A Short History of Baja California Sur
 Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in Baja California, the peninsula was inhabited by nomadic indigenous groups like the Pericú in the south, the Guaycura in the center, the Cochimí in the north and several other clans that remain unknown to this day. The presence of these nomadic groups is attested to by cave paintings discovered in mountainous areas throughout the state.
The first encounter between the indigenous inhabitants and the Spanish took place in 1534, when Fortún Jiménez de Bertadoña and his crew arrived on the peninsula to look for pearls.
The following year, in 1535, Hernán Cortés arrived with three ships, 113 foot soldiers and 40 cavalrymen. Cortés named the place where his ship was anchored Bahía de la Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz Bay), in honor of the date of his arrival. He founded a colony, but hostility from the region’s indigenous people forced the colonists to relocate to the port of Acapulco.
In 1596, the King of Spain commissioned Sebastián Vizcaíno to explore Baja California. Arriving at Santa Cruz Bay, he promptly renamed it La Paz. The spiritual conquest of the region began more than a hundred years later, with the arrival of the Jesuit missionary, Juan María Salvatierra, in 1697. He founded the peninsula’s first mission, dedicated to Nuestra Señora de Loreto (Our Lady of Loreto).
 During the 70 years the Jesuits remained on the peninsula, 59 priests established 18 missions, an extraordinary task that laid the foundations for the territory’s future development.
In 1804, the peninsula was divided, and independent governments were established in each of the two territories: in the port of Monterrey in the north (La Alta) and in the port of Loreto in the south (La Baja).
In 1830, after Loreto was destroyed by storms, La Paz was named the new capital. In 1888, President Porfirio Díaz ordered Baja California to be further divided into two.
In 1974, the Senate approved a Presidential decree turning the territory of Baja California Sur into a st
How to get here
|
