California History

Ancient History

California was inhabited by over a hundred tribes in the pre-European period. The first claims of European settlement in California were made by the Spanish in 1535 by Hernando Cortes, who led an expedition to La Paz and opened a small colony.
Seven years later in 1542, the Portuguese explorer, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, explored the region that is now California. The land soon went into the hands of England. However, in 1769 the Spaniards again initiated the colonization of Alta (Upper California). Thereafter, the Mexicans took over and the colonization of California remained largely under the Mexicans till 1840. The political events in the region ran smoothly for the next few years. After proclaiming independence in 1836, the Californians drove out the last Mexican governor in 1845.


The US Annexation

The United States claimed California on July 7, 1846 when Commodore John D. Sloat captured Monterey, the capital. The territory was officially ceded by the then rulers (Mexicans) with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The discovery of gold in the same year led San Francisco to becoming a boom city. This was an important event and is popularly known as the "gold rush". Farmers, prospective miners, gamblers, businessmen, entertainers and prostitutes, etc. from around the globe came to San Francisco to try their luck. There was a massive increase in the population of the state and an urgent need for civil government.

The Californians in 1849 sought statehood and after a heated debate in the U.S. Congress the state entered the Union as a free state by the Compromise of 1850 and San Jose was made the capital. The capital was finally moved to Sacramento in 1854.

Recent History

The twentieth century in California was marked by progress. The discovery of oil, expanding agricultural development, and industrialization attracted more settlers. There were improvements in urban transportation and the advent of the cable car and the electric railway made possible the development of the previously inaccessible areas. The new real-estate boom in the 1920s brought a successive wave of settlers to the state. Industry in California expanded rapidly during the Second World War; there was a large production of ships and aircraft which again attracted many people to the shores of California.

The mid-twentieth century saw some crisis in the political structure of the state. Republicans were more dominant than the Democrats in California politics. In the late 1970s, Californians staged a "tax revolt" that stressed on a legislation to cut property taxes. The revolt was a massive one and attracted national attention. In the decades after, California continued to grow with an increase in the population towards the interior of the state. There was an influx of immigrants from the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Mexico and China.