Humans of the Galápagos

When you picture the Galápagos, what do you see?

Probably giant tortoises and blue-footed boobies, or perhaps pristine beaches and cloud-capped volcanoes. But humans have been here for centuries – and their stories are just as intriguing as the islands themselves.

Words: Melissa Haun

Images: Alicia Warner

Most people tend to think of the Galápagos Islands as an isolated paradise, devoid of human contact and cut off from the world. This is rooted in truth; the archipelago was discovered relatively recently, and has no native human inhabitants. However, in the centuries since, plenty of people have left their mark on this land, from sailors and scientists to pirates and prisoners.

If you ask us, the archipelago’s human history is just as fascinating as its flora and fauna – although these aspects are inextricably linked. We’ve delved into the islands’ past to find out who has lived, learned, died and disappeared here. We’ve also spoken with some of its modern-day residents, who are developing a unique culture rooted in coexistence with nature.

Let’s get to know the humans of the Galápagos.

An accidental discovery

Some say the first human to set foot in the Galápagos wasn’t European, but Inca. However, the most credible evidence we have suggests that the archipelago was officially discovered by Spaniard Fray Tomás de Berlanga, the Bishop of Panama. In 1535, he was on his way from Panama to Peru when his ship strayed off course and he ended up in the islands.

Berlanga apparently wasn’t very fond of the desolate, inhospitable land – and he certainly didn’t see it as paradise. In fact, he subsequently wrote a letter to the King of Spain advising him not to claim the islands, as there was nothing useful to be found there. He even likened them to purgatory, and compared the mournful giant tortoises to ‘grieving souls’.

Berlanga apparently wasn’t very fond of the desolate, inhospitable land – and he certainly didn’t see it as paradise. In fact, he subsequently wrote a letter to the King of Spain advising him not to claim the islands, as there was nothing useful to be found there. He even likened them to purgatory, and compared the mournful giant tortoises to ‘grieving souls’.

Although the islands were still unclaimed, cartographers started adding them to maps of the Pacific. They were dubbed the ‘Galopegos’ after the tortoises; some are of the opinion that the word referred to the animals themselves, while others believe it referenced their resemblance to riding saddles. They were also sometimes called Las Encantadas (The Enchanted Isles), due to their tendency to appear and disappear amid the sea mist and unpredictable currents.

As word of the islands spread, other explorers started to visit (on purpose, unlike Berlanga). Most of them didn’t see much more value than he did, largely because of how hard it was to find food and fresh water in the unforgiving volcanic terrain. But that would soon change…

A place for pirates, sailors and whalers

Despite some early visitors’ lack of enthusiasm, others found the islands to be very useful indeed. They occupied a strategic position in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which made them a perfect base for particular people.

First there were the pirates. Throughout the 1600s, the Galápagos provided an ideal hideout for buccaneers who made a business out of looting Spanish ships. They gave easy access to trade routes, allowing the pirates to make off with their booty and then retreat to a place where no one would ever think to look (or be able to find). They scraped by on the archipelago’s scarce resources, including the famous tortoises.

In fact, giant tortoises turned out to be an ideal food source for pirates and sailors. They would stack the animals in their ships’ holds and set sail. The tortoises could survive for several months at sea without foodor water, so the crew could store them for as long as necessary before turning them into a meal. It sounds perverse now, but at the time these magnificent creatures were considered a valuable source of sustenance for malnourished sailors.

Then came the whalers. In the following century, British and American whaling ships began to arrive in the archipelago. They found abundant sperm whale and fur seal populations in the surrounding waters – a veritable windfall at a time when whale oil and seal skins were in high demand. It was around this time that the famous post office box was established on the island of Floreana, where whalers left letters for ships to carry back home to loved ones.

Throughout the early 1800s, economic interest in the Galápagos wreaked havoc on its natural environment and native species. Populations of whales, seals and giant tortoises all suffered devastating losses, driving them toward possible extinction. Further damage was caused by the introduction of invasive species and brush fires that devoured the dry landscape.

Darwin’s vital voyage

In 1835, a curious naturalist arrived in the Galápagos aboard the H.M.S. Beagle. His name was Charles d arwin, and in a few decades he would transform humanity’s understanding of the natural world. He spent around five weeks observing the environment and collecting specimens from four of the main islands.

It wasn’t until a couple of decades later that darwin put all the pieces together in his seminal book, On the Origin of Species. While in the Galápagos, he had observed how certain species seemed to have adapted to their surroundings over time. The islands’ extreme isolation and a relative lack of interference created ideal conditions to spark his theory of natural selection.

darwin may not have been the first or only scientist to visit the Galápagos Islands, but he was certainly the most influential. Since his findings were published in 1859, the archipelago has become strongly associated with the story of his voyage. This might explain why many people view the islands primarily as a wildlife haven, with less emphasis on their human history.

Criminals, colonists and creepy legends

In the 1800s, humans finally started staking their claims in the Galápagos. The first known resident was an eccentric Irishman: Patrick Watkins, who took up residence on Floreana in 1805 (either by choice or because he was stranded). He apparently spent his time growing produce and trading it with passing ships, which kept him supplied with plenty of rum and other necessities. But just a few years later, he sailed away under mysterious circumstances; upon his arrival in Ecuador, all of his crew members had vanished.

No one else seemed to be interested in claiming the islands until 1832, when they were officially named a territory of Ecuador. Soon after, soldiers and economic opportunists started arriving from the mainland. Ecuador also created penal colonies on a few of the main islands, making political prisoners some of the Galápagos’ first residents.

Over the next century, people found plenty of valuable resources to exploit and export, from canned seafood and tortoise oil to sugarcane and coffee. Lots of early colonists came from Ecuador, but there were also waves of immigration from Norway and Germany. Many Europeans settled in Santa Cruz, Floreana and San Cristóbal, where they subsisted mostly on farming and fishing.

In the late 1920s, one of the Galapagos’ most legendary colonists arrived: Baroness Eloise von Wagner. Although her noble title was self-imposed, she was widely known as the Baroness, and even starred in a 1934 silent short film called The Empress of Floreana She became infamous for her sense of entitlement, her multiple lovers and her ill-conceived plan to build a luxury hotel on the island.

But the Baroness is best known for her untimely end. She mysteriously disappeared in 1934, along with one of her lovers, and was never heard from again. Another of her companions was later found mummified, and her acquaintance dr. Friedrich ritter suddenly died of food poisoning. These mysterious events transformed the Baroness into legend; it’s said that her spirit still roams the islands looking for lonely men to visit in the middle of the night.

A few years later, the archipelago took on a strategic role in World War II. The United States military built an air base on Baltra Island in 1942, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Its effect on the islands was immeasurable, as infrastructure was quickly established to support thousands of new residents. The base closed a few years later, but its legacy lives on in the airport that was left behind – it’s where most travellers arrive in the islands to this day.

The shift toward conservation

During the 20th century, the Galápagos started attracting the attention of the world’s scientific community. Many naturalists visited to collect samples and specimens for universities, museums and even the private collections of wealthy sponsors. At the time this was a totally acceptable practice. It was viewed as a way of protecting native species from disappearing entirely, due to the increasing effects of human intervention on the islands.

But as it turns out, removing animals from their native habitats isn’t the best way to save them. In the 1930s a few international organisations decided to take action, and the first laws were passed to protect the Galápagos’ flora and fauna. In 1936, Ecuador officially designated the archipelago as a national reserve.

By the 1950s it was clear that further measures were needed. Conservationists from across the world spoke up on behalf of the islands, stressing the need for increased regulations and research. In 1959, Ecuador made all of the islands a national park – except for the areas that were already colonised, which comprised about 3% of the land.

The next year, the Charles darwin research Station was established to protect endangered animals, curb invasive species and educate the thousands of visitors who would continue seeking out the islands for decades to come. And the conservation work has continued; in 1998, a new law made the Galápagos the world’s second largest oceanic reserve. That same year, legislation was passed to keep the human population from growing too large.

Life in the Galápagos

Today there are around 30,000 residents of the Galápagos, most of whom live in Santa Cruz. The rest are spread throughout San Cristóbal, Isabela and Floreana, while dozens of other islands remain uninhabited. The vast majority of Galapagueños work in tourism.

Life in the Galápagos might sound idyllic – and in some ways it is – but the islands’ residents also face some unique challenges. For example, the tap water isn’t potable and internet connections are notoriously slow. There are also strict rules about what can be imported, in order to avoid introducing harmful parasites or other threats to local ecosystems.

Fernando Zambrano, a naturalist guide and lifelong local, says that many visitors are shocked to find that people live in the Galápagos at all. He describes their amazement at seeing ‘iguanas, sea lions and grandpas reading their newspapers’ side by side. But as he points out, people were here long before the national park was established – and the islands’ residents are still figuring out how to live in harmony with everything that designation entails.

According to Fernando, their ultimate goal is to make the Galápagos a better place for everybody; a place where science, communities and tourism can coexist in harmony. That certainly sounds like paradise to us.

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