History of Galapagos

The archipelago is believed to have been formed by volcanic activity beneath the ocean floor beginning six million years ago. Archaeological remains indicate that the first inhabitants of the islands arrived there on “balsas” (floating crafts), and probably accidentally, as there is no suggestion of permanent settlements to indicate that they ever returned. The date of these early visitors’ arrival is inexact, as very little evidence of their stopover can be found, but it appears to have been temporary because the animals that live here today are noticeably fearless of human interaction.

The discovery of the islands came in 1535 when Dominican Fray Tomás de Berlanga, the Bishop of Panama, was on his way to Peru to mediate an argument between a Spanish conquistador and his lieutenants after their conquest of the Incas, and his ship unintentionally drifted to the islands when the winds died. The islands were named Galapagos after noticing the similarity between a Spanish saddle and the shell of the tortoises on the island.

The Galapagos Islands first began to appear on maps drawn by Abraham Ortelius and Mercator in the late 1560s and were referred to as “Insulae de los Galopegos” (Islands of the Tortoises) or “Islas Encantadas” (Enchanted Islands), depending on the illustrator.

It was also during this time that English pirates such as Richard Hawkins and John Cook used the islands as a hiding place for gold and silver treasures they pilfered from the Spanish, a point of attack, and convenient location to repair their ships and refuel on water and tortoise meat for journeys to come. Until the early 19th century, the isles were continuously used for this purpose, and were visited by many famous pirates. The pirates’ influence on the islands is still evident today as a few of the isles were given names dedicated to these English figures; for example, the island of King Charles.

Throughout the 1700s, the Spanish explored the Galapagos Islands and gave them a few names such as Santa Maria and San Bernable. However some of these ancient Spanish names did not clearly identify the islands and later generations had their own variations, eventually calling Isla Santa Isabela simply Isabela.

In the late 1700s, the islands became a hotspot for whalers when it was discovered that whales migrated to the Galapagos to breed. Englishmen James Collnet was the first to plot out accurate navigation maps of the islands and suggested it be used as a base for whalers operating in the area. Unfortunately, the crews that worked on these missions significantly diminished tortoise life – even eliminating certain species – on the island as they used the meat of these animals for sustenance during the months they were on board. Fur-deal hunters are also responsible for bringing the population of this Galapagos animal close to extinction during this era. Whaling on the islands came to an end with the start of the American Civil War, as it weakened the British fleet and resulted in its transfer to another area of the globe.

When Ecuador was liberated in 1830, it became unclear what would happen to the beautiful Galapagos Islands that had belonged to Quito during the colonial period. Therefore, General Jose Villamil thought the new republic should make the archipelago part of its territory and in February of 1832, the Islas Galapagos officially became part of liberated Ecuador. This first colonization of the islands started off with good intentions, wanting to convert the island into a place of regeneration for convicts and rebel soldiers who would be sent to the Galapagos to work. Unfortunately, Villamil’s ideas did not pan out and the environment was effectively destroyed due to the presence of the penitentiary and the release of domesticated animals, such as cows and horses, on the main islands to graze on the sparse vegetation available.

In September of 1835 the HMS Beagle went on a voyage to the isles under the direction of Robert FitzRoy. One of those on board was the young naturalist Charles Darwin, who was able to study the Galapagos Islands of Chatham, Charles, Albemarle, and James. His studies of the geology and biology of the islands – especially the distinctiveness of some species of birds to the islands – would eventually serve as the basis for his theory of natural selection, an by extension evolution, which he would present in his book The Origin of Species, first published in 1859.

A dark time on the islands occurred during the mid 1800s when the island was turned into a prison. Its distance from the mainland was viewed as a deterrent to attempted escape, and its limited supply of food and water was just enough to sustain the population. Despite various instances of prisoners taking whaler ships hostage, vandalization, and deaths as a result of prisoner occupation of the island; it remained a prison until the second half of the 20th century.

A second colonization was attempted in the 1860s when enterprising businessmen attempted to profit from the orchilla lichen plant – extremely useful for dyeing – and to start a sugar cane plantation. Both endeavors saw José Valdizán and Manuel Julián Cobos running their businesses harshly, which led to their assassinations by their plant workers and to the inevitable abandonment of the island once more. In the aftermath, domesticated animals were left to run free and thus further destroyed the fragile ecosystem of the islands. For decades after that the island was exploited by various others who took advantage of the island’s natural resources, while running cruel labor camps that would eventually lead to revolt and assassination of the owner.

It was also during this time that the Galapagos Islands became a strategic location as a military defense base for both European and North American countries just as the Panama Canal was about to be inaugurated. Each side made numerous proposals to buy or rent the islands and even went so far as to declare them “res nullius” (no man’s land), but Ecuador resisted accepting their offer until WWII, when some islands were granted to the US to be used for defense during the war.

During the WWII-era, the islands – particularly the island of Baltra – were used as a principal base, with operations commencing in 1942. After 3 airstrips, a dock, and housing were erected, the Beta Base could hold a maximum of six thousand men. Recognizing the important role that it played during the war, the US tried unsuccessfully to retain the base after the end of the war, with the last contingents leaving the island by 1949. Afterward, the Ecuadorian government started a penal colony on the islands once more, letting the presiding officers convert it into a concentration camp. In February of 1958, an inmate uprising took place and the government finally shut down the prison once again, this time permanently.

This era also saw the first attempts at preservation on the island.  The Ecuadorian government declared the islands a National Reserve in 1936 and instated regulations to protect the plant and wildlife of the islands. The archipelago was declared a National Park in 1959, ultimately offering full park services in 1968. In September of 1978, the Galapagos were declared a Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO for its scientific prestige; this was also intended as a public move to continue political support for Ecuador’s conservation efforts of the park.

These islands, known as a “laboratory of Natural History,” saw the inauguration of the Interpretation Center on San Cristóbal Island in 1998. This center is meant to study interaction between the human populations on the island and the plants and animals that have always inhabited it. The notion is to prove that a harmonious relationship can exist between humans and nature, so long it is undertaken in the correct manner. Divided into a pavilion dedicated to such themes as geology, evolution, human history, and more, the center has become a must-see for visitors to the islands.