Darwin's role lay in his skill at recognizing patterns while in the field. On board the HMS Beagle he made many important discoveries about the relationship of different species within a single environment and the boundaries that prevented the propagation of one species, whether geographical or physical in nature. He had thousands of examples of species that were enigmas until natural selection was applied, thereby explaining the organism's specific adaptations. He had a theory of natural selection in mind, in which the animals best suited to their environments survive to pass on their genes, thus creating a sort of progression. He was hesitant to publish his ideas however, and it wasn't until twenty years later that he was galvanized into action by the prodding of his friends and a man named Wallace who had followed his own course of theories to the same conclusion. Darwin published "The Origin of Species" in 1859 and the book became the basis for our modern evolutionary theory.
Darwin's book had a huge effect, and although it solved the problem for some people, it created an even larger debate for most. Atheists were delighted at the contradictions to the Bible, while being dismayed when Darwin seemingly left an opening for creationism just to appease theologians. Many of the Anglican upper-class of Britain were worried about the repercussions and began to attack him for his slight to religious views. .
The argument raged furiously, most theologians believed that there was good science behind it, but that Darwin had overstepped his boundaries and provided a completely illogical conclusion. A few of Darwin's mentors joined his side passionately, Huxley and Hooker toured the country lecturing and taunting the Anglican Church, while the opposite side got nasty as well. While at odds with the religious ideals of the time, natural selection was no different than the Copernican revolution.
