British or French Galapagos in the 19th Century?

I went on a trip to the Galapagos recently and in a museum on one of the islands mentioned this interesting little bit of information:

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I cannot find ANY sources online to validate this information. So it probably isn't true or isn't well documented. But ignoring the possibility of incorrect history, what if France or Britain took over the Galapagos from Ecuador in the 19th Century?
 
I was thinking that it would've been awfully useful for the defense of the Panama Canal in any potential international conflict.
 
Ecuador also offered to sell the islands to the Americans. Any serious attempts at settlement by Ecuador's government were met with failure after failure so they would be more than happy to sell off the islands.
 
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