As early as 1832, José Villamil journeyed to the newly christened Archipiélago del Ecuador and its capital Floreana in order to convert the islands into a progressive province symbolically named Asilo de la Paz, with colonies on Santiago, Santa Cruz, and San Cristóbal. Capt. Nicholas Lawson, a Jamaican who in 1830 had explored the islands, may have introduced goats, sheep, and pigs to Floreana and possibly other islands before Villamil’s arrival in 1832. He introduced cattle, horses, and possibly sheep into various islands, including San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, Santiago, Isabela, and Pinta, in order to take advantage of their natural pastures.
