History
The Galapagos Islands were discovered officially in 1535 by Fray Tomas de Berlanga, the Bishop of Panama, when his ship lost route while on his way from Panama to Peru. Berlanga wrote to his Spanish emperor Carlos V, describing giant tortoises and iguanas, and commenting on the extraordinary tameness of the birds.
There are stories about the Incas having visited the Galapagos almost a century before, but there’s little evidence of this.
From early on the Galapagos where also called the Enchanted Islands. The reason for this being that strong currents moved the ships overnight and at dawn and to the sailor’s bewilderment, the islands were no longer were they had “left” them the day before.
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The first visitors of the islands were pirates and buccaneers, who used the Galapagos as a base for their raids on the Spanish galleons. Some people wonder if there remain pirate treasures to be found on the islands.
As a source of fresh meat the pirates hauled large amounts of giant tortoises into their vessels. The giant tortoises could survive for months at end with no food or water, so it made for a perfect food supply.
It was during these times that a barrel was set up in Floreana Island to act as a post office. Letters would be left in this barrel by passing seamen and later picked up by travellers en route to the letters’ destinations. The passage of time has taken a toll on the original barrel, which was replaced and is still used today by many as a truly fascinating way to get their mail delivered by passing visitors. The place where the barrel is set has come to be known as Post Office Bay.
As the eighteenth century was coming to and end, whalers began to replace pirates as the predominant visitors of the Galapagos. Dozens of whaling ships arrived at the Galapagos every year. As pirates had done before, whalers too hunted tortoises and other animals for food. Some animals nearly became extinct because of this.
These first visitors of the Galapagos inadvertently introduced several animal species to the islands: goats, pigs, rats, dogs and other. To this day, there continue important efforts to eradicate these species from some islands. |
Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick, visited the islands during these times. In 1854 Melville published a short story called Las Encantadas which had the Galapagos as their setting.
The first resident of the Galapagos was Patrick Watkins, an Irishman stranded in Floreana in 1807.
For some time he exchanged vegetables for rum with whalers, and in 1809 stole a boat with five captured sailors as slaves. He was the only one to make it to Guayaquil alive.
In 1813, David Porter, an American captain in command of the U.S.S. Essex was dispatched to the Galapagos to face the British whaling fleet there, which he nearly destroyed. It’s said that Porter relied on intelligence gathered at the Post Office Barrel to perform his task.
The Galapagos Islands were claimed by Ecuador in 1832, which first named them the “Archipielago del Ecuador”. Later, in 1892, Ecuador changed the name to "Archipielago de Colon", in remembrance of Columbus’s discovery of America, 400 years earlier. Notwithstanding this official name, the Galapagos is a more widely used name in Ecuador and worldwide.
Jose Villamil, a French citizen, established the first settlement in the Galapagos in 1833 where he raised fruits, vegetables, cattle, pigs and goats, which he traded with whalers.
The Galapagos where thus settled, however in a very limited way, in a very late stage of history, making them perhaps the last important chain of islands to be colonized.
This in part explains why comparatively so little damage has been made to them. |
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A small colony developed in Floreana and soon became an ill fated penal settlement. Santa Cruz did not see any settlements until well into the 20th century, when a group of Norwegians set themselves there in 1926.
By mid 19th century whaling began to fade in the Galapagos as recently discovered petroleum came to replace sperm oil. The great era of pirates and whalers was drawing to an end.
A young naturalist by the name of Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos aboard the HMS Beagle in 1835. His work “The Voyage of the Beagle”, tells the story of his trip.
Darwin’s observations of the Galapagos prompted his landmark book “The Origin of the Species”. His work highlighted the Galapagos fantastic traits and led to numerous scientific expeditions to the islands which, to this day, remain as one of the most important natural laboratories on earth.
The 1930s bring us the mystifying story of a German baroness who called herself “Empress of Galapagos” and her lovers. The baroness and her lover mysteriously disappeared without a trace, while the other lovers died in unclear circumstances that to this day generate varied speculation.
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At the break of World War II the Government of Ecuador allowed the United States the operation of an air base in Baltra Island, opposite Santa Cruz.
After the war the base was dismantled and the island was returned to Ecuador. To this day many people believe that iguanas had disappeared from Baltra Island because the GIs used them as target practice. This story has been repeated so much that its very much a legend nowadays. However, there are reports that would determine the US GI’s had actually nothing to do with this. Currently iguanas have been successfully repatriated to Baltra island.
In 1957, the Ecuadorian Government made 97% of the Galapagos into a national park, leaving 3% to the sensible use of the population which existed there at the time. UNESCO designated the Galapagos as a World Heritage Site in 1978 and a Biosphere Reserve in 1984.
In 1998, the Government of Ecuador passed very important legislation on behalf of Galapagos. As a complement, the Galapagos Marine Reserve was established in 2001.
Organized tourism started in the Galapagos in the late 60s and grew since, with the 80s and 90s seeing the fastest growth. Currently 60.000 people visit the Galapagos every year.
Its thought that nature tourism is perhaps one of the economic activities which is most compatible with Galapagos conservation efforts. |
There are four populated islands in the Galapagos: Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Isabella and Floreana. Santa Cruz has by far the largest population with about 12.000 inhabitants. Most of the tourist trade is channeled through Santa Cruz Island. |
