The Maya are believed to have first settled Cozumel in the early 1st millennium AD, with even older Pre-Classic Olmec artifacts also found on the island. Most surviving ruins date to the Post-Classic period; the largest, San Gervasio, sits near the island's center, while the largest Maya ruins near downtown have since been destroyed.
The first Spanish expedition reached Cozumel in 1518, led by Juan de Grijalva. Much of the Mayan population was later relocated to the mainland — first in 1650, to escape buccaneer raids, then again in 1688 alongside settlements along the Quintana Roo coast. In 1848, refugees fleeing the Caste War of Yucatán resettled the island, and the town of San Miguel de Cozumel was officially recognized by the Mexican government in 1849.
A World War II-era airport was upgraded in the late 1970s to handle jet and international traffic, opening the door to much larger-scale tourism. Scuba diving remains one of Cozumel's primary draws thanks to its healthy coral reef communities, protected since 1996 as the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park. The island took a direct hit from two Category 5 hurricanes in the 2005 Atlantic season — Emily, then the slower-moving and more destructive Wilma — which damaged shallower reef sites and their marine life. [Source: Wikipedia]
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