Prof. Passetti’s examination of the concerns and strategies of British expansion shortly after the defeat of Napoleon shows how scientific, economic, and political forces were interested in financing expeditions like the Beagle. For the author, Captain FitzRoy was one of numerous traveling explorers typical of the first half of the nineteenth century; he had political connections inside the Court (one of his uncles was minister of Foreign Affairs; another was an influential duke) and also inside the British Navy.
Prior to leading the Beagle on its expedition to circumnavigate the globe, with Darwin aboard, FitzRoy had taken part in expeditions to pursue slave ships along the coasts of Africa. Critical of slavery, the captain had ties to abolitionist projects and was quite close to Anglican missionaries working in Oceania and Africa.
An analysis of the account of his journey as published in London in 1839 makes that FitzRoy was critical of Brazilian economic and social structures and skeptical about the country’s ability to organize itself politically. According to the British captain, Brazil was dependent on slavery, a system that had pervasive negative effects throughout its whole society.
As FitzRoy saw it, South America was constantly squandering its potential. However, according to Passetti, these types of descriptions of the region were directly linked to interests that were keen on expanding the British Empire and legitimizing its conquest of territory by defending a model of management and exploitation considered more just and efficient.
The article presents some of the conclusions from Passetti’s doctorate in Social History at the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), conducted under a grant from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. His research received an honorable mention from the Capes Prize for Dissertations in History and was the recipient of USP’s Social History Prize, both in 2011.
Contact: Gabriel Passetti – Instituto de Estudos Estratégicos da Universidade Federal Fluminense +55 (11) 97676-6787 gabrielpassetti@id.uff.br
See the full article in Portuguese:
Passeti, Gabriel “Brazil in the travel journal by Captain Robert FitzRoy of the HMS Beagle, 1828-1839“. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Set 2014, vol.21, no.3, p.911-930. ISSN 0104-5970
For other related articles, see:
Carvalho, Andre Luis de Lima. Das intermináveis incursões de Darwin pelo Brasil, pela América Latina e pelo mundo. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Nov 2013, vol.20, suppl.1, p.1421-1426. ISSN 0104-5970
Caponi, Gustavo. Darwin: entre Paley y Demócrito. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Dic 2003, vol.10, no.3, p.993-1023. ISSN 0104-5970
See the full edition of HCS- Manguinhos “Oceans and Seas: History, Science, Policy”
