Baja California Sur is one of the 31 States of Mexico, occupying the part of the Baja California Peninsula south of the 28th parallel. It is bordered to the north by the state of Baja California, to the west by the Pacific Ocean, and to the east by the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez.

The state is known for its natural riches, and for its tourism. In the north is located the Vizcaíno Desert, as well as the small coastal lakes of San Ignacio and Ojo de Liebre, which are protected by the federal government. The state includes the Pacific islands of Natividad, Magdalena, and Santa Margarita, as well as the islands of San Marcos, Coronados, Carmen, Monserrat, Santa Catalina, Santa Cruz, San Diego, San José, San Francisco, Partida, Espíritu Santo, and Cerralvo, which are located in the Gulf of California.

In 2003, its estimated population was 463,500 people. The state is also home to the tourist resorts of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.

History:

Pre-Columbian Period:
The first inhabitants are thought to have arrived to the peninsula approximately 14 000 years ago, through a route down the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Three distinct tribal groups lived in the area in Pre-Columbian times:
The Pericúes lived in the south, within an area comprising from Cabo San Lucas to the middle of the peninsula. Guaycuras, who lived in the middle part of the peninsula; and Cochimíes, who lived in the north. Several nomadic Yumano tribes coexisted with the Cochimíes, such as the kumiai (k'miai), cucapá, pai pai, kiliwa, cahilla and akula.

History after the Spanish Colonization:

Fortún Jiménez de Bertadoña discovered the Baja California Peninsula in early 1534. However, it was Hernán Cortés who recognized the peninsula as the "Island of California" in May 1535, and is therefore officially credited with the discovery.

On October 19, 1697 Jesuit priest Juan María de Salvatierra established the first permanent mission in Baja California Sur, dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto. The Jesuits were expelled from the peninsula on February 3, 1768 leaving behind 70 years of cultural legacy, along with 18 missions and 2 visitas ("visiting missions" or "country chapels"). In April of the same year the first Franciscan friars led by Junípero Serra arrived, but they were eventually replaced by the Dominicans in 1772.

The peninsula was divided into two separate entities in 1804, with the southern one having the seat of government established in the Port of Loreto. After the Mexican War of Independence, President Guadalupe Victoria named Lt. Col. José María Echeandía governor of Baja California Sur and divided it in four municipios (municipalities). In 1830, the capital was moved to La Paz after Loreto was partially destroyed by heavy rains.

On October 2, 1847 the army of the United States was defeated near the town of Mulegé by Captain Manuel Pineda, as part of the Mexican-American War. As a consequence of this battle, the U.S. invaders were forced to withdraw from the peninsula and could not lay claim to it as part of the new territories acquired through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848.

In 1853, a group of 45 Americans, led by journalist William Walker, without the authorization of the United States Government, captured the city of La Paz, before the Mexican Army forced the Americans to retreat back to the United States.

The territories of Baja California Sur and Baja California were created in 1888 under the government of President Porfirio Díaz. Baja California Sur acquired full statehood on September 24, 1974.

Historical Monuments In Baja :

Loreto offers a wide variety of cultural and tourist activities and attractions. The accumulation of historic traces and features are especially significant. The National Archaeology and History Institute (INAH, by its initial in Spanish) has already identified 7 in Loreto and 2 in San Javier, currently used as museum, churches, hotel and dwellings.

Archaeological Zones in Baja:

In the Sierra La Giganta, which comprises the municipality of Loreto, have been located several traces of cave paintings, representing the life of ancient Californians, dating back 10,000 years. Among the cultural attractions in this area, the missions built along the peninsula by the friars from the Company of Jesus are prominent.

Loreto's Historical Downtown:

Mission of Our Lady of Loreto Concho This mission was built during the Seventeenth Century and founded in 1697. It preserves master pieces from de Eighteenth Century.

Museum of the Missions:

It was the old penitentiary, a police station, the general warehouse and the colonial treasury. It was built in the Eighteenth Century and abandoned by the end of the Nineteenth. By the beginning of the Twentieth Century it was re-built and used as a jailhouse, later as a school and as a municipal arts center. In 1973, by the executive order of President Luis Echeverria it was recovered by the INAH to house the Museum of the Missions.