The ship that brought Charles Darwin to the Galápagos Islands was the HMS Beagle. This voyage, which began in 1831, fundamentally influenced Darwin's work in developing the theory of evolution through natural selection. During the journey, Darwin observed various species and their adaptations to different environments, notably the finches of the Galápagos, which later informed his groundbreaking publication "On the Origin of Species." The Beagle's expedition laid the groundwork for modern biology and shaped our understanding of the diversity of life on Earth.