Early Discovery
Legend says that the Incas first discovered the Galapagos Islands in the 15th century, but since they did not have a written language, and no ruins have been discovered, the legend cannot be substantiated. It wasn't until during the 16th century when the Spanish had created a lucrative shipping route along the pacific coast of Ecuador . Inca gold was being shipped up the coast to Panama where it was unloaded on to mules for the journey across the isthmus. Upon reaching the Atlantic coast, the treasures were again put on to a ship and sent to Spain .
The journey between Panama and Peru became a frequent route. In 1535, Tomás de Berlanga, the Bishop of Panama was in route to Peru . His ship, drifting without wind, went off course by the currents. It was quite by accident that he "discovered" the Galapagos Islands . In a letter to the King of Spain the bishop described the islands by saying: "I do not think there is a place where one might sow a bushel of corn because most of it is full of very big stones and the earth is much like dross, worthless, because it has not the power of raising a little grass."
The bishop and the crew, like many early visitors, arrived in the islands thirsty and were less then impressed by the lack of water. He didn't even bother to give the islands a name. It wasn't until 1574 when the name "Islands of Galapagos" ( Island of Tortoises ) first appeared on a map and has remained ever since. Buccaneers & Pirates.
During the 1500 and 1600's the west coast of South America became prize Pirate territory. As Spain was busy collecting the wealth of the Incas and shipping it home to Spain , the Buccaneers or Pirates (depending on whose side you were on) would attack the Spanish treasure ships and gather riches for their own country.
The Galapagos Islands became a favorite hideout for these Pirates; they would retreat to the islands, with their good anchorages, far away from Spanish shipping lanes and stock up on fresh water and meat (tortoises). The islands of Floreana, Santa Cruz and Santiago became favorite spots. James Bay on Santiago still bares the name Buccaneer's Cove after these men. Other evidence of the pirate days are the feral goats living in the islands, descendants of goats left by these men.
William Ambrose Crowley one of the buccaneers drew the first navigation chart of the Galapagos Islands . A proud Englishman he named several of the islands after British Royalty and military.
The Whalers
During the 19th century Spain 's power in Latin America began to decline. The countries of South America began trading independently with England and France , and the heyday of the Pirate drew to a close. The industrial revolution had changed the world, and now rather than Spanish gold, seafarers were in search of oil. Oil came in the form of whale blubber.
By 1792, British whalers reached the Galapagos and began to hunt the mighty creatures. The upwelling in the islands made the Galapagos an excellent feeding ground for whales and the Islands of Isabela and Fernandina were a favorite calving place of whales.
Between the years of 1811 and 1844 it is thought some 700 whaling ships visited these islands. Whaling was a lucrative business, with very few regulations. Damage to the Galapagos environment by the whalers was unprecedented. Each whaling ship would collect between 500-600 tortoises to provide fresh meat on the cruise. It is estimated that whaling ships removed 15,000 tortoises from Floreana causing the extinction of that subspecies as well as those on Santa Fe and Rabida. In total it is thought that Whalers removed some 200,000 tortoises from the Galapagos. The whalers also created problems that would long survive them; they introduced a number of animals to the Galapagos including the black rat, cats, cattle, donkeys, goats and dogs.
A famous whaler who visited the Galapagos was author Herman Melville who wrote about his visit to the islands in the story, The Encantadas . By 1835 Whaling visits to the Galapagos ended, and by 1859 with the discovery of the first commercial scale petroleum (a less expensive form of oil) whaling quickly declined throughout the world.
Darwin 's Visit In 1835, during a 5-week period, the HMS Beagle visited the Galapagos Islands where Darwin studied the flora and fauna. His observations included the finches now known as Darwin 's finches . The islands are home to 13 species of finch all of which have adapted to their habitat and the size and shape of their bills reflect their specializations. Darwin noted the similarities and differences in his journal and organized the finches as part of his collection.
His observations later brought him to conclude that flora and fauna evolve over time through a process of natural selection. Darwin spent the next 20 years of his life gathering supporting evidence and in 1859 he published On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection. In 1959, for the 100-year celebration of the publishing of Darwin 's first book, the Charles Darwin Foundation and Galapagos National Park were created. A few years later the Charles Darwin Research Station with its research vessel the Beagle was established to inform the world about Darwin 's theories and the Galapagos Islands as Darwin 's Laboratory in Evolution.
Early Colonists
In the years of whaling the first of the Galapagos settlers arrived. Marooned on Floreana, Patrick Watkins lived for 2 years growing vegetables, which he would trade for rum with passing ships. In 1809, he stole a longboat from a passing whaling ship and with the aid of 5 crewmembers he captured he sailed the boat to the mainland. When the boat finally reached Guayaquil , Watkins was the only one left alive.
Over the next century visitors and settlements would come and go, business schemes were hatched, but few would stay until the 1920's and 1930's. In 1932, the Galapagos Islands were officially annexed by Ecuador renaming the islands "Archipeielago del Ecuador". In 1924 William Bebe's book, Galapagos World's End was published. The book detailed Bebe's observation as part of a scientific expedition. The book's descriptions and illustrations painted the Galapagos as a Utopia inspiring a new onset of visitors and settlers.
As the stories of this new land spread around the world eager people traveled to the Galapagos to seek their dream. A group of 22 Norwegians arrived in Floreana in 1925 seeking their fortune from fishing. The tales failed to mention the difficulties of living in an area with little rain and within a year most of the group had deserted the project.
The most famous of the settlers were those on Floreana of which the books, The Galapagos Affair and Floreana were published and the Angermeyer brothers whose story was told in My Father's Island .
On Floreana an eccentric German Doctor and his mistress set up a small farm. They lived happily in their island Eden , visited by passing ships and writing of their new life including nudism and experimental diets and medicine. Within a few years, a German family (the Wittmer's who still reside on the island today) and a Baroness with her three male lovers in tow joined them on the island. The settler's feuded climaxing in the mysterious disappearance (and assumed murder) of the Baroness and one of her lovers, the accidental death of another lover and the poisoning of the doctor.
During W.W.II the US government arrived in the islands. They constructed an air force base on Baltra to protect the Panama Canal from Japanese threat. At the end of the war the base and all of its facilities were given to the Ecuadorian government. The landing strip now serves as one of the island's two airports.
In 1959, to mark the 100th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species , the Galapagos Islands became Ecuador 's first National Park . The same year the internationally non-profit Charles Darwin Foundation was established to assist in the preservation of the islands. The National Park regulates policies, issues permits, approves landing sites and itineraries while the Darwin Station trains the naturalist guides working there.
