The Galápagos Islands - Adventure Guide to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands - page 385

of creationism. He had to entertain the notion that these differences
between species may have been environmentally caused.
After returning home, Darwin spent years observing and performing
genetic experiments while his theory evolved, although he did not use
the term “evolution” during his work. Far from pushing his radical
notions, Darwin kept his work largely to himself. It was only after
similar ideas began to float about within the scientific community
that Darwin quickly published his ideas. Ultimately, his observa-
tions resulted in one of the most far-reaching biological theories to
date.
Formore onDarwin and his theory of evolution, read his
book On the Origin of Species .
Human History
Perhaps a surprise to some, Charles Darwin was not responsible for
discovering the Galápagos Islands. Pieces of pre-historic
artifacts were discovered here, leading scientists to be-
lieve that natives traveled to the islands to fishwell before
the Spanish arrived. This was quite a feat, considering
the sailing vessels available at the time and the incredible
distance from the mainland. The first recorded discovery was 300
years before Darwin in 1535 by Tomás de Berlanga , the Bishop of
Panama. At the time, Berlanga was en route from Panama to Peru
when forces of nature sent himway off course. Although it was an ac-
cidental discovery and obviously not a highlight of his journey (they
left quickly), Berlanga did dub the island tortoises “Galápagos,” after
their resemblance to the Spanish horse saddle.
By the late 1600s the Galápagos became a hideout for English pi-
rates, who had plundered Spanish ships full of treasure. As a result,
the individual islands' original names were in English and it wasn't
until Ecuador claimed them that Spanish names were given. Perma-
nent settlements, however, did not occur for some time. By the late
18th century, whalers from the US and England used the islands as
an outpost and had the greatest early affect on them. Whalers re-
mained here for only a short time, until about themid-1800s, but they
devastated several of the endemic species and sub-species of the giant
Galápagos tortoises, using their long-lasting meat as food on seafar-
ing journeys.