http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2009-05/Darwin.html

Charles Darwin was only twenty-two years old when he was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. Those years afloat have become part of history. Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle is famous for turning his mind toward evolutionary theory, for giving him the intellectual stamina and materials to support such a theory, and for the romantic symbolism of his movement toward such an unexpected yet magnificent goal.

Darwin himself certainly appreciated the impact of the voyage. For him, the Beagle voyage opened the door to exceptional sights and opportunities—the impressive landscapes of South America, the fecundity of the tropics, dramatic encounters with other cultures and ways of life, hazardous travels off the beaten track, exotic islands, and countless moments when his imagination was powerfully stirred. On his return, his Beagle successes enabled him to join the world of natural history experts, and inspired the evolutionary views that he expressed in 1859 in On the Origin of Species. “The voyage of the Beagle has been by far the most important event in my life and has determined my whole career,” he declared in his autobiography.

The story has often been told. But there are always fresh perspectives to find in the comprehensive Darwin Archives, mostly housed in Cambridge University Library, but also in a fine collection at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. In 1831, when the invitation to travel on the Beagle arrived in Darwin’s hands, he had just completed his BA degree at Cambridge University in England, and he was expecting to return in the fall for theological training. Yet this simple statement hardly conveys the intensity of family debate during the previous few years. Darwin’s father despaired of him ever settling into a useful career, for Darwin had recoiled from an early medical training in Edinburgh, and now (in his father’s eyes) seemed to be specializing in hunting, shooting, and fishing. Hence Dr. Darwin had decided that his son’s future should be that of a minister in the Anglican church, a decision with which Darwin concurred, although he said he had some minor doctrinal doubts. Much later, Darwin appreciated the irony of this possible future. Yet it perhaps accounts for his eventual reluctance to challenge directly the teachings of the church and his respect for those acquaintances who were committed believers.
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http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2009-05/Darwin.html