Lecture 8: Wallace in the Malay Archipelago  Wallace reveals something very interesting.

 Wallace reveals something very interesting. Similar to what he wrote in the end of Sarawak paper, about
Penguin wing.
Singapore to Sarawak  Why is organism provided something they don’t need? There must be law of nature yet to be uncovered.
 Shows that Wallace hates adaptation (Organism have what they need to adapt to their environment).
 Most important journey from SG to Sarawak
 He is annoyed by Paley’s kind of thinking.
 Sarawak – ruled by James Brooke. Englishmen. Known as White Raja. Given by sultan of Brunei
 Very secular thinker, much more than Darwin.
 He spent most of his time doing his job. Collecting birds and insects and other creatures. Then shipping
them to England etc… 1857
 Wallace look like alien to the natives. They ran away from him.
 A very densed writing.
Sarawak Law paper 1855  Varieties = races
 Not different enough to be considered another species.
 Published his first theoretical essay. Second most famous paper he produced.
 Local varieties
 People tend to say: this essay boldly declare he is evolutionist etc… (These accounts are ridiculously
wrong)  All agreed that varieties were descended from their own species. From parent species.
 The paper in fact nowhere mention evolution at all. He in fact refrains from revealing his evolutionary  But species are independently created.
beliefs.  Wallace said why do we explain the same phenomena in 2 diff ways?
 It’s about succession. Things appear in progressive order. New species always appear in the world in the  Difference between varieties and species is little. Not consistent.
same place after a very similar species existed there before. Closest as he gets to evolution.  For the first time in print, Wallace suggested that species are descended.
 Basically, new species created in the model of previous species. That is why new ones resembles old ones.
Wallace’s Notebook 4
 New structures appear that are not needed by an animal. Animals are provided with structures they don’t
need. E.g. wings of penguins. Useless for flight and not left over. Rather, they are sort of halfway  His most important notebooks. Very important paragraph.
structure. If some species are created on penguin models, these wings might be flying wings.  He is still thinking like Mr Vestiges. Vestiges have this as central theory: Sometimes offsprings are born
 Principles of divergence. that are different.
 Conspiracy – Darwin who read this article, stole Wallace’s idea  Sometimes offsprings are born high species, one higher level of perfecton.
 Not a slow process like Darwin. But all at once. A jump, jump, jump.
Branching in the Sarawak paper…
 For Darwin is slow change over a long time
 Conspiracy theorist focus on the word ‘branching’, Darwin also used the word ‘branching’  Difference between the 2 of them.
 One word doesn’t mean anything. You should also look for what the word mean in context.
Molucca island (January 1858)
Strickland’s 1840 “Map” of the affinities of kingfishers.
 Ternate – famous island, Capital of the spice islands. The reason Europeans come – to get spices.
 Wallace was actually citing someone else. Strickland was the one who say we should compare nature to a  A Dutch port.
tree, he was not evolutionist. He said branching trees is the best way to organize organism.  Wallace was there for birds. The most valuable birds in the whole region. Birds of paradise.

Darwin’s Notebook B, 1837 What sparked Wallace’s eureka moment? Traditional theories

 Ample evidence from Darwin that he understood branching theory well before Wallace.  In bed with a fever: thoughts of death caused by malaria
 Written in 1837. A diagram that represent evolutionary branches.  Wallace never mentioned Malthus (book on population theory). Only after he read Darwin that Wallace
said he thought of Malthus.
December 1855  Another theory - Inspired by different human races on Gilolo island

 A few months after the Sarawak paper, Darwin wrote to Wallace for first time. Letter doesn’t survive. The gist of Wallace’s Ternate essay
 He wrote to about 30 men around the world. 3 letters written to others survived.
 Darwin told his correspondence that he has been working on the origin of species and needs domesticated  One of the most famous essay in history of science.
animal skins.  Was this the same as Darwin theory?
 First contact of these 2 men, Darwin told him he is working on his evolutionary ideas.  But it’s quite different also.
 Wallace felt he was alone in his evolutionary thinking.  Darwin – extremely slowly process
 Wallace – skips and jump. Things fully born
1856  Struggle for existence – keep population balanced. Does not lead to evolutionary change.
 Population theory does not necessarily lead to evolution
 This paper, 1856, written about Orang Utan.
 Wallace – speaks more of groups/races whereas Darwin – more of individuals
Lyell  Darwin received it on 18 June

 Shows how much he followed Lyell Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker
 Even though strange peculiarities or birth defects appear, is no evidence that organism change.
 There are strict limits for Lyell. Organism can change a bit but have limits because evolution is  Lyell and Hooker were given the essay as they requested.
impossible.  Darwin let them to decide.
 Wallace first publicly declare his belief in evolution.  They know that Darwin had been working on his theory for 20 years.
 Tendency of VARIETIES. Can go on changing without limit.  So they decide to publish both of their ideas on the same time.
 Conspiracy: How can they publish without Wallace’s permission. Its unethical/illegal. Lyell and Hooker
Wallace to F. Bates 2 March 1858 cheated, they put Darwin’s theory first, Wallace second. They said Wallace complained that his essay was
published without his knowledge.
 F bates – brother of Henry bates  Nothing controversial, this is happening every week among the scientific circles.
 Wallace signed his essay Feb 1858. This letter is 2 weeks after that.  In those days, ‘published without knowledge’ a way of saying, it was so good that others published it for
 In this letter he mentioned some tiger beetles. me. Wallace thought this is the best thing that ever happened to him.
 “A theory” – Referring to his Ternate essay.
 How Wallace’s theory originally worked. Different from Darwin When Wallace heard the news

Tiger beetles  From this point, Wallace become recognized. He was linked forever to Darwin.
 Wallace had no job. Why did Wallace hid so much?
 Visual representation of how Wallace theory of evolution work  Darwin is independent, no need funding etc… Wallace is vulnerable, no job and secure income.
 What he meant by varieties occur – appear by born at once
 Differently colored beetle is born from normal colored ones at ONCE. Wallace after reading Origin of species
 This is happening all the time.
 Inspired Wallace’s theory  1860 Feb
 Wallace’s response to Darwin’s book. Became great admirer of Darwin.
The Ternate essay  On his first publication, Wallace called it Mr. Darwin’s theory. He always insists that Darwin had done
longer study.
 Big mystery – why on earth did Wallace send this theoretical essay to Charles Darwin of all people in the
world? Wallace’s line – the dotted line.
 Why don’t just publish it straight away?
 Ternate – first paper that declares evolution openly.  Another famous discovery Wallace made.
 This essay alone was not sent for publication.  What Wallace discovered. The line separates Australian types and Asian types.
 Can’t be a coincidence.  The line dividing is razor sharp. Bali have Asian types, Lombok have Australian types.
 Written as if for publication.  How can these be?
 He is going to work on the theory more when he returned home.  Everywhere in the world, similar things live near each other.
 Depicts Darwin receiving Wallace’s essay.  There is nothing in between. The sea currents, climate everything is the same. Wallace and people in those
times can’t explain it.
 All the stories told about this are made up. Nobody was there to witness.
1869 review of Lyell’s Principles
This letter from Darwin arrived on Ternate on 9 March 1858
 On the same year, Wallace broke ranks with Darwin.
 Why did Wallace send it to Darwin?
 Wallace introduced a completely new idea that shocked other Darwinist.
 Wallace concealed his belief in evolution till now.
 He shared that natural selection could not explain man. Therefore a supernatural power must have
 He was very worried about the response.
intervened.
 But he knew Darwin believed in evolution.
 Darwin was sure that natural selection can explain everything.
 Letter from Darwin.
 Most flattering letter Wallace ever received. Darwin and Lyell admired Wallace. In a few years, things had changed…
 In the next mail boat, he sent his essay to his ‘ally’, Darwin
 Wallace wrote to Darwin. Nobody left who are intelligent who opposed evolution. The theory accepted by
The essay is signed “Ternate, February, 1858” the international community.

 Myth: Darwin must have lied when he received Wallace’s paper. Flat Earth Wager 1870
 These discrepancies lead to the conspiracies about Darwin lying.
Wallace got involved with spiritualism
  Was convinced that its real. Never questioned the truth of the phenomenon.
 Still survives today. Spirit photography.
 He has tendency not to let go of things.

Wallace's study in Old Orchard in 1909.

 Darwin got his friends to write to the prime minister to get state pension for life for Wallace.
 Heard Wallace wasn’t doing well
 Died in his sleep.