The Galápagos Islands were officially discovered in 1535 when the Bishop of Panama, Fray Tomás de Berlanga, and his ship were carried westward by the ocean currents while on a journey from Panama to what is now Peru. The Bishop and his crew were without water when they arrived in the islands and had trouble finding it. Two men and ten horses died and the crew were reduced to chewing cactus pads.

His account of the islands, written to his emperor Carlos V of Spain, included the first descriptions of the giant tortoises and iguanas. He also commented on the extraordinary tameness of the birds ("...many birds like those of Spain, but so silly that they do not know how to flee, and many were caught in the hand"). There is a legend that the islands were visited earlier by Inca voyagers, but the evidence for this is tenuous -- some believe the two islands visited by the Inca Tupac Yupanqui about 1480 were more likely the Easter Island group.

It was in about 1570 that the islands first appeared on a map. Two maps date from this time, one drawn by Abraham Ortelius and one by Mercator. The islands were called "Insulae de los Galopegos -- Islands of the Tortoises." They were also called the "Encantadas" (Bewitched Islands) because of the way in which the strong and variable currents made navigation difficult.

Pirates, Whalers and Other Early Visitors

From the late 1500s to the early 1700s, pirates used the Galápagos as a refuge and base for their raids on the Spanish colonial ports. They stocked up with water and tortoise meat in the islands. The most unusual loot brought to the islands was a cargo of eight tons of quince marmalade in pottery jars. It is possible that hidden caches of gold and silver remain to be discovered. Several large tapered clay jars have been found by divers in James Bay, Santiago Island and it is thought that these were discarded by visiting pirates.

The first crude navigation charts were made by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley in 1684. Many islands were named after Cowley's fellow pirates or for the English noblemen who helped the pirates' cause. Buccaneer Cove, Santiago, was a favorite anchorage of these sailors. Here they could find water (in season), salt, firewood, and tortoises. It is almost certain that the buccaneers were responsible for accidentally introducing rats to the islands, while caulking their ships.

In 1793 the English Captain James Colnett came to the islands to investigate the possibilities of whaling and made the first reasonably accurate navigational charts of the islands. His investigations began an era of whaling that lasted for much of the next century. At the same time the exploitation of fur seals began; these were hunted almost to extinction. Whalers and sealers were also responsible for greatly diminishing and, in some cases, eliminating certain races of tortoise. Whalers' logs show that at least 15,000 tortoises were removed for food between 1811 and 1844. Probably well over 100,000 were taken in all.

Around the time of Captain Colnett's visit, the first post office barrel was erected on Floreana. It was originally set up to facilitate the delivery of mail to England and the United States. Letters left in the barrel would be picked up by homebound ships and eventually delivered to their destination. The beach by which it was placed became known as Post Office Bay. The original box has disintegrated, but it has been replaced several times and is still used by visitors today.

Captain George Vancouver visited the Islands in 1795 with HMS Discovery and HMS Chatham. Vancouver's crew considered the Galápagos to be "the most dreary barren and desolate country I ever beheld" and "nothing but large Cinder without any sign of Verdure or vegetation", though they also noted the land populated "with Seals & Penguins in vast abundance, whilst the surface of the adjacent sea ... swarmed with large Lizards swimming about in different directions & basking at their ease".

Early Colonists

The first resident of the Galápagos was an Irishman named Patrick Watkins. It is thought that he was marooned on Floreana in 1807. He spent two years growing vegetables which he exchanged with visiting whalers for rum. In 1809 he stole a whaling ship's long-boat and took five captured sailors with him as "slaves". Only Watkins reached Guayaquil alive. A colorful if somewhat disturbed character, his tale is told at length in Melville's The Encantadas and John Hickman's excellent history The Enchanted Islands (see Reading List).

In 1813, the U.S. warship Essex came to the islands, captained by David Porter. His mission was to destroy the British whaling fleet in the islands. He was successful in doing this with the help of intelligence gained by reading mail at the Post Office Barrel.

The Galápagos were officially annexed by Ecuador in 1832 and were named "Archipiélago del Ecuador." At this time, a small colony was established on Floreana; it soon turned into a penal settlement as many political and other prisoners were sent there as well as prostitutes. The ensuing history for the next century was one of repeated colonization attempts by settlers, and with penal colonies, most of which were ill-fated.

-- Michael H. Jackson

The stage was set for the next act in the drama of the Galápagos -- its rise to prominence not as a piratical hide-away, but as an inspiration in the course of history, initiated by Darwin's Visit.