Darwin's interest in the natural history of the Cape: from beetles to antelope, plants and granite

Abstract

Charles Darwin visited Cape Town, during the five-year round-the-world voyage of ‘Beagle’ when he was a self-funded research assistant to Captain Robert Fitzroy. It was mid-winter and bad weather dogged Darwin's time at the Cape but he nevertheless travelled over the Cape Flats to Paarl and Franschhoek and met up with the intelligentsia of Cape Town. This article highlights his interests in geology, botany, various insect species (Hemiptera and Coleoptera) that he collected between 31 May and 18 June 1836, and his thoughts on the “large quadrupeds” of South Africa, even though he did not have the opportunity to see them himself.

Key words:

• Darwin
• South Africa
• history
• natural history