California History and Highlights

 

An American general credited his victories to getting to battle with the “firstest and the mostest” — first in the field with the most men. The conquest of California proved the second half of this dictum.

Spain was first. In 1542, Juan Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay and then north to the Mendocino Coast. Other explorers followed, including possibly Francis Drake, the English pirate, who gave England a claim to California.

All missed San Francisco Bay, possibly because of coastal fogs. Had the Bay been discovered earlier, California’s history might have turned out much differently. In the days of sailing ships, sheltered bays were highly prized. San Francisco has one of the finest natural harbors in the world.

Spain remained foremost in explorations but its attention was diverted by internal arguments over control of the missions and its conquest of the Philippines. Here was an El Dorado of goods, trade and treasure. In the mid-1700s, however, concerned about the English, Dutch and Russian excursions, Spain moved to colonize California.

In 1769, land and sea expeditions reached San Diego, and later that year, traveling by land, Gaspar de Portola and his men discovered San Francisco Bay. Missions were established, forts and pueblos built, and plans laid to bring in more colonists. A few more did come, traveling overland through Colorado. But in 1781, the Yuma Indians wiped out two missions along this route, effectively closing it until 1823.

Meanwhile, Napoleon was raising havoc with Spain and with its New World possessions. In 1803, Napoleon, to raise money for his wars, sold the middle of America to the United States — the Louisiana Purchase. Napoleon also invaded Spain, disrupting its imperial ambitions, and planted the idea of freedom throughout the world. In 1821, following the example of many South American countries, Mexico declared her independence, and took over the Spanish claim to California.

Mexico opened mission lands to ranching, which helped the economy, but did not bring in more settlers. At the eve of the Mexican-American War, which started over Texas, fewer than 7,000 “Californios” populated the land. The Yankees, who had been immigrating into California for several years and who had Navy and Army forces to help them, did not so much defeat the Californios as overwhelm them with numbers — the “mostest” carried the day.

In 1848, the same year that the treaty was signed, gold was discovered in the Sierra and a mad rush to the West began.

Despite the war, Mexico and California could not do without one another.

Many Mexicans have immigrated to California. The two countries are tied together economically by treaty and proximity. Many Mexicans work in California. Many have become citizens or permanent residents. Hispanic culture, in architecture, cuisine, place names and radio and television shows, permeates California. The real losers were the Native Americans. Historians estimate that possibly 360,000 lived in California before the Hispanic-Anglo take over. Disease, persecution and general mistreatment reduced their numbers to about 15,000 by the early 20th century.

Only in recent decades have the injustices and cruelty been acknowledged and some attempt at reparations been made. In the 1990s, the Native Americans discovered gambling and now run some of the biggest casinos in the state.

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Historical Highlights

1770s. Missionaries arrive, led by the energetic Father Junipero Serra. They start building missions and trying to domesticate Indians. Many die from diseases.

1812. Russians establish fort along Northern California coast, raising concerns that Russian may colonize state. Fears prove unfounded. Russians depart in 1841.

1821. Mexico declares its independence and takes control of California. But the Californios, used to making their own decisions, often defy governors sent from Mexico.

1820s to 1840s. California is divided into large land grants, a few of which remain fairly intact to this day. Expeditions are sent into the interior to subdue the Indians. Cattle ranching dominates the economy and boosts trade with other nations, including U.S. mountain men venture into the state. In the 1840s, Yankee settlers arrive.

1844. John C. Fremont leads U.S. Army force into California. Although small, the expedition signaled a more aggressive policy toward California. The U.S. apparently feared an English takeover (down from Canada) more than Mexican intervention.

1846-1848. War with Mexico, mainly over Texas but tying in all Southwest. California sees a few skirmishes. At war’s end, Mexico cedes California.

1848. Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill in the Sierra. Mad rush to gold fields.

1850. California becomes a state. Population hits 92,597.

1853. Within several years, population booms to about 255,000. Blue jeans are first made, leading to start of Levi-Strauss and diversification of economy.

1863. Works begins on a transcontinental railroad; completed in 1869. In California, much of the work was done by Chinese immigrants, who later turned to farming. This era also sees violence against Chinese, and later Japanese, stemming in part from fears they were undercutting wages.

1860s to 1900. Railroads extended through state. Gold mining fades, farming and manufacturing picks up. State divided into counties. Literary stars: Mark Twain and Bret Harte. People start coming to California for its weather.

1868. University of California charted. Berkeley, the first campus, opened in 1873. Other campuses, notably UCLA, followed, creating the world-class UC system.

1880. University of Southern California founded in Los Angeles, the largest private university in the state.

1885. Leland Stanford, railroad magnate, and wife Jane found university. Stanford University later becomes the intellectual force behind Silicon Valley.

1900. California greets 20th century with 1,485,053 residents.

1905. Yosemite added to National Parks.

1906. Earthquake and fires level San Francisco — Nature shows its violent side. As other earthquakes follow, California tightens its building codes.

1907. Great Fleet arrives at San Diego harbor, further establishing U.S. as a Pacific power.

1908. First movie made in Hollywood, "The Count of Monte Christo."

1910-1991. With Hiram Johnson as governor, state adopts initiative and referendum, a form of governing that becomes popular later in the century.

1914. Panama Canal opens Asia trade making Los Angeles a port city.

1916-1918 World War I and aftermath spur California economy. 1918 Los Angeles aqueduct built. It taps water from the Owens Valley. In following decades, other projects draw water from Colorado River and Northern California rivers.

1920. Population reaches 3,426,861.

1928. Herbert Hoover, a member of the first Stanford class, is elected president.

1929 Great Depression starts. Oklahoma residents are denied entry into the state. Decade of social upheaval. John Steinbeck writes of the plight of the poor — "Grapes of Wrath."

1936. Golden Gate Bridge opens.

1940. Population 6,907,387

1941. Pearl Harbor blasts U.S. into World War II. Millions of troops are sent to California. Economy booms, bringing in workers from around the country.

1942. Japanese residents removed to internment camps.

1942 to 1945. UC Berkeley helps build first atomic bombs.

1945-50. California economy and population surges with defense spending and veterans moving in to state.

1947. Col. Chuck Yeager breaks sound barrier at Edwards AFB in Los Angeles County.

1950. Population breaks 10 million — 10,586,223. Over the next 50 years, California will add about 23 million people.

1950. Richard Nixon elected U.S. Senator and, in 1953, Vice President.

1950s. Jack Kerouac writes "On the Road," Dave Brubeck, "Take Five." California becomes cool.

1955. Disneyland opens in Orange County. 1958. Dodgers quit Brooklyn, Giants leave Manhattan. Major-league baseball comes to California.

1960s. Vietnam War. Youths rebel. Free speech, Black Panthers, drugs, sex and rock and roll. California leads the way. Watts riots call attention to Black poverty. Cesar Chavez forms United Farm Workers. Robert Kennedy assassinated in Los Angeles. Ronald Reagan elected governor.

1969. Richard Nixon elected president; forced to resign in 1974 after Watergate breakin.

1970s. Tax revolt; Prop. 13 forces sweeping changes in tax code. Symbionese Liberation Army shoots Oakland schools superintendent and kidnaps Patty Hearst.

1980. Population 23,760,021.

1980s. California opens doors to immigrants, changing ethnic makeup of state. Ronald Reagan moves into the White House.

1990. Population 29,760,021

1990s. Soviet Union goes belly up. Military shuts bases in California. Defense industries slump. About 1996, high tech starts to take off and within a few years, dotcoms send the economy rocketing. Rodney King riot in Los Angeles. Fires destroy homes in Oakland and in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

2000. New millennium. California counts 33,871,648 residents. Housing prices soar.

2001. Silicon Valley and dotcoms flop, dragging down state economy. Power crunch also hurts economy.

2002-3. Deficit blues. State runs short of money, voters get riled. Special election ousts Governor Gray Davis and puts in Arnold Swarzenegger, movie star. Loads of Arnold jokes and imitations.

San Diego fire kills 15, destroys hundreds of homes and burns 270,000 acres.

Iraq war underscores importance of San Diego, home to many Navy ships.

2004. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom says yes to gay marriages. State court says no. Final word may be had by supreme court. Voters approve special funding for stem cell research.

2006. Swarzenegger wins re-election. Home sales slide, rents increase. Salmon fishing curtailed to give fish time to multiply.

2007-2009. Speculation and shoddy loans sink housing market and cause national recession. California unemployment rises above 10 percent, highest in decades. Schools, universities and government agencies forced to cut budgets. Many counties and cities reduce pension benefits. Obama beats McCain, 8,274,473 to 5,011,781. Marijuana becomes  semi-legal because laws governing sales of medicinal marijuana are loosely enforced and interpreted. Candidates start maneuvering for 2010; Swarzenegger can't run again. Fight continues over gay marriages.