First, the were called Baiona islands, in 1840 they start belonging to Vigo. From the convent of the lighthouse island there are blocks of stones, marks of quarrymen, shafts, canecillos , and the medieval cemetery with an anthropomorphic tomb- Centre of interpretation- current restored building, place for storing the 19th century goods built where the convent was.
After corsair period and in the context of the independence war fortification projects were thought but finally it was only built a place for storing goods and some barracks and cells. In this atmosphere the islands began to be inhabited by people from el Morrazo and the place was used for several activities: agriculture, sheep and goat ranching and seafood fishing.
The traditional ship used is called “gamela”, the houses were placed in dispersed habitats, rustic landhouses used as farms.
There were shelters for the shepherds who regularly visited the islands. Around 1835/1840 some fish (sardine) salting factories began to be seen in the northern and southern islands. There were less with the invention of the tinned food, though. By the middle of the 19th century the islands were used as a hospital where sick people could go into quarantine before the island of San Simón, establishing a health service post in the southern island and pilots who provided warning about ships suspected of epidemics. They were directed to the new hospital (San Simón island) in the inland of the sea inlet. Between the years 1851-1853 the lighthouse is built.
