Читать книгу Darwin´s Betrayal - Gerardo Bartolomé - Страница 9

We finally arrived in South America. Fernando de Noronha, Bahia de Todos los Santos, Abrolhos and Rio de Janeiro were places we surveyed. My friend Darwin discovered the tropical jungle, and its exuberance, both in animal and plant life. Nowhere else, during our trip, was he able to collect such a variety of specimens. However, I can positively declare that what most shocked young Charles about the Brazilian Empire was seeing slavery up close and what affected him most was to discover a different feature of Captain FitzRoy’s personality.

The Beagle had arrived at the first area they had to survey. The port of Bahía and its access were not accurately portrayed on any map. The Captain surveyed and recorded most of the area, but decided to interrupt the survey and sail to Rio de Janeiro to report to the Admiralty Headquarters in charge of Royal Navy ships in South America. In Rio they found several Royal Navy ships at anchor. After the normal formalities, FitzRoy was instructed to finish the survey of Bahia, and to then proceed to the River Plate. Darwin and Augustus Earle, the expedition’s artist, would stay in Rio de Janeiro until the Beagle’s return. Charles used this time to explore the surrounding jungle. From his dwelling in Botafogo he could see the mountain that dominated the area, the Corcovado. It was two thousand feet high and one of its sides was a sheer vertical wall almost a thousand feet long. At its foot there was a dense jungle and a salt water lagoon.

Darwin and Earle befriended an Irish tradesman, Patrick Lennon, who showed them not only places of interest, but also the inner secrets, not always pleasant, of an imperial society whose economy was heavily dependent on slavery. The experience reinforced Darwin’s views on the inhumanity of slavery, so widespread in that country, where it would continue to exist for a further fifty years.

The Beagle returned almost two months later, with the sad news of the death of three crew-members, brave Morgan and two boys, almost children, Boy James and Musters. They caught a fever during an expedition up the Macacu river from which they would never recover. They died on their way back to Bahía. These deaths deeply affected the crew’s morale.

The death of poor little Musters was such a heavy blow to me that many years later, during our next voyage aboard the Beagle under the command of Mr. Wickham, we stopped at Bahía to visit young Musters’ tomb.

For a Captain the death of a crewmember is a heavier blow than for the rest of the men, since he feels that these deaths were caused by his decisions. These events had a deep effect on FitzRoy’s spirits, and surely had a lot to do with the terrible mood he was in for the next few days. Those who did not know him were to discover a new side to FitzRoy’s character. It almost ended Darwin’s trip.

On 5th January the Beagle left Rio de Janeiro and set sail for Montevideo. Normal routine slowly returned. After several months, Darwin resumed his meals with the Captain, in his quarters. Lunch on 6th July was one Darwin would never forget.

San Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, by Augustus Earle.

It all started during a conversation, which started as so many others before. FitzRoy summarized what he had seen during his second visit to Bahía and Abrolhos. The Captain told Darwin that he had found out the origin of the name Abrolhos; Portuguese sailors knew of the existence of dangerous coral reefs in the area, so they would give those who were going to that area the advice to ‘keep your eyes open when going there’, which in Portuguese is ‘Abra os olhos quando passe pela regiao’. The name derives from the contraction of the first three words. “And that is exactly what one must do when one sails in that area,” said FitzRoy, “keep your eyes open.”

He then told Darwin about the mangrove at the mouth of the Macacu river where the tragic events that led to the death of the three seamen had started. After this Darwin started to tell FitzRoy of his observations in and around Rio de Janeiro while the Beagle was many miles north.

“One thing that shocked me, Captain, was the sight of three heavily armed, very fierce looking men we ran into on our way up the Corcovado. Mr. Patrick Lennon, who accompanied us and was our guide, told us that they were slave hunters. These men are paid per captured slave, dead or alive. Turning in a pair of ears is enough to be paid their fee. They were in that spot because many slaves who escape from plantations around Rio de Janeiro choose the jungle around the Corcovado to hide in.”

Lennon had told Darwin that not long before one of his own slaves, who had escaped, returned, terrified, because he was being hunted by a group of these men, and he knew that if he was caught, they would kill him.

On the same trek Lennon had shown Darwin and Earle a rock that jutted out over a precipice three hundred feet high. Sometime before a group of escaped slaves had settled down in the vicinity. Eventually they were discovered and surrounded by a group of slave hunters. After some deliberation they gave themselves up, except for one woman who ran to that rock and jumped off, plunging to her death. She chose death to slavery.

“There are distressing stories,” said FitzRoy, “I recall one that Captain Paget, from the HMS Samarang, told us. On a plantation he asked one of the slaves what he would want most in the world, and he answered that he would want to see his children again, because they had been sold to another plantation. Slavery requires very conscious and responsible owners for the system to work in a humanitarian way.”

“Not even with conscious and responsible owners, Captain!” said Darwin, “I would say that Patrick Lennon is one of the most affable owners with his slaves, however the fact that they have absolute power over these people’s lives makes them lose perspective of the meaning of ‘conscious and responsible’. One afternoon Earle and I were at his plantation and we witnessed something shocking. Lennon had an argument with his foreman over something of no consequence, but the argument escalated until they were shouting at each other. The Lennon told his foreman that he would sell his daughters, both slaves on his plantation, so he would never see them again. With Earle we managed to cool things down, but the next morning Lennon insisted that he would sell the girls to teach his foreman a lesson. We talked him out of it, I think, but I suspect that as soon as we left he sold them.”

“My dear Darwin, I am definitely not in favour of slavery, but we must bear in mind that it has been around for thousands of years. It is mentioned in the Bible, it existed in ancient Rome and in England Serfdom, during the Middle Ages, was a form of slavery. Although I am proud that there is no slavery in the United Kingdom, you cannot deny that it works adequately in the United States of America and in the Brazilian Empire, as we have recently seen. They are both fair societies with a thriving economy.”

“How can you say that, Captain?! You can’t call a society fair while there are people who can be killed, sold, raped or have their children taken away from them!”

At this point Darwin’s tone was impassioned, while FitzRoy’s was cold, he evidently was trying to check his temper.

“Mr. Darwin, while you were in Rio, I had the opportunity of visiting a plantation in Bahia that had slaves. I saw where they lived and slept and I can assure you that their dwellings are superior to the ones of most farm hands in England. At my request, the owner assembled a group and asked them if they would rather be free and their answer was NO.”

Darwin lost his composure altogether, and, almost shouting, asked the Captain if he honestly thought the slaves would say anything different considering they could be beaten or even killed a few hours later. The Captain rose and stared at Darwin with fury in his eyes.

“This is too much, Mr. Darwin. Do you think I cannot tell whether a person is sincere or not? But if you believe I am either a fool or stupid, then there is no room for both of us in this cabin, nay, maybe even on this ship!”

FitzRoy was beside himself. He threw open the cabin door and shouted, “Wickham!! Come and escort Mr. Darwin out of my cabin!” Darwin did not wait for Wickham to arrive.

“I do not need anybody to show me out of your cabin, Captain,” he said defiantly and stomped out. As soon as he was out, FitzRoy slammed the door, which was a message in itself.

Wickham took Darwin to the officer’s mess, where they were finishing lunch. The Naturalist trembled with fury at the prospect of being left out of the voyage. He was sure FitzRoy would drop him at the next port and send him back to England. The rest of the officers did not share his fears. They knew their Captain well, in good and bad moods, and they knew how things would turn out.

Sullivan brought Darwin some food and Wickham sat across the table to tell him what FitzRoy was really like.

“Very well, Mr. Darwin, you know what the name FitzRoy means, don’t you?”

Slavery scenes, by F. Denis and C. Famin.

“Yes, it is from the old Norman-French fils du roy, son of the king.”

“Exactly. He descends directly from the illegitimate son Charles II had with Barbara Villiers. But you see, two persons live within the Captain, whom he himself calls Fitz, the son and Roy the king. Fitz, the son, is the loyal friend, educated, trustworthy, understanding of human nature and responsible leader. But there is also Roy, the arrogant king, who has a bad temper, does not allow dissent, he humiliates and is partial to drastic measures. Today you met Roy.”

“Well, Mr. Wickham, it will be Roy who shall throw me off the Beagle and stop me from doing my work. It doesn’t change the outcome.”

“Don’t be so sure. The other feature of his personality is that Fitz is the one usually in charge of his person and he keeps Roy under control, as a prisoner. Only sometimes Roy escapes and takes control, which is what you have just experienced. The good thing, however, is that Roy does not manage to stay in control for very long. After a while Fitz will take over again and things go back to normal. That is exactly what will happen in about an hour or two, you’ll see.”

“But then, Wickham, The Captain is totally unpredictable.”

“Not really. Actually he is quite predictable. Only you must make sure, before making a request or propose something, if it is Fitz or Roy you are speaking to. If it is Fitz, then there is no problem, the Captain will be absolutely rational. If it is Roy, however, it is best to avoid him and wait till Fitz returns.

Rio de Janeiro with the Corcovado in the background, by Augustus Earle.

“And how do you know whether it is Fitz or Roy?”

The officers laughed. Darwin was asking about one of their best guarded secrets. Sullivan said, “we send Wickham to the lion’s den to see in what mood he is in.” They all laughed again.

“It is true in a way,” said Wickham, “I am the first one to see and speak to the Captain every morning, so I will make a comment or ask a question Roy would react to. For example if I told him the main deck is still dirty, Fitz would say: ‘when you change the watch, make sure that the outgoing crew clean it before retiring.’ Instead, Roy would roar, ‘find the culprit and put him in irons till dusk!’”

“When Wickham leaves the Captain’s cabin,” said Sullivan, “he will say ‘the tea was spilt’ if it is Roy, or ‘the tea has not been spilt,’ if it is Fitz, and so we all know how to handle ourselves around him.”

“So now, my friend, you are one of us. You must keep our little secret,” said Stokes.

Darwin was still worried, “what should I do now, Mr. Wickham?”

“Continue with your usual activities. I suggest you collect marine animals with your net. Give me time. I will go and see the Captain later with the pretext of going over the sailing plan, and I will see what I can do for you.”

Two hours later, while Darwin was intent on collecting a series of small marine animals that live on the surface, Wickham appeared on deck.

“Mr. Darwin, the Captain requests your presence in his cabin, I must add that he has not spilt his tea,” this last remark with a knowing smile.

When he arrived at the cabin, FitzRoy was waiting for him at the door.

“My friend Darwin, I must apologize for my most inappropriate behaviour.” He showed Darwin in. “I believe my state of mind brought out the worst in me.”

“I must also apologise for my lack of respect, Captain” said Darwin, “I have no right to raise my voice just because you do not share my views.”

“However, more serene, I wanted to explain that my view on slavery is not so different from yours. I believe, as you do, that all men have been created equal and therefore no one has the right to own another person. But in certain countries, as in Brazil and southern United States, if the slaves were suddenly set free, the white population would not give them a chance to integrate in their community and they will be worse off than they are now.”

“But do you really believe that the slaves in the plantation you visited did not want to be free?” asked Darwin.

“I do not doubt that from an absolute point of view they did. But I also know they understand that if the owner of the plantation were to free them, they would be hunted by the slavers and be enslaved again in worse conditions than today, or they and their families could be killed. I believe slavery should end, but it must be done gradually, so the former slaves can survive and be accepted as members of the community. In a country with two different races where the difference in their culture and education is so great, if the government does not have an active policy to protect the weaker group, they will be worse off than with slavery.”

John Clements Wickham.

FitzRoy was being sincere.

“Captain what are the plans for the Fuegian Indians we have aboard?”

“We would want them to be no more and no less than a seed of civilization that may enable their people to be ready to face Argentina and Chile’s expansionist pressure when the time comes. If they do not succeed, I am afraid they will disappear.”

Unwittingly FitzRoy predicted what would actually happen in the future. Nearly fifty years later, another Englishman, Thomas Bridges, would try to protect these Indians, but no matter what, they would finally disappear.

“My good friend Darwin, again I beg your forgiveness. I believe I am responsible for the death of the three young men as a result of a fever they fall victim to when I sent them to the Macacu river, and that weighs on my conscience. As I said before, this brings out the worst in me. I fear that, and this I tell you in the most strict confidence, the weight of being responsible for the safety of over eighty people may one day plunge me into a depth of despair I may not be able to return from,” said FitzRoy with the tone of one who knows he has been defeated.