History tells that the Spanish cleric Fray Tomás de Berlanga, Bishop of Panamá, discovered the Archipelago by accident on March 10th 1535. However, tradition tells that the Islands were really discovered by the Inca Tupac – Yupanqui. There is a possibility that he organized an expedition to the Islands in the 1400s. Also, the pottery found on the Islands has the same characteristics such as the ones found in Manta and Santa Elena on the continent.

In the Colonial period the Archipelago belonged to Spain and the sailors who visited the Islands continuously called them the “Enchanted Islands” (Islas Encantadas). Colonel Ignacio Hernández named the Islands “Archipelago of Galapagos.”

The Galapagos Islands were incorporated to Ecuadorian territory on February 12th 1832 under the presidency of Juan José Flores. When the government claimed the islands, Floreana Island was given as a reward to a local officer for bravery. He took 80 people into the Island and kept them enslaved until they rebelled.
A penal colony was built on San Cristobal Island in 1880. Prisoners had to work hard on the deserted islands and were left there to suffer thirst and hardships as a punishment for misdemeanors.

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