HMS Beagle sailed on a five-year Royal Navy surveying voyage under Robert FitzRoy. Charles Darwin travelled as a self-funded naturalist, spending long periods ashore collecting specimens and recording the geology, plants, animals, and societies he encountered.
Sources and further reading
Darwin’s Itinerary on the Voyage of the Beagle, The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. Day-by-day chronology, historical place names, coordinates, ports, shore excursions, and Beagle positions.
Voyage of HMS Beagle, Darwin Correspondence Project, University of Cambridge. Voyage purpose, Darwin’s role, FitzRoy’s command, correspondence, dates, and scientific context.