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La Paz History |
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Brief Synopsis
Due to its sparse resources and arid climate, the Spanish established the first permanent settlement in La Paz only in 1811. Prior attempts at settlement, by the explorer Hernan Cortez in 1535, then next by the Jesuits, in 1720, had failed for the same reasons.
After the destruction of the existing capital of Loreto in 1829, La Paz was named provincial capital in 1830. The city was occupied by American forces for 2 years during the Mexican American War.
A pearl industry was established late in the 19th century, but disease wiped out the oysters in the 1940s, and the industry wasn't revived until the 1990s.
The completion of Highway 1 in 1973 opened up the city to regular vehicular traffic, and the city has prospered ever since. La Paz became the capital of the newly-formed State of Baja California Sur in 1974. |
|  © istockphoto.com/Skyhobo |
Archaeological evidence indicates that the Cochimi and Guavcura people lived in the Loreto area beginning over 10,000 years ago. Few signs are left of them, save for several cave paintings in the mountains and canyons of the area.
The Cochimi people lived in the area at least through the 16th century, and are said to have come in contact with the Spanish ships that plied the Sea of Cortez at the time.
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Spanish Discovery & Administration |
On May 3, 1535, Hernan Cortez arrived at what is now the city of La Paz, naming it Villa de la Santa Cruz. At the time, he mounted the first of many attempts to conquer the Baja Peninsula, but the expeditions failed due to lack of food and water and attacks by the natives on his troops.
La Paz received its modern name in 1596, when the explorer Sebastian Vizcaino established his base in La Paz when he was circumnavigating the peninsula on an exploratory expedition.
A Jesuit mission was established in the city in 1720, the first real attempt to settle the area. But the mission only lasted 30 years, as uprisings by the native population, disease and the harsh, arid weather led to eventual abandonment of the settlement.
A permanent settlement wasn't established until 1811, and in 1830, the city became the capital of Baja California after a hurricane destroyed Loreto, the existing capital of the region. |
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Hernan Cortez |
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La Paz in the 19th & 20th Centuries |
The Mexican American War came to La Paz in September, 1846, when American Commander Samuel F. Du Pont seized the city and signed a promise of neutrality with Colonel Francisco Palacios Miranda, then the Governor of Baja California. For the next 2 years, the citizens of La Paz would be involved in both peaceful negotiations and insurrections against the Americans.
In 1893, Dr. Jose Gaston Vives started the world's first commercial pearl oyster farm. His farm was able to grow some 8 to 10 million pearl oysters and employed 1,000 laborers. The pearl farm was destroyed in 1914 during the attack of the Constitutionalist Army at La Paz. From then on, pearls had to be obtained by the means of nude diver armadas.
Sonoran Yaqui Indians were considered to be the best pearl divers, able to dive to depths of 50 feet to fish the oysters, but as fishing intensified, fewer pearls were obtained. By the 1940's, pearls were no longer found in the Baja California waters, having been killed off by disease.
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 © istockphoto.com/Smaglov |
La Paz languished until the trans-peninsula highway was completed in 1973. La Paz became the capital of the newly-formed State of Baja California Sur in 1974.
The pearl industry was revived in the late 1990s with the development of the first commercial pearl farm in the American continent. Today, Perlas del Mar de Cortez is the sole producer of cultured pearls in the region. Annual production of cultured pearls from this farm is around 5,000 cultured pearls.
Today, La Paz has a population of over 250,000 residents. The economy of La Paz is based on tourism, fishing, commerce and government activities. Eco-tourists have flocked to the La Paz area to dive, snorkel or sail in its beautiful waters. La Paz rivals Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada for its fishing. There's a Mexican military school in town. |
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