A Captivating History of the Galapagos Islands

The history of Galapagos Islands used to represent a much darker side—one of pirates, treasure, and buccaneers—before being renowned as a “living laboratory” for its unique ecological and evolutionary processes. Discover the fascinating history of the islands of the Galapagos.

The ‘islas encantadas’

Charles Darwin changed the meaning of mystery in the Galapagos Islands when he visited them in 1835 and brought the islands to the world’s attention. In reality, the “enchanted islands” are an unreliable translation of “las islas encantadas,” which is from Spanish. The term “bewitched islands,” which was once used by sailors, would be a more accurate translation. The islands emerge and fade in a thick mist that sometimes shrouds them to a thirsty and weary sailor. Molten lava erupted from the rocky, dry islands ruled by enormous reptiles, adding to the unsettling sight. However, this interpretation gives us a more accurate picture of how the islands were perceived for many years.

The islands were considered a part of the Spanish Empire until 1832 when Ecuador claimed them, yet the Spaniards placed little significance on the archipelago. When the islands were first discovered in March 1535, Fray Tomas de Berlanga did not paint a positive picture of them. In a letter to the Spanish king, he claimed that the islands were where “God…had rained stones” and were “dross, worthless because it has not the power of raising a little grass, but only some thistles.” Ten horses and two of his men had perished from thirst by the time he and his company managed to locate freshwater in the islands.

History of Galapagos Islands with Buccaneers (Pirates)

Though the islands were left to their ways by the Spaniards, they were quickly taken over as a crucial haven for pirates that traveled the nearby waters. Many specialists believe pirates were the first to use and thoroughly explore the islands. Pirates commanded the Pacific oceans in the 17th and 18th centuries when they raided Spanish ships in search of riches the Spaniards had acquired from the defeated Inca Empire. But the term “pirate” is more ephemeral. These courageous men served as buccaneers for their country against the Spanish empire, depriving the Spanish of their money and power and supplying a small amount of cash for the British, Dutch, and French empires.

Isolated islands like the Juan Fernandez Islands and Galapagos were standard havens for pirates during this period. Unlike the Caribbean, the Pacific Ocean lacked pirate-friendly ports where they could replenish their supplies and profit from their loot. Coming to the islands to give their ships a basic clean-up and facelift before returning to the open ocean was another common motive for visitors.

The Galapagos Islands were strategically positioned to allow pirates to target coastal communities and trade routes while remaining far enough from the mainland to provide them with an escape path. This was achieved by positioning the islands off the road connecting the Inca Empire to New Spain (Mexico). For several days, pirates hid on the islands, storing freshwater and tortoises for meat. Along with the Dutchman Jacob L’Hermite Clerk, one of the first and more well-known buccaneers to use the islands was the Englishman Richard Hawkins.

On Floreana Island, where caves grew out of rock walls near small freshwater springs—one of the few freshwater sources in the islands—visitors can still witness remnants of the pirates that formerly roamed the archipelago. Because San Cristobal Island contains a comparatively high amount of freshwater, it was also a favored pirate haunt, as did Buccaneer Cove on Santiago Island. The most ancient example of contemporary banking is probably in the Galapagos Islands, where the pirates buried some of their loot. Even though some of these items have been reported as found, there are no official reports of discoveries, and it is highly doubtful that any of the loot is still in the archipelago.

Benjamin Morrell made a landmark trip in February 1825 that included the Galapagos Islands on the map for other reasons. In addition to providing readers with an excellent understanding of the many locations he visited, his meticulous observations also made adventurers, sailors, and mariners want to embark on a maritime expedition.

Even contemporary readers get shivers from Captain Tartar’s account of a volcanic eruption on Fernandina Island when the ship was forced to cruise in the Bolivar Channel in search of winds to escape the region. The tar supporting the ship’s wooden construction began to melt as the crew and ship approached the molten rock source because the surrounding air temperature had dropped to an alarming 123°F. The temperature at the sea was 150°F, which was even worse.

Nevertheless, the pirates left little evidence of their existence on the islands, save from the caves and a few diary entries. We still see them as magical islands, which are now partly because of this. The Galapagos Islands’ human history is fascinating and evokes a spirit of adventure and determination that few places can match.