Cochimi

The Cochimí inhabited the central Baja California peninsula, a dry country of mountains, desert plains and scattered springs. Families moved between places where food and water could be found, hunting and gathering across the peninsula and using the resources of its coasts. Their language and communities differed from the peoples farther south and north.

After the founding of Loreto in 1697, Jesuit missions gradually advanced through Cochimí territory. San Ignacio was established in 1728, followed by Santa Gertrudis and San Borja farther north. The missions concentrated Indigenous people in settlements and brought new crops and religious practices, but also exposed them to devastating epidemics. After the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, Franciscans and then Dominicans took over the mission frontier. Each new mission extended the colonial frontier farther along the peninsula.