General Introduction       

The islands are of fairly recent volcanic origins, having risen from the bottom of the Pacific ocean a few million years ago and were never connected to the South American continent or any other land mass (for more on this, click to the Geography section). Animals and plants eventually arrived on the barren rocks and made them their new home (for more details, go to the Fauna & Flora section). Undisturbed by humans for a long time, they are thus most important for their natural history. They became a case study for biological evolution and the processes of specification of life. 

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 Discovery by Men      

The archipelago was first reported in 1535 by Tomas de Berlanga, then Bishop of Panama, whose ship drifted off course while sailing from Panama to Peru. He reported his discovery to his majesty Charles V of Spain, condemning the whole island group as godforsaken and inhospitable to man. He did however include descriptions of the flora and fauna, considered equally wretched by him and the first report of the giant Galapagos Tortoise reached the old world. Spanish conquistadores did therefore not bother for two centuries to colonize the islands an d left so luckily the animals to themselves. There exists also legends that indigenous people arrived at the islands in the times of the Inca empire. It is now well established that commerce took part among the various native cultures situated along the Pacific coasts by way of reed boats. It is thus thinkable of someone having landed on the islands as accidentally as the bishop did. As Thor Heyerdahl proved decades ago with his Kon Tiki adventure, long trips in reed boats were possible.

 Pirates, whalers, sealers and first pioneers 

The islands attracted finally attention by English pirates who used them as hideouts between their raids on the Spanish fleet which transported the precious metals of their South American colonies to their homeland. Afterwards whalers and sealers used some islands as a safe haven and a source of fresh food and water. They harvested in particular the giant tortoises as those could stay alive for up to a year on boats and were therefore an excellent source of fresh meat. Water however was very scarce on the islands especially in the drier moments. That was the major hindrance of permanent settlements and first attempts of colonization of the islands failed.

 Scientific Interests

At the end of the18th century, the first scientific researchers started to visit the islands and then Charles Darwin arrived on the Beagle in 1835. So when Charles Darwin visited Galapagos and observed the unique variations between the species on the different islands, he was inspired at looking at natural history in a new way and came later up with his revolutionary theory of evolution. From then on the Galapagos stayed on in the eyes of the scientific community. Expeditions for collecting the unique specimens were run by private collectors like Rothschild in England and public institutions in Europe and United States. Giant Tortoises became thus even rarer in the wild but increased their populations in foreign countries. Harvest them all before they completely disappear was the scientific motto then. This attitude changed around the WW II and scientist came to the island to study the fauna and flora in situ. One influential researcher was the British ornithologist David Lack working with Darwin finches in regard of evolutionary biology. Later, with work continuing to the present, Peter and Rosemary Grant took up a new project, studying evolutionary changes in those same famous finches.

 Ecuadorian claims

In 1832 the newly founded Republic of Ecuador claimed the archipelago, a claim, which was disputed by Peru, which saw those islands as part of its old colonial holdings. A few settlers arrived on the islands and some islands were also used as a penal colony till 1959, when the last one of those was closed. Presently, Galapagos is politically a province of Ecuador with Puerto Baquerizo Moreno the provincial capital. Around 20.000 people live on four islands, Santa Cruz, Isabela, San Cristobal and Floreana, dedicating themselves to fishing, farming and tourism. The most populous town is Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz which is also the major tourist center with its offer of hotels and restaurants and host to the Charles Darwin Station.

 Conservation and Tourism

With the exception of the 4 islands mentioned above, all the other islands are uninhabited and were declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1934 by the government and then finally Ecuador's first national park was created there in the year 1959. Charles Darwin Station was founded in 1964 as a non-governmental agency with the purpose of protecting and conserving the unique ecosystems of the land and below the sea. In 1980 UNESCO declared it a World Nature Heritage Site. In 1998, the ocean waters surrounding the islands were also declared a marine reserve and policies in protecting the marine life were put into effect. Organized tourism started in the 1960's with a few boats offering service to a few thousand tourists each year. In the last  years the number increased to 60.000 visitors each year and the pressure continues by the ever expanding tourism industry. Although restricted and run as ecological, make no mistake that tourism is detrimental to the wildlife of the isles.