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In 1831, Darwin joined Captain FitzRoy and the HMS Beagle as a naturalist for a trip around the world.
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Darwin explores the world of Brazilian rainforests for the first time. He is very delighted and surprised. Darwin notes the "general luxuriance of the vegetation bears the victory, the elegance of the grasses, the novelty of the parasitical plants, [and] the beauty of the flowers."
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Darwin is thrilled by some of his first discoveries and decides that he might write a book about the geology of the places he visited.
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Darwin sees many giant fossils. He thinks they are interesting and must be quite new.
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Captain FitzRoy releases 3 natives that he had previously brought to England. He attempts to start a Christian mission but fails disastrously.
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Darwin and the Beagle cross the equator. Darwin notes the disagreeable act of being shaved and how the entire ship was essentially used as a shower.
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Darwin finds some primitive looking rocks and fossils in the "desolate and wretched" Falkland Islands.
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Darwin arrives in the fertile lowland areas and is intrigued by how independent the local people are.
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Darwin witnesses the eruption of Mt. Osorno and experiences an earthquake. The amount of destruction caused by the earthquake affected him greatly.
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Darwin finds many species that are unique to the Galapagos Islands but still have features of the mainland species. He concludes from this information that the traits of each species are beneficial to them in the environment in which they live.
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After seeing the marsupials, Darwin wonders why the mammals in Australia are like no other.
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Darwin studies the coral reefs around the islands to test his theory of atoll formation.
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Darwin discovers many new animals in the jungles of South America. He ends up being homesick and sea sick when the Beagle makes a detour.
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Darwin finds the uncultivated plain along the sea coast. He notes the black lava and coarse grass and bushes.
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Darwin and the Beagle arrive in Cape Town. The first thing that Darwin notices is the number of bullock wagons. He also sees the Table Mountain, described as a "great mass of horizontally stratified sandstone".
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Darwin and the Beagle arrive back home.