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Darwin's work during the Beagle expedition allowed him to study both the geological properties of continents and isles and a multitude of living organisms and fossils. He collected an enormous number of specimens new to science in a very methodical way, and his specimens sent back to the British Museum were by themselves a significant contribution to science, and made him one of the precursors of ecology. No other collector has rivalled his work since. He also took many detailed notes on everything he observed, which would form the basis for his later work.
During his voyage, he visited the Cape Verde Archipelago, the Falkland Islands, the South American coast, the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand and Australia, meeting native peoples, seeing natural wonders, and above all, collecting considerable quantities of specimens. Quite apart from the wealth of detailed biological accounts they give, Darwin's published accounts also provide us with social, political, and anthropological insights into the areas he visited. For instance his account of how the Gaucho of Argentina lived is particularly interesting. Further, the journals reveal him to be a very active and intrepid adventurer who thought nothing of embarking on 200 mile journeys across dangerous territories, in marked contrast to the better known image of an elderly country gentleman.
While in South America, he contracted Chagas' disease from insect bites. Although not fatal, it recurred several times during his life, and prevented him from being particularly active.
On his return he used his journals as the basis of a popular book, " The Voyage of the Beagle", which became a best-seller when published in 1839 and established Darwin as an author.
After returning from the voyage on October 2, 1836, Darwin analyzed the specimens he collected, and noticed similarities between fossils and living species within the same geographic area. In particular, he noticed that every island in the Galapagos Archipelago had its own kind of tortoises and birds that were all slightly different in appearance, favoured food etc., but otherwise similar.
In the spring of 1837 ornithologists at the British Museum informed Darwin that the several very different species of birds he had taken in the Galapagos were all finches. This, coupled with a re-reading of Thomas Malthus' 1798 essay on populations, triggered a chain of thought that would culminate in the theory of evolution by natural and sexual selection. He developed the hypothesis that, for example, all the different turtles had originated from a single turtle species, and had adapted to life on the different islands in different ways.
Based on these thoughts, he formulated his ideas about the changes and developments of species in his Notebook on the Transmutation of Species, which was in accordance with Lyell's Principles of Geology and Thomas Malthus' Essay on the Principle of Population, which stated that the size of a population is limited by the food resources available. Realizing the potential of this understanding, Darwin undertook extensive experiments with pigeons and plants, and extensive consultation with pig breeders and other animal husbanders, in an attempt to discover holes in the hypothesis. He took his time with careful research until he had enough evidence, knowing that a great deal of opposition would likely erupt when he presented his theory.
Following his account of The Voyage of the Beagle, Darwin's Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle was published between 1839 and 1843 in five volumes. Darwin published scientific treatises, including an explanation for the life-cycle of coral atolls in the South Pacific published in 1842.
In 1842, Darwin formulated a short "Pencil Sketch" of his theory and by 1844 had written a 240 page "Essay" which provides an expanded version of his early ideas on natural selection.
Between 1844 and 1858, when he would present his theory to the Linnean Society of London, Darwin wrote his masterpiece, modifying his theory in a number of ways as he wrote.
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