The southern tip of the Baja California peninsula was originally inhabited by the "Pericu," a nomadic tribe thought to have migrated from the South Pacific. By all accounts, they were a dark skinned, sturdy, good-natured people. They also happened to be polygamous, a practice that was completely unacceptable to the Spanish missionaries who had begun to visit the area as early as the 1500s. By 1730, the Jesuits had constructed a formal missionary at San José del Cabo and dedicated themselves to indoctrinating and converting the Pericu to their ways.

While it was missionary zeal that was really responsible for sustaining a European influence on the original inhabitants, their first taste of European colonization occurred in 1535, when conquistador Hernan Cortés paid his first visit to the peninsula. Los Cabos never attracted much Spanish settlement, due in part to a local scarcity of fresh water. It did, however, became an important provision stop for the Manilla galleons, passing on their way to and from Acapulco. More colorfully, it was also a strategic hideaway for pirates awaiting their passage. It is said that some of Los Cabos' most prominent families have pirate ancestry.

The economy of Los Cabos has long centered on the fertile waters off these shores. During the 1800s, whaling became a major activity and San Jose del Cabo turned into a modest center of commerce. By the 1900s, a tuna cannery opened and fishing boats from around the globe made their way to these shores. In the 1950s and '60s, Los Cabos turned its attention to tourists, who were drawn by amazing fish tales that were not just the stuff of imaginations. Big-game fishing was soon to be a major attraction to Los Cabos.

The natives, conquistadors, missionaries and pirates may be long gone, but, nearly 50,000 people now call Los Cabos home. And another half a million visitors each year make this their own personal hideaway.