1. Thomas Malthus
2. Thomas Malthus was an economist who argued that as the population increased, the food supply and resources would not be able to keep up. Eventually, the population would level itself out due to famine and starvation. He argued that the only solutions were to raise the date rate or lower the birth rate.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/malthus_thomas.shtml
3. Malthus's work touches on multiple points, but most importantly are: resources are limited and organisms with better access to resources will be more successful in their reproductive efforts. Malthus proposed that the population was increasing at a rate that was too fast for the planet to sustain. This directly relates to the idea that resources are limited. Organisms with access to the most resources, however, have the best chance to reproduce and survive. This helped shape Darwin's idea that only animals with the best traits would survive and be able to pass down these advantageous characteristics. As a result, the population has now been changed and Darwin's theory of natural selection has taken place.
4. No, Darwin could not have developed his theory of natural selection without the influence of Thomas Malthus. Malthus provided the basis for Darwin's theory of natural selection. If a organism reproduces exponentially, the resources will eventually run out, and thus "survival of the fittest" will ensue. Malthus is the reason the idea that our planet could not sustain unlimited reproduction came to light. Without him, the notion that sources would deplete and famine and starvation would weed out the weaker organisms would not have been discussed. As a result, Darwin was able to create his theory of natural selection.
5. Charles Darwin was attacked by the church for his theory of natural selection. It went against the word of the bible and claimed that God was not in control of our world's organisms. Darwin's theory led to the implication that organisms were not created by God, but rather had evolved from other organisms and this was a direct conflict for many believers.
