Darwin’s Voyage Aboard the Beagle and Forgotten Slave History

Though Charles Darwin is famous for coming up with evolutionary theory, most are probably unaware the naturalist took part in military intervention against mutinous black rebels in Montevideo no less.  The incident, which took place at the beginning of HMS Beagle’s voyage in 1832, is ironic since the young scientist was a fervent abolitionist at the time.  Despite his opposition to slavery, however, Darwin doesn’t seem to have reflected much on his own role in the episode, let alone the wider political context of British imperialism.

How should we square this unusual chapter with Darwin’s wider legacy?  I’ve come to Buenos Aires and Montevideo to discuss fraught history with experts.  The voyage of the Beagle must be considered in light of Britain’s international ambitions: London was hardly a disinterested player in Uruguay, or the “Banda Oriental,” as it was known then, though Darwin omits important history from his Beagle diary.  For over a century, the British had sought to gain influence in Spanish America, and the River Plate was perceived as an ideal staging ground from which to pursue commerce.

The Napoleonic Wars in Europe served to conveniently justify invasion in 1806-7, when Spain had been allied to France, and Britain occupied Montevideo, leading to loss of life amongst local combatants.  During efforts to dislodge the British from Montevideo, Creole soldiers were backed by former slaves.  The city had long served as an important slave port, and Spanish authorities incorporated free blacks and mulattoes into militia units.  It was not uncommon, in fact, to see such blacks in uniform in Montevideo.

Mónica Sans, an anthropologist at University of the Republic in Montevideo, told me that for black men, the way to achieve freedom was to participate in military conflict.  As a reward for their service repelling British invaders in the River Plate, authorities granted freedom to hundreds of slaves.  Later, during wars of independence against Spain, free and enslaved men of black descent again served in militias, with some attaining freedom.

Sailing towards Montevideo, Darwin observed the horrors of slavery.  Near Rio de Janeiro, he was appalled after witnessing owners punishing female slaves with thumbscrews designed to crush fingers.  In another case, the naturalist observed a young boy savagely beaten for simply handing him an unclean glass.  As Darwin was aware, his countrymen had also played a part in slavery, and though Britain had abolished the slave trade in 1807, it would not be until 1838 that the practice would be dismantled throughout the empire.

“It makes one’s blood boil,” Darwin wrote, “to think that we Englishmen and our American descendants, with their boastful cry of liberty, have been and are so guilty.”  Even though the Royal Navy enforced a blockade in the Atlantic designed to suppress the slave trade and thus provide a stop and search role, the supply ship on the Beagle’s previous voyage had been a slaver. After the vessel was sold, the ship continued to deliver slaves to Rio de Janeiro during Darwin’s voyage.

The scientist’s liberal views on slavery were not shared by Beagle captain Robert FitzRoy, who believed Brazilian slaves were “happy,” and at one point the naturalist was so incensed by his superior that he threatened to leave the ship.  After leaving Brazil, the scientist wrote “I thank God, I shall never again visit a slave-country.”  The irony, however, is that the Beagle would shortly arrive in Uruguay, which was also engaged in slavery.

Apparently, Darwin was unaware of the social situation in the country, or the contours of slavery seemed different here.  Unlike Brazil, Uruguay lacked large rural plantations, and most African slaves worked as domestic servants or skilled labor.  Julio Djenderedjian, a historian at the University of Buenos Aires, told me that as a system, slavery was less oppressive in the River Plate as opposed to Brazil, where owners were intent on dominating their slaves and keeping them in a total state of submission.

Nevertheless, slavery persisted in Uruguay, despite attempts to stamp it out.  Several years prior to Darwin’s arrival, a provisional government passed the free womb law granting freedom to children of slave women; prohibited the traffic of slaves, and freed slaves who had fought for independence.  In theory, once slaves were free, they could count on full legal equality under the constitution of 1830, but in practice discrimination persisted.  It wasn’t until 1842 that official emancipation was decreed.

Though the Beagle voyage is lauded for its scientific contributions, one must also take the political context into account.  The British had earlier been expelled from Montevideo, but London may have maintained an “informal empire” in the region after South American countries achieved independence.  The Beagle was tasked with mapping coastlines while scoping out channels and harbors.  Through its surveying, the Admiralty sought to make crucial naval and commercial decisions while establishing a foothold in areas which had been released from trading obligations with Spain.  Meanwhile, the Royal Navy patrolled the Plate to protect its economic interests.

Though Uruguay gained independence from Spain, the country had been subsequently invaded by Brazil.  In 1825, a threatened Argentina propped up forces under political figure Juan Lavalleja, which led to a stalemate with Brazil.  It was only in 1828 that Uruguay declared independence, and to protect its commercial interests, Britain brokered peace through the diplomatic efforts of John Ponsonby.  International laws concerning national sovereignty, meanwhile, were ambiguous, and merchants frequently lobbied diplomats to protect their interests, who in turn called upon British warships to intervene.

In Montevideo, the Beagle crew was faced with political chaos.  Just a month prior to Darwin’s arrival, supporters of Lavalleja had attempted to kill President Fructuoso Rivera.  In response, the local city garrison revolted while calling for Lavalleja to be made Commander-in-Chief.  The naturalist witnessed “an eventful day in the history of the Beagle,” when a government minister came on board and “begged for assistance against a serious insurrection of some black troops.”  The latter had turned against Lavalleja, making for a chaotic milieu.  After meeting British Consul Thomas Hood, FitzRoy sent a force ashore, including Darwin himself, to retake a fort and protect the property of British merchants.

Perhaps the black troops, freed slaves who had become mercenaries, felt antagonistic towards social and racial oppression.  After storming Montevideo prison, the soldiers armed black inmates, seized a citadel and munitions dump and placed artillery in the streets.  “The head of the police,” Darwin wrote, “has continued in power through both governments and is considered as entirely neutral…he gave it as his opinion that it would be doing a service to the state to land our force.”

Decked out with pistols and cutlass, the naturalist added in his diary, “there certainly is a great deal of pleasure in the excitement of this sort of work, quite sufficient to explain the reckless gayety with which sailors undertake even the most hazardous attacks.”  The Beagle’s regiment took the fort without any incident, but in the end, nothing transpired as the rebels melted away and Darwin, afflicted with a headache, returned to the ship.  He was followed by the rest of the crew, after armed citizens took their place.  “It is probable…the two adverse sides will come to an encounter: under such circumstances Capt Fitz Roy being in possession of the central fort, would have found it very difficult to have preserved his character of neutrality.”  Shrugging his shoulders, Darwin remarks “the politics of the place are quite unintelligible.”

What to make of this unusual footnote of the Beagle?  Carina Erchini is an archaeologist at the National Museum of Anthropology, who helped coordinate an exhibit dealing with Darwin’s legacy in Uruguay.  “Conceptually,” she says, “Darwin was against slavery, but when they got to Montevideo, there was a risk to the government.”  British merchants weren’t fixated on the specific threat of mutinous black troops per se, but rather the need to maintain stability, and anything which interfered with order was an obstacle, be it black troops or anyone else.

Whatever the case, Darwin’s role in the episode is highly ironic.  If the naturalist was aware of the British sacking of Montevideo some twenty-five years earlier, in which black troops helped to resist the invaders, he did not write about it in his diary or in Voyage of the Beagle.  Furthermore, despite his strong abolitionist bent, as well as shame at his own country’s track record, Darwin did not write about the racial dynamics at play as he and the crew came ashore.

In yet another twist, though the British may have been relieved that Rivera restored order, the latter pursued actions which were at odds with official policy on slavery.  Indeed, Rivera — who also pursued a scorched earth policy against indigenous peoples — authorized the importation of 2,000 blacks to Uruguay as “African settlers,” which was secretly sanctioned through bribery.  Consul Hood protested the move, pointing out that Rivera was violating the constitution.

Darwin might have taken comfort in his government’s remonstrations, but there is an imperial mindset at work in his writings.  “Darwin’s comments on political instability in the Plata,” scholars note, “overlooked London’s ongoing aspirations to create informal empires in the region.  Likewise, his views minimized the role of British diplomatic interference in Montevideo.”

To a modern observer, Darwin’s contradictions are befuddling.  Some have argued Darwin’s anti-slavery views informed his views on evolution, and the naturalist highlighted common descent to demonstrate all races were equal.  On the other hand, Darwin later sought to justify imperialism and wrote how “civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace throughout the world the savage races.”  Though Darwin was young and unfamiliar with Uruguay during the Beagle voyage, and was focused on science, the naturalist doesn’t even mention the country in his later autobiography.

While such omissions are disappointing, Darwin also argued that as civilization progressed, society would be united by cooperation, liberalism and kindness.  Héctor Palma, a Darwin scholar and professor at the National University of San Martín in Buenos Aires, remarked “I’m not interested in judging Darwin morally,” let alone judging the naturalist by the standards of contemporary society.  “Darwin was contradictory,” the historian remarks, adding “he’s emblematic of the nineteenth century, but at the same time he is well intentioned and believed in the idea of societal improvement.”