2026 marks the 200th anniversary of the first voyage of HMS Beagle when Robert FitzRoy became captain. This led to the second global voyage in 1831 with Charles Darwin as his shipboard naturalist and the collection of evidence for the publication 'On the Origin of Species'.

FitzRoy paid for two artists, Augustus Earle and Conrad Martens, to paint the people and places encountered, and these images underpins the seafaring stories.

Dr James Taylor's talk also focuses on the family and influences on FitzRoy and Darwin.