Alfred Wallace’s Great Adventure in Indonesia
One hundred years ago, in November 1913, the famous explorer along with naturalist, Alfred Wallace, died at the grand age of ninety – today his legacy is usually slowly returning to the public eye as he gains recognition for his overshadowed theories within the field of evolution. Aside coming from Tintin, of course, Wallace is usually my favourite explorer along with for eight years between 1854 to 1862, he conducted research along with collected specimens within the Malay Archipelago – the area today known as Singapore, Indonesia along with Malaysia. By coincidence, my favourite comedian Bill Bailey recently presented the fascinating documentary Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero in two parts, about Wallace’s theories which were developed in Indonesia; Bailey makes some extraordinary along with well-supported claims which are shaking up the establishment.
We all know which Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution through natural selection, although what do we know of Wallace – the co-originator of This particular theory? In fact Wallace was the first to compile together the theory in written form, which he innocently sent in a letter to Charles Darwin; the letter was published in 1858 without Wallace’s knowledge alongside a paper by Darwin. within the introduction to This particular article of their joint breakthrough, Charles Lyell wrote: “These gentlemen having, independently along with unknown to one another, conceived the same very ingenious theory to account for the…perpetuation of varieties.” Instead of sending This particular straight to a journal for publication, poor Wallace had unwittingly sent This particular to a rival. “He was robbed”, Bailey states.
Despite Wallace’s initial fame along with having authored 22 books along with over 200 scientific papers, over time his name has evaporated like steam. although thanks to Bailey’s efforts, a portrait of Wallace has been erected at the Natural History Museum beside a statue of Darwin along with the ceremony was attended by Sir David Attenborough. There is usually also an ongoing project at the museum to upload all of Wallace’s letters on an online database in order which researchers can discover more about This particular heroic naturalist.
Wallace’s dedication to research along with his perseverance through rainforests in an era of head-hunters, poor medication along with tropical diseases was quite admirable. Sometimes he thrived after obtaining enough specimens to support his research, although there were also times of dearth along with deprivation. He was a humble man with financial difficulties – an outsider within the elite scientific circles of the time – perhaps This particular spurred him to become a socialist along with in The Malay Archipelago, he criticised the “social barbarism” of Industrial Britain.
Fascinated by his story, I recently visited one of the villages on Gam Island in Raja Ampat, where Wallace stayed in 1860 where a Papuan friend of mine still lived with his family. The locals knew about Wallace’s activities as a cendrawasih (bird-of-paradise) specimen collector along with his cousin offered to take me deep into his forest-garden on the limestone hill where the Red Bird-of-Paradise (which Wallace collected) often visited. We left before dawn, so as not to disturb the birds along with after a one hour trek the sun was bursting above the sea as we reached the spot where the birds ‘played’ before disappearing into the forest to forage. Our guide pointed up to the dark leaves – we could see a male’s red plumes bounce coming from branch to branch, as well as its corkscrew tail wires. This particular must have been a thrilling sight for Wallace who had struggled to obtain more than two birds-of-paradise back on the island of Waigeo. In an era before film along with photography, specimen collection was vital for scientific research along with so
Wallace moved to Bessir (today Yenbeser) on Gam island where “eight or ten” of the men were experts within the art of ensnaring along with preserving birds.
His book The Malay Archipelago is usually also a fascinating account of the people of Indonesia within the nineteenth century, along with Wallace spoke fondly of the “honest” villagers of Bessir who housed him in a stilted hut next to white sand – a “dwarf’s house, just eight feet square” which he cleaned along with stayed in for six weeks with his crew along with “none of us grumbled at our lodgings.”
This particular is usually interesting to see how he perceived This particular magical archipelago over one hundred years ago. Already, in places such as Ternate along with Raja Ampat, the locals still cherish their connections with Wallace, although hopefully he will be recognised beyond Indonesia along with scientific circles along with reach a larger audience across the planet. So, in This particular centenary year of his death I raise a glass to the great naturalist Wallace along with expect which his theories along with adventures inspire future generations to come.
Further Information
Wallace, Alfred Russell, (1869) The Malay Archipelago, Macmillan: London
The A.R. Wallace correspondence project: http://wallaceletters.info/
Bill Bailey’s two-part documentary: Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero, Wallace in Borneo along with Wallace within the Spice Islands
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Alfred Wallace’s Great Adventure in Indonesia
Alfred Wallace’s Great Adventure in Indonesia