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Story: Ideas in New Zealand

Darwin as a monkey

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Faustin Betbeder's caricature of Charles Darwin as a monkey appeared in 1874, 15 years after On the origin of species was published, but at a time when the debates sparked by Darwin's theory of evolution still raged. The idea that humans might have descended from the apes was shocking to people who believed in the Bible and considered human beings the children of God. Science appeared to challenge Christian faith. Listen to a 2008 interview with the Otago scientist Lloyd Spencer Davis, who discusses how Darwin's ideas altered people's views of the world.

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Wikimedia Commons

by Faustin Betbeder

Sound courtesy of Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Ideas in New Zealand – Darwinism and anthropology, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/speech/45466/darwin-as-a-monkey (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 3 June 2014.