Rudecinda Sepúlveda de Dodson, pioneer of San Pedro and a founder of the San Pedro Woman's ClubĮuropean settlement began in 1769 as part of an effort to populate California, although trade restrictions encouraged more smuggling than regular business. San Pedro Bay was used by Spanish ships starting in the 1540s. The Tongva called the San Pedro area "Chaaw". Legend has it that the Native Americans blessed the land of Palos Verdes, making it the most beautiful place on Earth. Chowigna and Suangna were two Tongva settlements of many in the peninsula area, which was also a departure point for their rancherias on the Channel Islands. Their first contact with Europeans was in 1542 with Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, the Spanish explorer who also was the first to write of them. Once called the "lords of the ocean", due to their mastery of oceangoing canoes (Ti'ats), many Tongva villages covered the coastline. The Tongva believe they have been here since the beginning of time. In other areas of the Los Angeles Basin archeological sites date back 8,000–15,000 years. The peninsula, including all of San Pedro, was the homeland of the Tongva-Gabrieleño Native American people for thousands of years.
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