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 The copyright of Alfred Russel Wallace’s literary works which were unpublished at the time of his death and which are published in this book belongs to the A. R. Wallace Literary Estate.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