Galapagos Islands history

Galapagos history

The Galapagos Islands were officially and accidentally discovered in 1535 by the Bishop of Panama, Fray Tomas de Berlanga. This was at the time of the Spanish conquest of South America, and word had gotten back to King Charles V of Spain that his conquistadors were, to be kind, overzealous in their behavior. Ruthless, barbarous, and brutal are words more commonly used to describe the actions of Francisco Pizarro and his men. At any rate, the Bishop was dispatched to Peru from Panama to look into the situation. Though a safe route was chosen, hugging the coast of South America, the ship began to drift out to sea when a calm descended. Almost out of drinking water, they finally sighted land. The crew dropped anchor and went ashore. Later, in a letter written to the King, Bishop Berlanga described in some detail the sea lions, iguanas, and, in particular, the vast quantity of giant tortoises that they carne upon.

For more than three centuries after their discovery, the Galapagos were used as a base by a succession of buccaneers, sealers and whalers. The islands provided sheltered anchorage, firewood, water and an abundance of fresh food in the form of the giant Galapagos tortoises, which were caught by the thousands and stacked, alive, in ships' holds. The tortoises could survive for a year or more and thus provided fresh meat for the sailors long after they had left the islands.

The first rough charts of the archipelago were made by buccaneers in the late 17th century, and scientifíc exploration began in the late 18th century. The Galapagos' most famous visitor was Charles Darwin, who arrived in 1835. Darwin stayed for five weeks, making notes and wildlife collections that provided important evidence for his theory of evolution, which he was just then beginning to develop.

Galapagos, Charles Darwin Ecuador officially claimed the Galapagos Archipelago in 1832. For roughly one century thereafter, the islands were inhabited by oniy a few settlers and were used as penal colonies, the last of which was closed in 1959.

Some islands were declared wildlife sanctuaries in 1934, and the archipelago officially became a National Park in 1959. Organized tourism began in the late 1960s, and now, an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people visit the islands each year. continues...

Galapagos » History