat pouches, which serve as potency characteristics, he sees the first seed carriers of life for newly created islands and recognizes that only the strongest and strongest survive in the relentless struggle for existence. Even with the peaceful blue-footed boobies , only the stronger of two boys is raised. Darwin compares the complexity of the action processes on the '' Beagle '' with those in nature and suspects instincts as their driving force, while he attributes the trustworthiness of most animals on the islands to the fact that there are rarely people such as B. Landing whalers. The different finch species, and in particular their different beak shapes and sizes, which are adapted to the respective food, should only occupy Darwin intensively later and have a lasting influence on his theories. Of the 26 land birds he observed, 20 were endemic, but interestingly only two of the 11 seabird species.

On October 20, 1835, the Beagle began the long journey to Tahiti and Australia. On board Darwin cataloged the finches he collected, but only Captain FitzRoy noted in his notes which finches came from which island. While Darwin puzzles over the causes of the biodiversity among the finches, FitzRoy sees in this again only an example of the wonderful creation of nature, where each species is perfectly adapted to the place determined by God. He gives Darwin his travelogue for viewing and Darwin agrees to give FitzRoy his diary entries so that he can add them to his report. Darwin too begins to write a résumé of the trip, during which the rainforests of Brazil and the desolate solitude of Tierra del Fuego have probably most impressed him. He remembers the incomparable first experience of an earthquake and states: "During my travels I learned that, like in music, someone who understands every single note understands the entirety of a musical work."

On October 2, 1836, the Beagle entered the English port of Falmouth . Darwin says goodbye to FitzRoy and soon afterwards visits his uncle Josiah Wedgwood and his two cousins ​​Fanny and Emma with his father. In Cambridge he meets his sponsor Henslow and the geologist Charles Lyell, who asks him for an article on his theory of the formation of coral reefs for the Geological Society.

Finally, Darwin's travel diaries will be published as a separate final volume from FitzRoy's travelogue. The meanwhile married FitzRoy meets with Wickham, who has received the command of the Beagle on the recommendation of the captain and will leave for Australia. On this occasion, FitzRoy is annoyed that Darwin did not mention any of the officers by name in his preface. While Darwin recognizes this mistake as carelessness towards Lyell and promises a remedy, Lyell suspects that the conservative FitzRoy sees himself pushed to the sidelines of the liberal-dominated navy and is jealous of Darwin's fame.

Darwin gave Lyell his thoughts on the change of species, whereupon the latter warned him that "such ideas are among the greatest heresies of our time." Darwin secretly works on the further development of his hypothesis and develops the image of a "family tree of life" with new and extinct species. From then on, the great mystery of life captivates him. However, his health is still in poor health. He repeatedly suffers from persistent heart problems, the cause of which even his father cannot fathom. On January 29, 1839, Charles Darwin married his cousin Emma Wedgwood.

Part 7 (In the Distant Future, Light Will Be Thrown Upon the Origin of Man, and His History) (1843-1860)

In the autumn of 1843 Joseph Dalton Hooker, son of the director of the Botanical Gardens in Kew near London, returned from an expedition on board a British warship - like Darwin, he had also taken part in his journey as a naturalist. Their shared experiences in partly the same regions of the world quickly made the two friends, and Darwin soon confided his most secret thoughts to Hooker: “I am almost certain - I feel as if I am confessing to a murder - that species are not immutable. “Hooker initially believes that Darwin is referring to the French botanist, zoologist and developmental biologist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck , but Darwin argues that all species adapt to changed living conditions through natural selection, while unadapted species become extinct. Hooker advises him to publish, but Darwin says his notes are still unfinished. When he numbered the species that originally existed on earth as “maybe no more than ten”, Hooker said: “You are lucky to live in Queen Victoria , England , my dear Charles. In 16th century Spain you would have been burned at the stake as a heretic . "

Captain FitzRoy, a Tory MP in the House of Commons since 1841 , is embroiled in a dispute over his election to parliament. MP Sheppard, also a member of the Conservative Party, accused him of having won his mandate through bribery. FitzRoy feels offended in his honor as MP and gentleman , and when Sheppard provokes him in front of witnesses, FitzRoy knocks him to the ground with his stick. During the next five years, during which FitzRoy also served as Governor of New Zealand from 1843 to 1845, he and Darwin had no contact.

Charles Darwin retires with his wife and three children to his country house in Kent to work on his theory and to protect his bad health. He even asks his wife Emma, ​​in case something happens to him, to publish his essay on the origin of species, for which he set aside £ 400. He continues to gather as much information as possible - mostly about native animals and plants - and talk to gardeners and animal breeders. In the course of his studies, he slowly loses his belief in Christianity as a sacred revelation. In May 1851 his eldest daughter Annie fell ill with a high fever and died shortly afterwards.

His friends Lyell, Hooker and Huxley urge Darwin to publish in order to at least ensure his priority, but Darwin says he has not yet collected enough material. When Huxley asks him where he intends to incorporate man in his general theory, Darwin replies that he does not want to touch this topic because it is fraught with too many prejudices - even if, as he says, it is the most important of all for a naturalist Problems is. Lyell notes that Darwin must at least recognize the hand of the Creator in humans.

In June 1858 Darwin unexpectedly received a letter from the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace of the Moluccan island of Ternate, together with his manuscript "On the tendency of species to completely change their form" , which he asked him to forward to Lyell. Darwin is shocked because it seems to him that Wallace has read his mind for years. Nevertheless, he forwards the letter to Lyell as requested. Hooker urges him to finally publish his results for the past 15 years. Darwin still hesitates, after which Hooker suggests that they host a joint presentation of their research results, both Darwin and Wallace, at the next meeting of the Linnean Society . Unable to travel to London due to the illness of his wife and two children, Charles agrees that Hooker and Lyell will act as his representatives - provided Wallace gets his share of the credit. Hooker also urges Darwin to finish his book, which is supposed to be entitled " On the Origin of Species, " as soon as possible, and Darwin gets back to work.

Meanwhile, FitzRoy has been removed from his post as Governor of New Zealand and, on a visit to Down House , tells Darwin, depressed , how his pictures were subsequently burned by the cheering crowd in Nelson . In memory of better days, the two toast their time together on the Beagle . Lyell tries in vain to persuade Darwin to include a note about a creator in his book "to repel the foreseeable storm," but is convinced of the importance of the publication, which took place on November 24, 1859, and, like Darwin later, is convinced thinks proves to be the most important publication of his life. In the pulpits of churches across the country, as well as in scientific journals, Darwin is derided as a man who would have dishonored the natural sciences. When two women see the book in the window of a bookstore, one says: “I heard he writes that we are descended from monkeys,” to which the other replies, “I hope that's not true. But if it is true, we must pray that for God's sake no one finds out. "

An invitation from the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Oxford on June 28, 1860, Darwin refuses for health reasons, and so Hooker and Huxley take on his defense there, especially against the eloquent Bishop Samuel Wilberforce, who is also from Darwin's friend Richard Owen is supplied with ammunition. Although Darwin only mentions humans once in his 600-page work, the debate in front of an audience - including FitzRoy - is primarily about the question of the origin of Homo sapiens . Wilberforce presents Darwin's theory as a direct challenge to the Christian faith, “which insults the Creator or even denies his existence” and sharpens his speech to Huxley by asking: “Was it his grandfather or grandmother why he believes he is descendant of one To be monkeys? ”Huxley, no less eloquent, concludes his reply with the words:“ A monkey may seem more like a poor creature to you, with low intelligence and a stooped gait. He grins and screeches when we walk past. But I'd rather have a monkey as an ancestor than a man willing to prostitute his undisputed eloquence and culture for lies and prejudice! ”Huxley received rousing applause from the majority of the audience, and after Wilberforce angrily walked away, FitzRoy steps up to the lectern and speaks "of the incontestable authority of the Holy Bible", but also only earns ridicule and scorn. Hooker reports his triumph to the cure Darwin, who is relieved and delighted, although he is disappointed by Owen's underhand demeanor. Always suffering from depression, FitzRoy commits suicide five years later.

Soon after, Darwin received a letter from Lyell in which the latter wrote that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were very interested in his theory and would like to get to know him. And a German publisher asks him to write down his life story.

Darwin sums up his life: “It's amazing that I was able to influence people's thinking with my modest abilities. To my father and teachers, I was a normal boy with average intelligence. The trip on board the Beagle was the most important event of my life and the determining factor in my career. "

Reception and awards

The press praised it: "Here we succeeded in wrapping questions about science and the worldview into a really adventurous plot - and that solely through the most authentic possible reconstruction of a company that made research history". Because the BBC spared neither expense nor effort, shot on original locations, had the carnival re-enacted in Brazil for the shooting and rebuilt the original ship "Beagle" 1: 1. The well-deserved success came and the seven-part series became a street sweeper in Germany too. In the German version, Horst Frank , Heinz Engelmann , Herbert Weicker and Franz Rudnick also delight as voice actors. (DVD cover text)

The Christian Science Monitor called the series “a profoundly stimulating mix of entertainment and information”.

The series won three BAFTA awards in 1979 for best fact-based series and best camera. In the same year she also won Best Documentary Series at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

DVD edition

On August 17, 2012, a German-language edition of the series was released on 3 DVDs.

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