The Bloody Human Saga of Galapagos E-Book

George Egnal

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 400

Beschreibung

This publication summarizes the story of a species that has only recently, at least in geological time, arrived in the Galápagos Islands: man. While literally thousands of scientific, newspaper and magazine articles, books, and television specials have extolled the remarkable natural history of the islands, very few authors have addressed their remarkable and intriguing human history. A history full of blood and grief! Consequently, many who are interested in or visit the islands are ignorant of man‘s often desperate, sometimes enlightening, other times tumultuous, but always fascinating, plight in the islands. Before exploring the bloody human saga of Galápagos, the natural history of the islands is briefly reviewed so that the reader can appreciate why they are considered an ecological jewel of global importance, and gain insight into why the growing presence of man is evoking controversy.

Leseprobe

Table Of Contents

THE BLOODY HUMAN SAGA OF GALAPAGOS - FOREWORDNATURAL HISTORY OF THE ARCHIPELAGOHUMAN EXPLORATIONPIRATES AND BUCCANEERS SLAUGHTERED MENWHALERS SLAUGHTERED TORTOISESTHE ADVENTURES OF THE FRIGATE ESSEXSEALERS SLAUGHTERED SEALSTHE HORRIBLE FATE OF LOST SOULS AND CASTAWAYSCHARLES DARWIN'S VISITTHE BRUTAL COLONIZATION OF GALAPAGOSSHATTERED NORWEGIAN DREAMSSWINGERS IN PARADISEA SEXADDICTED BARONESS AND HER LOVER WERE KILLEDWORLD WAR II DISTURBED THE ARCHIPELAGONATIONAL PARK AND TOURISM - THE END OF PEACECopyright

THE BLOODY HUMAN SAGA OF GALAPAGOS - FOREWORD

George Egnal

All rights in this book are reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. Copyright 2013 by George Egnal.

FOREWORD

The purpose of this publication is to summarize the story of a species that has only recently, at least in geological time, arrived in the “Enchanted” Galápagos Islands: man. While literally thousands of scientific, newspaper and magazine articles, books, and television specials have extolled the remarkable natural history of the islands, very few authors have addressed their remarkable and intriguing human history. A history full of blood and grief ! Consequently, many who are interested in or visit the islands are ignorant of man‘s often desperate, sometimes enlightening, other times tumultuous, but always fascinating, plight in the islands. Before exploring the bloody human saga of Galápagos, the natural history of the islands is briefly reviewed so that the reader can appreciate why they are considered an ecological jewel of global importance, and gain insight into why the growing presence of man is evoking controversy.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE ARCHIPELAGO

Straddling the Equator approximately 600 miles off the Pacific coast of South America, 1,000 miles due south of Guatemala, 2,000 miles north of Easter island, and 3,000 miles east of the Marquesas Islands, the uniquely isolated Galápagos Archipelago is renown as an evolutionary laboratory. By some accounts, it is the most instructive and fragile ecosystem on the planet. Robert Bowman (1984), a renowned scientist who has championed conservation in the islands, summarized their importance by writing that, “No area on Earth of comparable size has inspired more fundamental changes in Man’s perceptive of himself and his environmnent than the Galápagos Islands.” The archipelago is fabled for its stark simplicity, the mystical beauty of the generally parched and desolate volcanic moonscape, and the fact that it is populated by a bewildering assemblage of terrestrial and marine flora and fauna. Where else does one find tortoises that have the longest life span of any of Earth’s creatures and weigh as much as 600 pounds, the world’s only seagoing lizard, the “prehistoric looking” marine iguana, penguins that live on the Equator, and relatives of sunflowers that have evolved into trees‘? The wor1d’s rarest gull - the lava gull, cormorants that have lost their ability to fly and equally distinctive species of marine flora and fauna are found only in Galápagos. There are also thirteen, of fourteen, species of finches that contributed to forever altering the course of history as they provided clues that were used to unravel the greatest mystery of all: The Origin of Species. The magical islands are also distinguished by the fact that they are one of only a few places within the tropics that were never inhabited by an aboriginal group. Consequently, evolutionary processes have, until recently, not been altered by man and there is an absence of fear among the islands’ creatures that has delighted mankind since the discovery of the lone archipelago some 450 years ago. Also, geologic and evolutionary processes that have and continue to shape the face of the Earth and create new biota are exceptionally visible in Galápagos. In recognition of these matchless attributes, approximately ninety-seven percent of the landmass and an adjacent marine area have been designated as protected areas. The unique set of processes and circumstances that gave birth to Galápagos and its astonishing ecosystem are reviewed below. The Galápagos Islands are one of the youngest, most volcanically active and isolated landmasses in the world. Their creation began millions of years ago when super heated magma burst through the ocean floor at “hot-spots” along the boundaries of the Nazca and Cocos tectonic plates. As magma flowed through the Earth’s mantle an active seamount was formed that, through successive eruptions, grew until it pierced the ocean’s surface creating an island that was sterile and devoid of life. As tectonic plates moved over and beyond a hot spot, the magma source was cut off and volcanism ceased. As one volcano became extinct, the cycle was repeated as the plates moved over the hot spot giving sporadic birth to a new island and eventually an archipelago. The southeastern islands, which are estimated to be four to five million years of age, are the oldest in Galapagos, eroded and no longer active. Those to the northwest are the youngest, relatively steep and still active (Simkins, 1984). For example, during the 1990s, there were eruptions on Marehena, Femandina and Isabela. With the passage of time, an archipelago comprised of thirteen islands, ranging in size from 2 to 1,800 square miles, and more than 100 smaller islands, islets and exposed rocks came into being. Their combined landmass is roughly 3,000 square miles which is five thousandth of one percent of Earth’s land mass. The larger islands are the peaks of shield volcanoes that rise, in instances, 16,000 feet from the ocean floor reaching heights of 5,600 feet above sea level. Isabela, which accounts for nearly sixtypercent of the archipelago’s total area, was formed as five volcanoes grew and united. Other islands or portions of islands were created when volcanic pressure became so strong that it suddenly thrust up and exposed sections of the ocean floor known as fault blocks. The liquid space surrounding the archipelago adds another intriguing dimension to the insular ecosystem. Underwater Galápagos is a one of a kind environment where surface and subsurface currents with divergent tempertures, densities, thermoclines and salinities converge and sheer against one another producing vertical and horizontal mixing and upwellings that nurture a wide array of seemingly incompatible marine life. The convergence of contrasting currents, that originate in different geographical regions of the Pacific and possess distinctive physical, biological and chemical properties, is unparalleled in the world and responsible for the astonishing and paradoxical diversity and exuberance of marine life found within the relatively smal geographic confines of Galápagos. Each current is, in essence, a river that transports, houses and nourishes a uniquely adapted variety and wealth of marine life. The Panama or Niño Current, for example, flows southwest from the Panama Bight and prevails around the northern islands. The warm water is less saline and productive than cooler currents, and inhabited by tropical species such as butterflyfish and red-tailed triggerfish. The Peru Current, which is actually an intricate system of currents, counter currents and upwellings, the best known of which is the Humboldt or Peru Coastal Current that bathes the southern islands. The Humboldt carries cool, 64 to 72°F, saline waters from Antarctica as it moves north along the west coast of South America until northern Peru where it veers westward flowing through Galápagos. Its green, nutrient-laden waters are Earth’s most productive ecosystem, literally teem with life and yield some twenty percent, by weight, of world’s marine fisheries catch. Commonly harvested species include anchovies, sardines and mackerel. Finally, the Cromwell or Equatorial Undercurrent originates in the Central Pacific and flows counter to the other currents, from west to east, in a snake-like motion deep beneath the oceans surface. The Cromwell is deflected upward as it approaches the western region of Galápagos creating upwellings of cold, 60 to 64°F, nutrient rich waters, the visibility of which is obscured by an abundance of phytoplankton—the basis of the food chain. The ocean surrounding the island of Fernandina and to the West of Isabela is, consequently, the most biologically productive area in the archipelago and populated by temperate species such as grouper, penguins, cormorants and fur seals. Another intriguing feature of Galápagos oceanography is the seesawing interaction of atmospheric pressure, trade Winds, oceanic and ambient temperatures, relative humidity, rainfall and sea level that are part and parcel of the now famous El Niño and La Niña Events. Each event influences the climate, life and the path of evolution in Galápagos. The causes and consequences of these phenomena are complex but a layman’s explanation follows. During “normal” years, prevailing westerly trade winds blow across the Pacific parallel to the equator. As this occurs, surface water is swept along causing it to “pile up” in the western tropical Pacific. As sun-warm, surface water is moved from eastern tropical Pacific, it is replaced by cool water that upwells from the depths of the ocean. Consequently, sea level is higher (a half a yard or more) in the western tropical Pacific and water temperature warmer (86°F) than encountered in the eastern tropical Pacific (71° F). Higher sea level, warmer ocean waters and the accompanying of hot and moist air mass in the western tropical Pacific create low atmospheric pressure, heavy rainfall and tropical conditions in Micronesia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Conditions are the opposite in the eastern tropical Pacific where high atmospheric pressure prevails. The air is dry and ocean surface temperatures comparatively low. The event known as El Niño, Spanish for “The Child” in honor of the Christ Child, was named by early Peruvian fishermen who recognized that climatic and oceanic conditions often began to change as Christmas approached. The event occurs at two to eight year intervals and varies in intensity. During an El Niño, the flow of water and the atmospheric conditions described above are reversed. The prevailing westerly trade winds diminish and warm, surface water, accompanied by a humid air mass, starts moving from west to east across the Pacific in a slow, wave-like motion similar to water sloshing in a bucket. As this occurs, water cools in the western tropical Pacific causing atmospheric pressure to increase. In contrast, ocean temperature, humidity, rainfall and sea level climb dramatically in the eastern tropical Pacific. Ultimately, atmospheric pressure systems and the direction of trade winds are reversed. A stationary high prevails over the western tropical Pacific and a low over the eastern tropical Pacific. The near-global effects of a major El Niño are well documented. Torrential downpours and pounding surf besiege the west coast of South, Central and North America. Fish stocks from Peru to the American Northwest collapse. In contrast, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines and areas of Australia are abnormally cool and dry. Crops wither and these countries are devastated by droughts and wildfires. There fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic and more in the Pacific. The monsoon season in the Indian Ocean fails to materialize. The opposing La Niña, or sister phenomenon, is shorter-lived, usually a few months. Atmospheric pressure in the western tropical Pacific is lower than normal and higher than normal in the eastern tropical Pacific. Westerly trade winds intensify; temperature, rainfall and sea level rise above their norms in the western tropical Pacific. In contrast, surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific are unusually cool, sea level drops and draught conditions intensify. The impacts of these two events are particularly dramatic in Galápagos as the islands are near their epicenters. During the 1982/83 El Niño Event, mean sea temperature rose from an average of 77° to 83°F, ambient temperature was higher than normal and precipitation increased multifold. Roads from the highlands turned into raging rivers of mud. Infrastructure, such as the sea wall on San Cristóbal, was washed away. Some species of flora died while others burgeoned, transforming the normally arid Galápagos into lush, tropical islands. Marine productivity was significantly lower and there was a redistribution of nutrients, phytoplankton and algae that impacted higher trophic levels. Sea birds and marine mammals had to significantly increase foraging times, experienced significant weight loss, more incidences of disease, high mortality rates and breeding failures. Corals and populations of marine iguanas, penguins, flightless cormorants and fur seals were decimated. Certain species of finches flourished, breeding as many as three times in a season, while others were stressed and too weak to reproduce at all. Finches also experienced high rates of hybridization and rapid evolutionary divergence (Weiner, 1995). News of conditions in the islands traveled quickly, causing tourists to cancel visits. A La Niña Event produces opposite effects. Water and ambient temperatures around the islands drop significantly and oppressive droughts cause plants to wither. Temperate rather than tropical species are favored. Galápagos normally has two distinct seasons that are determined by regular oscillations in the locations and strengths of ocean currents. The warm-wet season lasts from January to June and is caused by a southern shift of the Panama Current. The influx of warm water and humid air produces high ambient temperatures. Skies are clear; seas flat, winds calm and out of the east or southeast, and there are sporadic and refreshing rain showers. March is the hottest month, averaging 90°F and has the highest rainfall. The cool, dry season is ushered in around the end of June, when the southeasterly trade winds intensify and last through December. As the brisk, dry winds and cool water pass through Galápagos, they produce arid conditions, similar to those found in the coastal desert of Peru, relatively mild ambient temperatures, slightly overcast skies and choppy seas. Temperatures in August, historically the driest month, and September drop into the low 70s° F. However, given the islands’ position near the fulcrum of El Niño and La Niña Events, climate, year to year, is unpredictable and subject to severe change. During the 1983 El Niño, for example, the Darwin Station received nearly l10 inches of rain versus a little over three inches in 1970, a La Niña year. In addition, currents are stronger in certain geographical regions, creating localized microclimates that reflect variations in the ocean’s temperature that may range from 61°F to 82°F. Also, a La Niña often, but not always, falls on the heels of an El Niño Event so abnormally tropical conditions may be followed by usually arid conditions. Many of the early mariners who visited Galápagos puzzled over where the flora and fauna of the islands came from and how they got there. The 600 miles to the nearest point of the South American continent constitute a formidable barrier for most organisms. Observant visitors were also perplexed by the fact that some species closely resembled those found elsewhere while others bore no resemblance at all and seemed to have been independently created. The fact that the islands are obviously of recent volcanic origin led many to speculate that their inhabitants must also be new. Scientists have concluded that the islands were originally populated in three distinct ways. First, winds conveyed light spores from lower plant forms, such as lichens, bacteria and molds, as well as airborne seeds produced by vascular plants. Second, birds brought ingested, and barbed and sticky seed, that adhered tn their feet and plumage to Galápagos. Finally, ocean currents carried rafts of intertwined vegetation and debris, which in turn transported insects, seeds, and reptiles, including Tortoises, to the isolated archipelago. It has been estimated that sixty percent of the indigenous plant species were introduced by birds, thirty percent by wind, and ten percent by ocean currents. Land mammals are not well adapted to being transported by one of these mechanisms and are consequently poorly represented in the islands. Only six species of land dwelling mammals (two species of bats, two species of rice rats, the fur seal and sea lion) are native to the islands and their colonization of Galápagos is easily explained. The odds of a species reaching and successfully colonizing the islands were infinitesimal but over eons a limited number survived the protracted voyage and fortuitously took up residence. Bacteria, fungi, algae and lichens that require little or no soil and moisture were the first to gain a foothold on the young and sterile islands. Natural forces such as waves, wind, rain, heat and cold slowly but relentlessly broke down the lava. Seabirds and marine mammals took up residence on the rocky shores feeding on marine life. The appearance of life accelerated the breakdown of lava and the emergence of new life forms. Bird guano added nitrogen and plants grew and died, enriching the soil with organic matter that provided sustenance to support new and higher orders of species. As the colonization processes progressed and the food chain became more complex, new ecological niches were created and filled. The number and diversity of organisms inhabiting the islands increased. Once members of a species established a presence on Galápagos, they were confronted by a new and harsh set of conditions that exerted control over their population. Hot days, cool nights and a lack of food instantly culled species that were ill suited to the rigorous environment. Either a sufficient number of individuals survived or the population became extinct. Successful species were forced to develop locally useful traits that, eventually, led to the perpetuation of characteristics that made them better suited to their environment. Unforgiving and inconsistent environmental conditions and competition for food incessantly culled or favored traits. Those better suited to their environment left more and healthier offspring that were similar, not identical, to their parents. The weak perished; the strong survived. Given persistent isolation, meaning the gene pool was not diluted by the arrival of new vagrants, natural selection led to the emergence of new, better adapted species. Favorable mutations spread quickly within the small populations that resided in the archipelago. Opportunities, such as unfilled ecological niches, and challenges, attributed to changes in the environment and food supply, caused members of the newly evolved species to compete among themselves. Over generations they underwent further evolutionary divergence that resulted in the birth of more specialized species. In instances, members of a species from one island were dispersed to another island or islands where the evolutionary processes began anew. These satellite populations evolved into newer races, subspecies, or species and, in instances, later repatriated their island of origin. Multiple species that shared a common heritage were able to coexist when each filled a distinctive niche. A complex history of island hopping and rehopping thus contributed to and accelerated the appearance of new species. Many of the species that populated the islands thus underwent two similar, yet distinct, evolutionary processes. The first was change the original lineage and the second, continued divergence into multiple species. Darwin’s finches are a classical example. At some unknown point in time, immigrant finches colonized Galápagos and radiated into thirteen species; still another reached and evolved separately on Cocos Island (Costa Rica). Each has a remarkably distinctive beak that enables these closely related species to occupy separate niches. Just as man forges differently sized and shaped pliers to suite specific tasks (needle-nose to remove small nuts, larger slip-joint or vise grips to grab and “crack” large rusted-on nuts, etc.), evolution forged a series of beaks in Galápagos finches that are uniquely adapted to open or crack seeds that vary from small to large and from soft and fleshy to very hard. Others are further differentiated as they feed on the blood of seabirds or a variety of insects. One of the latter species has specialized to the point where it uses a cactus spine as a tool to extract insect larvae that burrow into dead branches. All colonizing species did not undergo the process of evolutionary divergence. Even though it inhabits ten islands, there is only one species of the curious and fearless Galápagos hawk which, rather than having specialized, became more of a generalist. Also, only one species of cormorant resides in the archipelago. Encountering an abundant and nearby fond supply with little competition and no natural predators, the cormorant became localized, lost its power of flight but perfected its ability to swim. Differences in the sizes of islands also impacted the course of evolution. Larger islands, by virtue of their area, length of coastline and the fact that they have higher elevations and, thus, a greater diversity of climatic zones, received more immigrants, and favored larger populations and a greater diversity of species than smaller islands. There are several other striking features that distinguish the terrestrial and marine flora and fauna of Galápagos from other areas of the world. First, the Galápagos ecosystem is comprised of relatively few, rather than a multitude of species. This is attributed to the fact that isolation and the rigorous environment constituted nearly impregnable barriers that barred and culled a large number of species. Biodiversity, the number of species that inhabit the islands, is actually poor when contrasted to other areas of the world. The terrestrial and marine ecosystems of the archipelago are only populated by 5,500 to 6,000 species. This may seem to be a large number, but, to put things in perspective, mainland Ecuador boasts some 1,400 species of birds, 800 species of reptiles and amphibians, and between 20,000 and 25,000 plant species and a large but unknown number of aquatic biota (Fundación Natura, 1981). Second, indigenous species have diverse geographic affinities. This was made possible because the winds and ocean currents that brought pioneering species to the islands originated in different regions of the world. Also, once organisms reached Galápagos, they found an exceptionally wide range of marine and terrestrial microenvironments that favored a seemingly incompatible mix of species. The islands and surrounding waters are thus a Noah’s Ark that house tropical to temperate life forms that arrived and evolved from the distant areas of the Pacific, the Caribbean, and South, Central and North America. The ocean teems with contrasting species, such as the Moorish Idols and Colored King Angelfish from the tropical Indo-Pacific, and cool water species of Grape-eye and Hornsharks. Temperate species, such as cormorants, abound in the chilly upwellings of the Cromwell Current. Fur seals, related to species found along southern Peru and on some islands in Antarctica, live in close proximity to sea lions that descended from species found along the coast of California. Flamingos, whose ancestry has been traced to the Caribbean, feed in lagoons not far from penguins that originated in Antarctica. There are also a large number of cetaceans including some sixteen species of whales. The third distinguishing feature of the Galápagos ecosystem is the unusually high incidence of endemism, meaning that a large percentage of the species are found nowhere else on the planet. Ninety-five percent of the reptiles, fifty percent of the resident birds, seventy percent of the insects, approximately forty percent of the terrestrial plants, and seventeen percent of the fishes are found only in Galápagos. This attribute is a product of the unique set of circumstances that distinguished and facilitated the evolutionary processes in the islands. In summary, the islands are a sort of petri dish where one can witness the development of life. Geological and evolutionary processes are a dynamic continuum. Thus, within a very confined geographic area, one finds a virtual spectrum of ecological successions, ranging from barren lava flows that are several years old to lushly vegetated areas and unique species of flora and fauna that have undergone evolutionary processes for millions of years. There is also an intriguing degree of internal harmony in the distribution of species. Islands in close proximity to one another and/or with comparable ages, heights and environmental conditions tend to have similar biota; yet each is an independent environmental and ecological entity populated by a different combination of life forms. Before addressing the human history of the islands, it is useful to explore why man was absent for so long. Basically, the same barriers that thwarted the arrival and colonization by species of flora and fauna also discouraged humans. Although visits by an aboriginal group are not beyond the realm of possibility, the distance that they would have navigated was as much of an obstacle for man as it was for many other species. If PreColombians did reach the islands, they were confronted by a dearth of life sustaining resources and, thus, had little reason for establishing a lasting presence. With the exception of a limited supply of fresh water and stocks of whales, fish, turtles and tortoises, the islands are basically devoid of valuable resources. Also, exploitable resources such as fertile soil, minerals and forests are generally absent. Roughly 70 percent of the land mass is covered by flows of shiny, smooth or patterned lava, called “pahoehoe” in Hawaiian as its appearance resembles coils of rope and expanses of angular, sharp an jagged lava , appropriately dubbed aa (hurt) by Hawaiians. Less than two percent of the land mass has sufficient moisture and soil to support subsistence agriculture or cattle ranching. Intensive agriculture is not possible even in the areas that are verdant. Distance from population centers and markets also dissuaded economically viable settlements.

HUMAN EXPLORATION

The story of Galápagos entails more than natural history. It is also an ongoing saga of human exploration, suffering, triumphs, tragedies, enlightening and shocking scientific revelations, wars, hideous deaths, shattered and fulfilled dreams, and initiatives that have helped protect the priceless ecosystems. Many of the events that unfolded in the archipelago will never be known. Fortunately, parts of the islands‘ extraordinary history are preserved in logbooks, journals and articles left by an unusual assortment of adventurous individuals. These literary wayfarers came from varied backgrounds and for diverse reasons. Some arrived accidentally and considered themselves fortunate to escape the parched, forbidding isles. There were soldiers-of-fortune, who sought a safe-haven and whose swashbuckling capers were the makings of legends. Their ranks included the hot-tempered buccaneer, hydrographer and pilot, William Darnpier; Dampier‘s fearless comrade-in-arms, William Ambrose Cowley; the privateer, Woodes Rogers; and the most famous of all castaways Alexander Selkirk aka Robinson Crusoe.” Two and a half centuries after the discovery of the archipelago, seafarers, who spent monotonous years sailing featureless seas in quest of whales, came by the thousands. They left with their ships’ holds filled with succulent tortoises and valuable whale oil. Herman Melville, whose works chronicle their struggle with the sea, left prosaic accounts of island events during this era. Articulate sealers, such as Delano and Morrell, contributed to island history during their sojourns in the early 1800s. The intrepid and controversial Captain David Porter carried the War of 1812 to Galápagos. There were also stories by and about unfortunate victims of ship wrecks and those who were intentionally or accidentally marooned on the islands. Others came to explore and chart littie-known areas of the world or to advance human knowledge. The most famous of all was the young, inquisitive theologian and self-taught. naturalist, Charles Darwin, who unraveled that “mystery of mysteries, the first appearance of new beings on this earth.” A new era began when the archipelago was annexed and colonized in the early 1830s. For more than a century, the legacy of the islands was one of horrific and barbaric treatment of humans who had been banished to one of the notoriously “wretched penal camps where revolts, whippings and death were frequent. For them, the archipelago was purgatory. At the turn of the 20th century, distinguished scientists followed in Darwin’s wake. For a brief period, Galápagos was the “in place” for a stream of exceptionally wealthy American philanthropists who arrived on luxurious yachts equipped with every convenience available at the time. Misguided colonists came from Norway, Germany and the United States between the 1920s and 1960s seeking paradise; most left disillusioned. There is the well-publicized tale of a few eccentric colonists who lived, died and disappeared on the island of Floreana in the 1930s. Starting in the 1940s, Ecuadorian peasants came fleeing devastating, natural disasters on the continent. A transformation in the economic base, caused by the emergence of tourism in the late 1960s, ushered in a new era with new issues and new breeds of visitors and immigrants.F or centuries perceived as worthless and scattered heaps of clinker, the archipelago and adjacent seas are now considered one of Earth’s most precious treasures and have been designated as a World Heritage Site and Natural Patrimony of Mankind. The wealth of the Galápagos Islands has only recently been tapped and is found in their aesthetic beauty, pristine environment, and the fact that they are inhabited by a wondrous and instructive array of species. There is a universal agreement that conservation of Galápagos is of utmost importance, but the issue of man’s place in the islands continues to be an emotional source of debate. Approximately a century and a half ago, Darwin described the islands as “a microcosm of the world at large.” His assessment is truer today than ever as man; endowed with superior intelligence, his ever evolving beak, has established himself as a participant in the struggle for survival in Galápagos. The isolation and processes that gave birth to the seemingly haphazard, yet uniquely ordered Galéápagos ecosystem have been compromised. As the principles of evolution reveal, the struggle for survival is ongoing as species, including Homo sapiens, are constantly competing between and among themselves. Humans, not natural processes, are presently the chief agents of change in Galápagos. Armed with technology, man, rather than adapting to the natural world, is altering the environment to fulfill his needs and desires. Humans have surpassed ocean currents and winds as the principal introducer of species, most of which wreak havoc on the insular ecosystem as they outcompete and replace endemic flora and fauna, and can be held accountable for the extinction and reduction of species. A large portion of the environmental and social issues confronting the islands today can be linked to ecotourism, which has proven to be both a blessing and a bane. It can be argued that the eco in ecotourism is as much about economics as ecology. On the positive side, tourism is a non extractive activity that has been lauded as the most appropriate vehicle for promoting and financing sustainable development and conservation of the archipelago. The industry has fulfilled many of these expectations. Since its inception approximately one million people have enjoyed the Galápagos experience and generated employment and wealth for the islands and mainland Ecuador as well as funding and political support to bolster scientific research and conservation. Simultaneously, tourism has stimulated a dramatic increase in the presence of humans, fostered socioeconomic stratification and social unrest, accelerated the introduction of exotic species, and created new threats and challenges to the environment and policy makers. While the environment and ecology of Galápagos are unique, the human dilemma is not. As Brazilian President Collor de Mello stated at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, “You can’t have an environmentally healthy planet in a world that is socially unjust. The characters and stories of Galápagos that follow should be judged within the context of their times. While the slaughter of whales, fur seals and tortoises is lamentable, it should be remembered that each had a value and use that enhanced or, in the case of tortoises, contributed to sustaining what was at best a meager human existence. Times and values were different from today. Nature was to be conquered, not held in reverence. Vast areas of the world were still unknown for centuries after the first Europeans visited Galápagos. New places, people, plants, animals, and sources of wealth were constantly being discovered. Land was believed to exist where today we know there is only ocean. Advanced civilizations were being annihilated to create new European empires. The slave trade flourished. When the whalers began to visit Galápagos, the United Siates was less than twenty years old with seventeen states and the only independent nation in the Western Hemisphere. Man was thought to be divinely created, resources infinite and put on Earth solely for his taking. The reader should be forewarned that the spelling, punctuation, spacing and names of islands in quoted text are as they originally appeared. The names of islands may cause confusion as individual islands have multiple names that are simultaneously in use. With the exception of Floreana, which remains the most commonly used name for the island, the author uses the “official name” for the remaining islands. Lastly, for those who know Galápagos and its people, there are numerous, untold and ongoing tales that are omitted as they are personal and their telling best left to the discretion of the families involved. “Take five-and-twenty heaps of cinders dumped here and there in an outside city lot; imagine some of them magnified into mountains, and the vacant lot the sea; and you will have a fit idea of the general aspect of the Encantadas, or Enchanted Isles. A group rather of extinct volcanoes than of isles; looking much as the world at large might; after a penal conflagration. “It is to be doubted whether any spot on earth can in desolateness furnish a parallel to this group. “Another feature of these isles is their emphatic uninhabitableness... Man and wolf alike disown them. Little but reptile life is here found; tortoises, lizards, immense spiders, snakes and that strangest anomaly of outlandish nature, the iguana. No voice, no low, no howl is heard; the chief sound of life here is a hiss. There is much speculation as to when man first set foot on the remote and parched specks of land known as the Galápagos Islands. It has been argued that the archipelago was frequented by a succession of pre-Columbian cultures that engaged in maritime trade that extended from present day Mexico to Chile. For example, Valdivia, a town on the central coast of Ecuador where some of the earliest artifacts in the western hemisphere have been unearthed, had a maritime culture that dates back to 1500 BC. Some archaeologists (i.e., Baumann, 1985) postulate that the similarity in pottery discovered near Valdivia and the distinctive low-fired ceramics of the Jomon culture that flourished in western Japan between 400 and 250 BC, is clear evidence that trade routes extended across the Pacific to Asia, and that Galápagos was visited by these early seafarers. Highly advanced civilizations from northern Peru that date back to the Moche Period (100 AD) also engaged in maritime trade, traveled widely through the Pacific, and presumably visited Galápagos. One of these was the seafaring Chimu Culture, which thrived from 1000 AD until it was conquered by the Incas in 1475. Chan Chan, the capital, was located on the coast, contained 10,000 dwellings and was populated by between 50,000 to 70,000 residents. The Chimu’s dependence and worship of the sea is evidenced by stucco figures of sea creatures, fishing tools and sailing scenes that adorn nearly ever building unearthed. Legend holds that the Incas called on Galápagos. The story can be traced to Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa (1572), a Spanish chronicler who documented the oral history of the Incas and reported that Tupac Inka Yupanqui, king during the height of the Inca Empire (1471-1493), heard merchants tell of wondrous islands that were rich in gold. To validate their claim, the king sought the council of Atarqui, a great sorcerer who used his power of flight to confirm the existence of the fabled islands. Based on Atarqui’s testimony, the king departed from the coast of Manabi (central Ecuador) with an armada of balsa sailing rafts that carried 20,000 soldiers. The expedition returned nine months to a year later with gold, dark skinned people, a brass or copper chair, and the skin and jawbone of an animal thought to be horse. Several of the above-mentioned items were preserved in the Inca fortress in Cuzco when the Spaniards conquered the city in the early 1530s. During their sojourn, the Incas reportedly came upon two islands that they named Avachumbi (Island Beyond) and Ninachumbi (Island of Fire). The latter name seems to indicate that they passed within sight of an erupting island. Galápagos is the most likely place to have seen such an event. Sarmiento so thoroughly believed the tale that he persuaded the Viceroy of Peru to sponsor an expedition to search for the legendary islands. In an account sent to King Philip II on November 30. 1567, he reported that the ships passed within sight of two islands that he believed were Avachumbi and Ninachumbi. The commander either refused to, or could not, land and continued on until the expedition discovered the Solomon Islands. The Spanish explorer and conquistador Francisco Pizarro and his “Glorious 13” followers reported seeing Indians navigating large balsa rafts along the coast of South America during their 1526 foray into the Pacific. Rafts, constructed by indigenous cultures, intrigued later-day adventurers such as the Dutch Admiral Spilbergen (1619), the English buccaneer Bartholomew Sharp (1680) and the Yankee merchant Benjamin Morrell (1832), who saw them sailing offshore. The famed German naturalist, Alexander von Humboldt, also observed these crafts plying the waters off the west coast of South America. David Porter, Captain of the American frigate Essex, encountered two “catamarans, steering by the wind, having each six men to work them” as he cruised off northern Peru in 1813. He and his crew were astonished to learn that that they customarily sailed against constant head winds and strong currents to carry cargo from Guayaquil (Ecuador’s main port on its southwestern coast) to Lima (Peru), a distance of nearly eight hundred miles, and were rarely lost in the process. Porter (1823) described them as being fashioned of, “Eight logs of from twenty-five to thirty feet in length,... and three pieces lashed across with a kind of grass rope, to form the floor; each side is formed of two logs, laid one on another, and the deck is composed of rough logs laid crosswise,... and all lashed (though very insecurely) together. Forward and aft are some pieces of board, from three to four feet in length, stuck down between the logs forming the floor, and serving as a substitute for a keel. A mast is stepped in between the logs of the floor, and,.. secured by a lashing from side to side, and having the additional security of a stay and a shroud, which is shifted always to the weather side, and to this is hoisted a large lug-sail made of cotton.” The Norwegian anthropologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl was convinced that pre-Columbians crossed the Pacific and visited the Galápagos Archipelago. During his epic-voyage from Peru to Tahiti in 1947, he sailed the replica balsa raft Kon-Tiki just south of Galápagos, proving that they were easily within the range of early sailing crafts. To verify his theory, Heyerdahl led an archeological expedition to the islands in 1953 that discovered four pre-Spanish occupation sites on three islands. The sites yielded shards of earthen pottery, a terra-cotta flute, a chalk-stone whorl, a flint and obsidian scrapers from varied ceramic periods and pre-Columbian cultures. Heyerdahl argued that these artifacts provide conclusive proof that the archipelago was used as an outpost by aboriginal cultures. The 1954 Walt Disney Galápagos Expedition also found pre Columbian pottery shards. There is no way to settle the debate over whether or not aboriginal groups visited Galápagos. On one hand, there is no doubt that a series of advanced early civilizations flourished along the west coast of the Americas and engaged in widespread maritime trade for more than a thousand years. Given the prevailing trade-winds, it seems highly likely that some of their rafts would have been carried to the islands. Lastly, while reaching Galápagos would seem to be an extremely difficult task, how does one explain that islands such as the Marquesas, Easter Island, Hawaii, etc., which are much more distant from the nearest continent, were settled by aboriginal groups? On the other hand, there is no hard evidence to substantiate that Galápagos was ever frequented by early civilizations. It is obvious that a pre-Colombian settlement never existed in the archipelago for any significant length of time. Also, Sarmiento’s account is highly suspect as most of the items he reported (gold, a brass or copper chair, people of dark skin, etc.) could not have originated in the islands. While Heyerdahl’s artifacts are pre-Colombian, it is conceivable that they were left by buccaneers who picked them up on the mainland in the late 1600s. Also, some experts debate whether the Andean dwelling Incas possessed the skills and knowledge required to navigate great distances out to sea. Lastly, it is difficult to envision a fleet of balsa rafts capable of carrying 20,000 soldiers and all the supplies necessary for a prolonged voyage. Recorded history credits Tomas de Berlanga as discovering the Galápagos Islands in March of 1535. At the time, the independent-minded Bishop of Panama and outspoken critic of Spanish atrocities in the New World was sailing from Panama to Peru. His voyage was in response to a decree from Charles V ordering that he review the accounts of the conquistadors in Peru, report on efforts to bring Peru under the domain of the Spanish Crown, and arbitrate disputes between battling Spanish troops. Berlanga, who felt blessed to escape the hostile surroundings, failed to bestow a name on the inhospitable archipelago. He described the incident in a letter written to his King in April. “The ship sailed with very good breezes for seven days, and the pilot kept near land and we had a sixday calm; the currents were so strong and engulfed us in such a way that on Wednesday, the tenth of March, we sighted an island; and, as on board there was enough water for only two more days, they agreed to lower the life-boat and go on land for water and grass for the horses, and once out, they found nothing but seals, and turtles, and such big tortoises, that each could carry a man on top of itself, and many iguanas that are like serpents. “On another day, we saw another island larger than the first, and with great sierras;... and at this juncture the water on the ship gave out and we were three days in reaching the island on account of the calms, during which all of us, as well as the horses, suffered great hardships. “The boat once anchored, we all went on land, and some were given charge of making a well, and others looking for water over the island; from the well there came out water saltier than that of the sea; on land they were not able to find even a drop of water for two days.... “The Lord designed that they should find in a ravine among the rocks as much as a hogshead of water, and after they had drawn that, they found more and more... eight hogs heads were filled and the barrels and the jugs that there were on the boat, but through the lack of water we lost one man and two days after we left the island we lost another; and ten horses died. “...on this whole island, I do not think there is a place where one might sow a bushel of corn, because most of it is full of very big stones, so much so, that it seems as though some time God had showered stones; and the earth that there is, is like dross, worthless, because it has not the power of raising a little grass.” The next known visitor was the Spanish conquistador Captain Diego de Rivadeneira, who was fleeing Peru when he happened upon the islands in 1546. His flight stemmed from the long and violent civil war between rival Spanish forces fighting over jurisdictional control of the conquered Inca Empire. Troops commanded by Don Diego Centeno battled forces led by Lieutenant Francisco de Carvajal. Carvajal was a skilled veteran soldier who had participated in the sacking of Rome in 1527 and served under Hernán Cortés in Mexico before being sent to Peru. Finding his troops outnumbered and relentlessly pursued, Centeno ordered his men to retreat and dispatched Captain Rivadeneira and a small company to seize a vessel that was anchored off the southern coast and pick up his men at a designated location. After an arduous journey, Rivadeneira found the vessel and tricked its crew into coming ashore by reporting that Caravajal had been killed and his soldiers defeated. Having secured the ship, the faithful captain sailed to the rendezvous spot. Unknown to him, Centeno’s troops had been overrun and dispersed. Also, Caravajal had learned of the escape plan and sent a detachment to capture the ship. When the appropriate signal was received, Rivadeneira prepared to meet the approaching boats. Fortunately, one of his men recognized that they carried troops commanded by Carvajal, not Centeno. Sails were hastily set as the vessel made its escape. The pilot, with neither compass nor map, was ordered to sail offshore to avoid a chance encounter with enemy ships. Their destination was New Spain (Mexico and northern Central America). While en route, they were becalmed and drifted within sight of Galápagos. After twenty-five days at sea, the poorly provisioned Spaniards were in dire need of food and water. For days their vessel drifted aimlessly in the strong, shifting currents surrounding the mist-shrouded islands, creating the illusion that the islands were moving and not attached to the ocean floor. It is generally believed that Rivadeneira, consequently, named them “Las Encantadas” (The Bewitched or Enchanted Islands). The experience proved even more demoralizing when they finally landed, found no water, and realized that they had not arrived at Tumbez (in northern Peru) or the island of Puna (at the mouth of the Gulf of Guayaquil) as anticipated. Enraged, Captain Rivadeneira ordered the pilot thrown overboard but rescinded the command as he realized that his skills were still needed. Rivadeneira eventually reached Guatemala where he reported on events in Peru and his discovery of the islands. Among his accounts is a story that the ship was becalmed on one occasion when a sea turtle was spotted floating quietly on the ocean’s surface. A young member of his group was sent over the side to capture the animal. Unfortunately, a breeze sprang up, sweeping the vessel away. It was reported that “the poor boy was devoured by sea-creatures.” Once discovered, Galápagos was, for all practical purposes, forgotten. Nearly one-hundred-fifty years would pass before names were assigned to individual islands and the first charts of the archipelago were drawn. Three centuries would pass before any country claimed and attempted to colonize the islands.

PIRATES AND BUCCANEERS SLAUGHTERED MEN

“That the Buccaneers perpetrated the greatest outrages is very true, that some of them were mere cut-throats is not to be denied; but we know that here and there among their host was a Dampier, a Wafer, and a Cowley, and likewise other men, whose worst approach was their desperate fortunes, whom persecution, or adversity, or secret and unavengeable wrongs, had driven from Christian society to seek the melancholy solitude or the guilty adventures of the sea. “ I... bethought me long and deeply of these same buccaneers. Could it be possible, that they robbed and murdered one day, reveled the next, and rested themselves by turning meditative philosophers, rural poets... Still, strange as it may seem, I must also abide by the more charitable thought; namely, that among these adventurers were some gentlemanly, companionable souls, capable of genuine tranquility and virtue.” (Melville, 1854).