The islands were accidentally discovered by Fray Tomas de Berlanga, the Bishop of Panama who officially documented his first visit to the island in 1535.  The Bishop was on his way to Peru when his ship was ship was blown 800 km off course by westward ocean currents.

            He and his crew combed the island for fresh water in order to replenish their dwindling supplies but to no avail. Disenchanted by the barren island, they left the island without even giving it a name. They sent word to King Carlos of Spain, telling of thethe numerous “Galapagos” they found there. In 1574, the islands first appeared on a map as “The Islands of Galapagos”.

            Around 1680, the islands became a famous haunt of English buccaneers who used to attack Spanish ships which were unlucky enough to be spotted. They were the first visitors to many of the islands and named them after English Kings and aristocracy. Galapagos waters became a favorite place for British and American whaling ships. On Floreana itself is one of the only remnants of this era, a barrel erected to facilitate communication between boats and the land. Its locality is known as Post Office Bay to this day.

            Floreana was the first island to be permanently inhabited. Irishman Patrick Watkins was marooned on Floreana in 1807. He spent some years there, raising vegetables and selling them to visiting whaling ships before stealing a boat and sailing to the mainland. The islands then remained more or less uninhabited until 1832, when Ecuadorean General Jose Villamil who attempted to form a penal colony on the island composing of convicts and political prisoners, who traded meat and vegetables with whalers. Like many of his other projects, this colony did not last. In February 1832, Colonel Hernandez took official possession of the archipelago in the name of Ecuador. Thus, Spanish names were given to the islands.

            William Beebe’s book “Galapagos: World’s End” published in 1924 inspired the beginnings of the eco-tourism which dominates the Galapagos economy to this day. Trickles of tourists began in the early 20^th century, including US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Probably the most interesting period of Floreana’s population history began in 1929 with the arrival of the eccentric German doctor, Friedrich Ritter, and his female assistant, Dore Strauch. Three years later the Wittmer family also decided to settle on the island. The two groups lived peacefully on the island until the arrival of the third group, which consisted of Baroness von Wagner de Bosquet, a German young lady who settled there with her three reputed lovers. A spate of discord among the residents, as well as several mysterious occurrences which lead to either the death or disappearance of everyone on the island, except the Wittmer family. The only survivor of this unexplained period is Margret Wittmer who still lives at Black Beach, where the permanent settlement of Floreana is located.

            The islands received US presence during the 2^nd  W.W. they constructed an air force base on Baltra in order to protect Panama Canal from Japanese threat. At the end of the war the base and all of its facilities were given to the Ecuadorean government. The landing strip now serves as one of the island’s two airports bringing visitors from the mainland.

            Four centuries of human presence on the islands began to take a noticeable toll on the island, and in 1935, 100 years after Darwin’s visit to the island, the Ecuadorean government decreed parts of the island as wildlife preserves. Three of the 14 races of tortoises were now extinct and other species were beginning to dwindle, including the native rice rat, one of the few indigenous Galapagos mammals. Feral goats and cattle had begun to destroy the unique flora of the island and introduced feral cats and dogs were eating the eggs or young of native birds and reptiles. Although there was an expressed interest in the natural environment of island, little was done to enforce these laws, far less reverse the damage which had already been done.

            However, in 1959, 100 years after Darwin’s publication of “The Origin of Species”, Ecuador declared the islands its first national park, placing all areas that were previously not, under protection. The Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands was incorporated on Belgium, beginning island operations in 1960. In 1964, the Charles Darwin Research was opened outside of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. The station works alongside the National Park Office to conduct research and determine protection strategies to implement on the islands. A reversal of damage began.