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How Tortoises Fueled Pacific Exploration in The Age of Sail
The hard and devastating work of turpining
In the 17th century, the tortoise population on the Galapagos Islands was estimated to be 250,000. By the turn of the 20th century, that number had dropped to less than 20,000. Over 90% of the population of Galapagos tortoises was wiped out by human activity. One such activity that decimated the tortoise populations in the islands was called turpining.
Turpining was the act of hunting tortoises. But this hunt was different from a usual hunt. This hunt was non-lethal. Tortoises were prized on sailing ships, and many ships went out of their way to anchor off the equatorial islands of the Galapagos and take what tortoises they could.
Turpining was a vital part of keeping sailing ships provisioned in the Pacific. Even today, the Pacific Ocean is a vast wasteland. Without strategic stops and without the knowledge of watering holes, friendly ports, and charted islands, a ship could easily run out of food or water, leaving their men to die a slow and grisly death under the unrelenting sun. Tortoises prevented this fate from afflicting many ships during the 18th and 19th centuries.
