The Galapagos Islands are discovered by chance on March 10, 1535 when the ship carrying the Bishop of Panama, Dominican friar Fray Tomas de Berlanga was dragged to the Galapagos by a combination of calm and strong currents.
Berlanga was on his way to Peru by order of the Spanish monarch, Charles V, to arbitrate in a dispute between Francisco Pizarro and his subordinates after the conquest of the Inca empire.