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For this week’s primary source assignment, I choose the article on the history of the Galapagos islands as my first primary source http:/two. PBS. Org/sepulchral/ . I first heard of the infamous Galapagos Islands when I was in elementary school, learning about natural selection, finches, and Charles Darwin. After reading this article I learned some of the history prior to Darwin, things I hadn’t heard of before. The Galapagos Islands lie 600 miles west of Ecuador, in the more southern part of the Pacific Ocean right below the equator.
The earliest recorded acuity on the island happened to be accidental. On March 10, 1535 Fray Thomas De Bearing stumbled upon the islands sailing form panama. In 1 570 the islands were plotted on a map by the name of Solar De Galapagos, meaning islands of the tortoise due to several tortoise sightings by sailors. The Islands later became a popular spot as a food source for long journeys. British buccaneers would use it as resting place after pirating and looting Spanish ships and settlements in South America.
The islands had a mystery to them, at times being know as the enchanted islands, many believed they didn’t exist because of the dense fog that would hide the islands. Not until 1835, 300 years after it was first found, did Charles Darwin visit the Island. Here was where he founded the idea of natural selection that the species of each island varied because they had to adapt to feeding habits. The Galapagos has a rich history that is really interesting to learn about. For my second primary source I read the article on a distinguished young man by he name of Joseph Banks http://www. Landholders. Com/explorers/biographies/ banks/Joseph-banks-01 . HTML . Joseph came from an affluent family, but unlike other boys he opted from the average path of a boy of his wealth and instead he wanted to learn. Only 18 when his father died, he inherited a large sum of money but this did not distract him. Josephs was Interested in botany, paying to take classes at oxford. Joseph Banks took his first Journey with his friend, Lieutenant John Phipps, from April 1766- January 1767.
While on their trip they collected many specimens, part of which Included 340 different types of plants. His second voyage was with James Cook. Not very interested in the primary goal of the voyage, which involved recording the transit of Venus across the sun, Joseph took interest in the secondary goal. The second purpose of the mission was to record all manner of plant and animal life encountered on the voyage. Joseph had much excitement for the discovery of plant and animal life that he even funded part of the expeditions.
Like many other explorers Joseph did not have all smooth sailing on his travels. On one of his explorations on wild life Banks and Daniel Colander had some trouble. While exploring by the day the weather was perfect, but at nightfall things goat little tricky. It began to snow so densely that they could not find their way back to the ship. Some of the people who had gone with them did not make it through the night. I found it really interesting to read on Joseph Banks.