First Contacts in Baja
The first Europeans to approach California came from the south. Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century sailed northward from the ports of Acapulco and Navidad along the west coast of what is today Mexico. They came in search of fabled riches and the mythical Strait of Anián. Among the most important of these early explorers were Hernán Cortés, Fortún Jiménez, and Francisco de Ulloa. They sailed along the coast of Baja (or Lower) California.
Hernán Cortés, a Spanish adventurer and conquistador, was chiefly responsible for the European discovery of the lower part of what the Spanish ultimately called "the Californias." In 1519 Cortés and about 500 Spanish soldiers arrived in Mexico. After defeating the Aztecs in 1521, he declared the conquered lands to be a colony of Spain. Between the years 1527 and 1539 Cortés sponsored many expeditions into the Pacific. Several of the expeditions were sent to search for the Strait of Anián and to discover new lands to conquer. Other expeditions were sent westward to establish Spanish trade with the Philippine Islands.
In 1533 Cortés sent an expedition northward along the west coast of Mexico. The expedition was under the command of Captain Diego de Becerra. During the course of the expedition, the pilot Fortún Jiménez led a mutiny and killed Becerra. Jiménez and the mutineers continued the voyage and landed at the Bay of La Paz on the Baja California peninsula. Shortly after landing, Jiménez and twenty of his crew were killed by the local Guaycura Indians. The two surviving members of the expedition then returned to Cortés with news of the disaster. They also reported that the waters along the peninsula contained rich beds of pearls. Although Jiménez's expedition ended in disaster, it was the first contact by Europeans with native California Indians.
Cortés personally led an expedition northward from Acapulco to the peninsula of Baja California in 1535. On the shores of the Bay of La Paz, Cortés founded a base for further exploration. This colonial outpost was the first European settlement in "the Californias." The surrounding land proved to be hot, dry, and sterile; the only exploitable resources were pearls in the coastal waters. The outpost was abandoned in 1536.
Cortés sent a final voyage of exploration northward from the port of Acapulco in 1539. Commanded by Francisco de Ulloa, the expedition included three small vessels. They sailed northward along the west coast of Mexico to the head of the Gulf of California. Believing that the Baja California peninsula was an island, Ulloa searched in vain for a passage through to the open sea. The expedition then turned and sailed southward along the eastern coast of the peninsula and landed at the Bay of La Paz to take on supplies of wood and water. With great difficulty, Ulloa then rounded the tip of the Baja peninsula and sailed northward along the outer shore. His small ships encountered fierce winds and high seas. Eventually Ulloa reached about 20 degrees north latitude before turning and heading south. Ulloa's voyage extended European knowledge of the lower regions of "the Californias" and should have proved unequivocally that Baja California was a peninsula and not an island. Nevertheless, European cartographers for the next two hundred years continued to produce maps depicting the Island of California.