In the 1830s, the Royal Navy’s ships were charged with precisely mapping out coastlines and ports, contacting local governments, and establishing trade and diplomatic relations. On returning to Britain, men like Robert FitzRoy, captain of the His Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Beagle, would publish reports on their expeditions. They described and analyzed the societies they visited and compared them with Britain’s actions around the globe. Brazil’s tropical landscapes inspired their admiration, but its inhabitants were criticized for the inefficiency of their economic explorations and social backwardness. In this period, science accompanied the expansion of the British Empire, and accounts written by ships’ captains legitimized the discourse about its practices of domination.
British Empire; Robert FitzRoy (1805-1865); travel journals; Brazil; HMS Beagle
