La Baja California Genealogy and History

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Welcome to La Baja California, I am Judy White and I along with Blanca Salvatierra will be your hosts for La Baja California WorldGenWeb. If you would like to adopt one of the Mexican states please visit their home page.  We are working to translating these pages into Spanish, which I don’t speak, but Blanca does, but she is new to web page building so I ask that you have have patients with us!!

You can also view a Spanish translation of these pages at Genealogía y Historia de Baja California

Very soon after the conquest of Mexico the attention of Cortez was attracted by certain stories told by some of the conquered tribes regarding a mysterious but wonderful country, lying far to the northwestward. This land they called Ciguatan, or The Realm of Women; and they declared that it abounded in gold, in pearls, rubies, garnets, turquoises, and many other products, rich and precious. Marvelous things were told also concerning the people, customs, and appearance of that far country. About the same time (1530) Nuño de Guzman, President in New Spain, was told by an Indian slave of The Seven Cities of Cibola,” with their reputed great population, their streets paved with gold and silver, and their exceeding splendor in general. The marvels and mysteries that they had already witnessed in Mexico made credence of these tales easy for the Spaniards, who readily conjectured that Ciguatan and Cibola might be one and the same. As actuating motives for investigation, there was the potent hope of the acquisition of treasure; the idea, cherished by all the invading Spaniards, of discovering a northern water-way from the Atlantic to the Pacific; and the hope of exploring the South Sea coasts and islands.

Additional La Baja California Resources