Today in 1859, the English scientist Charles Darwin released his most famous work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life, best known for only The Origin of Species. Darwin elaborated this work based on research carried out in various parts of the world, after a circumnavigation trip that took place between 1831 and 1836. In this trip, the English scientist was able to perceive how different related species had different characteristics, depending on the place where were found.
Darwin further understood that between extinct species and species present in the environment there were common characteristics. Species do not exist in the same way over time, they evolve and they genetically transmit these changes to later generations.
The theory elaborated by Charles Darwin caused great controversy in the scientific environment because there was still a notion at the time that species had their characteristics fixed since the beginning of their existence. Such a conception was strongly influenced by Christian philosophy, Darwin’s proposal that species originate by entirely natural processes, including man which contradicts the religious belief in divine creation as it is presented in the Bible, in the book of Genesis.
Did you know that Charles Darwin was in the Azores? In September 1836 the ship where he traveled stopped in the Azores before going to England and for 6 days he explored the Terceira’s inland. He also stopped in São Miguel, but only for an hour. He was very delighted with the people of Terceira, but in his diaries he wrote that he found nothing relevant to record about the island of Terceira. About this Darwin was wrong about the Azores because the Azores have an enormous amount of biodiversity and unique animal species!
Last modified: 15 de December, 2021
