Dispelling the Darkness : Voyage in the Malay Archipelago and the Discovery of Evolution by Wallace and Darwin

434 Pages·2013·31.18 MB·English

by  John van Wyhe

D
ISPELLING
DARKNESS
THE
Voyage in the Malay Archipelago and the
Discovery of Evolution by Wallace and Darwin
8746_9789814458795_tp.indd 1 25/4/13 9:27 AM
b1538 Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago 8 April 2013 10:02 AM
TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
bb11553388__FFMM..iinndddd iiii 44//88//22001133 99::5522::0044 AAMM
D
ISPELLING
DARKNESS
THE
Voyage in the Malay Archipelago and the
Discovery of Evolution by Wallace and Darwin
John van Wyhe
National University of Singapore
World Scientific
NEW JERSEY • LONDON • SINGAPORE • BEIJING • SHANGHAI • HONG KONG • TAIPEI • CHENNAI
8746_9789814458795_tp.indd 2 25/4/13 9:27 AM
Published by
World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224
USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601
UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Van Wyhe, John, 1971–
Dispelling the darkness : voyage in the malay archipelago and the discovery of evolution by
Wallace and Darwin / John van Wyhe, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-9814458795 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Wallace, Alfred Russel, 1823–1913. 2. Naturalists--Great Britain--Biography.
3. Natural selection. I. Title.
QH31.W2V36 2013
576.8'2092--dc23
[B]
2012051671
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Credit for Cover:
Oil painting of Wallace based on an 1869 photograph by Thomas Sims.
© National Portrait Gallery, London.
The copyright of Alfred Russel Wallace’s literary works which were unpublished at the time of his
death and which are published in this book belongs to the A. R. Wallace Literary Estate. These works
are licenced under Creative Commons Attribution - Non-Commercial - Share-Alike 2.0 England and
Wales. To view a copy of this, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/legalcode.
The copyright of editorial contributions and interpretations are the copyright of John van Wyhe.
Copyright © 2013 by John van Wyhe
All rights reserved.
In-house Editor: Veronica Low
Typeset by Stallion Press
Email: [email protected]
Printed in Singapore
Veronica - Dispelling the Darkness.pmd 1 3/28/2013, 9:33 AM
b1538 Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago 8 April 2013 10:02 AM
Für Alexander
bb11553388__FFMM..iinndddd vv 44//88//22001133 99::5522::0044 AAMM
b1538 Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago 8 April 2013 10:02 AM
TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
bb11553388__FFMM..iinndddd vvii 44//88//22001133 99::5522::0044 AAMM
b1538 Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago 8 April 2013 10:02 AM
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Great Expectations 9
Chapter 2 Empires of Steam 43
Chapter 3 Singapore 59
Chapter 4 Malacca and Borneo 89
Chapter 5 Testing the Waters 103
Chapter 6 Crossing the Line 137
Chapter 7 In Search of Paradise 165
Chapter 8 Struggle and Spice 197
Chapter 9 Th e Longest Day 235
Chapter 10 Darwin’s Delay 249
Chapter 11 Crossing Back 259
Chapter 12 Counting Up 307
Notes 321
References 375
Index 395
Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago vii
bb11553388__FFMM..iinndddd vviiii 44//88//22001133 99::5522::0044 AAMM
b1538 Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago 8 April 2013 10:02 AM
TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
bb11553388__FFMM..iinndddd vviiiiii 44//88//22001133 99::5522::0044 AAMM
b1538 Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago 8 April 2013 10:02 AM
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Ia m very grateful to those who have helped me, in so many ways, with the
research and writing of this book. Th e National University of Singapore and
in particular the Department of Biological Sciences and Tembusu College
have generously supported me throughout my research and writing of this book.
My students have been a refreshing source of insightful questions and new
perspectives. My assistant Kees Rookmaaker has helped me on countless occa-
sions and this book would have been much the poorer without his expertise,
assistance and suggestions. I am grateful to Michael B. Pearson who generously
sent me an electronic version of his transcription of Wallace’s Journal which
I used constantly during the early stages of researching and writing this book
before I was able to access the original documents to create my own transcrip-
tions with Kees Rookmaaker.
I am indebted to the anonymous donor who funded the Darwin Online and
Wallace Online projects between 2009 and 2013. Both projects and this research
would have been impossible otherwise. I am as ever deeply indebted and grateful
to my parents Richard and Donna van Wyhe. Th anks are also due to my agent Bill
Hamilton for his helpful suggestions and feedback on early drafts though the book
was sadly delayed through a long period of inactivity. I am grateful to Ambassador
Tommy Koh and Ho Yi Kai for recommending and inviting me to publish with
World Scientifi c Publishing as the Wallace anniversary year drew nigh. Th anks also
to my editor Veronica Low for her painstaking eff orts to improve the book and my
inconsistent punctuation. Antranig Basman read and commented on the entire
manuscript and off ered much valuable feedback which was of enormous help to
Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago ix
bb11553388__FFMM..iinndddd iixx 44//88//22001133 99::5522::0044 AAMM