Chapter XXI

Darwin describes the visual appearance of Mauritius as he approaches it, highlighting the cultivated plains, sugar fields, wooded mountains, and overall harmonious landscape composition.

Darwin observes that despite twenty-five years of English government, Port Louis retains a distinctly French character in its institutions, commerce, and cultural life.

Darwin observes that Indian convicts banished to Mauritius present a noble appearance and conduct themselves well, contrasting favorably with convicts in Australia despite serious crimes.

Darwin analyzes the formation of Mauritius's central mountain structure, proposing it consists of elevation craters but expressing doubts about the elevation theory and alternative explanations.

Darwin notes the improved productivity and infrastructure of Mauritius since English acquisition, including a seventy-five-fold increase in sugar exports and superior roads.

Darwin's excursion to examine geological formations at Riviere Noire, including observations of coral rocks and the landscape features.

Darwin describes St. Helena's dramatic landscape as it approaches, with its dark volcanic rocks, fortifications, and steep valleys housing the town.

Darwin observes that St. Helena's 746 plant species are mostly imported (with only 52 indigenous), primarily from England, creating a distinctly British landscape.

Darwin identifies eight extinct land-shell species and attributes their extinction to the complete destruction of the island's forests, which removed their food and shelter.

Darwin documents the systematic destruction of St. Helena's forests over two centuries, showing how introduced goats and hogs eliminated young trees while older trees died of age.

Darwin emphasizes that St. Helena possesses unique endemic land-shells and some sea-shells found nowhere else, along with very few native birds or insects.

Darwin describes a curious meteorological observation where calm air abruptly transitions to strong wind at a cliff edge due to air deflection.

Darwin describes Ascension's barren appearance characterized by red cones, black lava, and a desolate coastline under an arid climate.

Darwin describes the settlement on Ascension as consisting of well-built military structures and liberated former slaves, with excellent infrastructure management.

Darwin praises the industrial efficiency of Ascension's infrastructure but regrets that such effort was expended on a poor and trifling location.

Darwin notes two distinct varieties of rats on Ascension that differ from common black rats in size and fur characteristics, and attributes variation to local conditions.

Darwin explains how spherical volcanic bombs reveal internal structure showing rapid external cooling and centrifugal force effects from aerial rotation.

Darwin describes layered volcanic ash deposits analyzed by Professor Ehrenberg, revealing organized matter including fresh-water infusoria and siliceous plant tissue.

Darwin infers that Ascension's climate and ecology were dramatically different in the past, suggesting evidence of endless environmental change on Earth.

Darwin breaks down the simple elements composing tropical scenery, arguing their trifling nature belies the exquisite beauty they produce when combined.

Darwin describes Bahia's coastal plains worn into valleys, covered with stately trees interspersed with cultivation, with churches and convents visible.

Darwin argues that detailed descriptions and herbarium specimens cannot convey the lived experience of tropical vegetation and its sensory dimensions.

Darwin expresses the difficulty of articulating the sensation of tropical beauty and his attempts to preserve memories of specific trees and combined effects.

Darwin describes Pernambuco's situation on narrow sand-banks separated by channels and connected by bridges, with surrounding elevated terrain.

Darwin criticizes Pernambuco's poor urban conditions including narrow filthy streets and tall gloomy houses, hindered by seasonal flooding.

Darwin notes encountering rudeness for the first time during the voyage, attributing it to the slaveholding Brazilian context and comparing unfavorably to Spanish treatment.

Darwin describes the remarkable straight reef as probably a consolidated sand spit upheaved by calcareous matter, protected by a layer of Serpulae shells.

Darwin provides extensive testimony of slave torture and cruelty witnessed in Brazil, expressing moral outrage and identifying slavery as degrading and indefensible.

Darwin systematically refutes defenses of slavery including self-interest arguments and comparisons to domestic poverty, emphasizing the slave's hopeless condition.

Darwin notes the Beagle's return via the Cape de Verd Islands and Azores, arriving at Falmouth after nearly five years at sea.

Darwin announces his intention to evaluate the voyage's advantages and disadvantages, conditioning the value of long voyages on possessing specific scientific interests.

Darwin catalogs losses including separation from friends and familiar places, lack of privacy, deprivation of luxuries, and hardships of sea-life.

Darwin notes improvements in navigation, ship quality, and available civilization over sixty years since Cook, making modern voyages considerably less onerous.

Darwin advises prospective voyagers to weigh sea-sickness heavily as a serious consideration affecting pleasure in extended ocean travel.

Darwin acknowledges beautiful sea scenes but emphasizes that storms are less impressive at sea than on shore due to lack of contextual visual drama.

Darwin identifies the pleasure of observing landscapes as the most consistent and highest source of enjoyment from the voyage.

Darwin argues that understanding details of landscapes, like musical notes, enhances appreciation of the whole scene, making botanical knowledge essential.

Darwin argues that tropical scenery constitutes a separate class incomparable to European landscapes, acknowledging Humboldt's descriptions as formative influences.

Darwin identifies untouched forests as the most sublimely impressive scenes, whether in Brazil's vitality or Tierra del Fuego's decay, as temples of nature.

Darwin reflects on why the Patagonian plains, though barren, impressed him more than fertile areas, attributing it to scope for imagination and sense of timelessness.

Darwin notes that high mountain views, while not conventionally beautiful, are memorable for their overwhelming scale and mass.

Darwin expresses astonishment at encountering savage humans and compares the interest in observing them to interest in viewing wild animals in nature.

Darwin catalogs impressive natural spectacles including constellations, waterspouts, glaciers, coral atolls, volcanoes, and earthquakes as particularly connected to geology.

Darwin suggests that pleasure in open-air travel reflects humanity's savage instincts and derives particular joy from unfrequented wilderness.

Darwin argues that voyage travel provides concrete understanding of Earth's geography, converting abstract map names into tangible spatial understanding.

Darwin expresses high expectations for future progress in South Pacific regions due to Christianity's impact, noting dramatic change since Cook's time.

Darwin expresses pride that Australia is becoming a grand center of civilization that will dominate the southern hemisphere.

Darwin concludes that distant travel sharpens scientific curiosity and promotes comparison and generalization, though creating tendency toward superficial hypotheses.

Darwin recommends all naturalists undertake voyages despite difficulties, advocating the moral development including patience, selflessness, and appreciation of human kindness.