How Was Los Angeles Founded
The city of Los Angeles was founded in 1784 by Spanish settlers. It took nearly two more years for it to be settled, however.
In 1804, an army lieutenant named Gabriel Reyes spotted a large body of water he dubbed “Bodie’s Lake.” He enlisted the help of his friend Lieutenant Robert Sterett who lived near the lake and had access to a boat. They decided to move their respective armies south along this shoreline.
Lt. Sterett then convinced Lt. Reyes to come with him as a second lieutenant. Together they purchased some land from the local Chumash tribe and established the settlement that would become known as Vero Beach.
Ten years later, Lt. Reyes left the military and started building ships out of locally mined materials like limestone and granite. His company became one of the first successful shipbuilders in America.
He chose to name his new business after the beach where he and Lt. Sterett made their home. This new town would soon grow into its own, though. In fact, it grew so quickly that people began moving here from all over Europe!
At the time there were very few cities in North America, but those that existed only consisted of small villages or tribes. Many European immigrants wanted something bigger than what they had back at home.
Spanish colonial rule
Before there were European settlers in North America, there were people living here as part of Indigenous tribes. These indigenous peoples include the Hopi in Arizona, the Haida in British Columbia, Canada, and Alaska, the Sioux in what is now the United States, and many more.
When Columbus “discovered” the Americas back in 1492, he didn’t stay long. He left behind an empire - Spain controlled most of South America and all of Mexico and Central America. This made it easy for other Europeans to move into Latin America and take over land and resources.
Spain also funded large expeditions across the Atlantic Ocean that would explore new lands for potential colonization. Some of these explorers traveled along the West Coast of present-day Canada and the USA.
These adventures gave rise to rumors about rich gold deposits in California. The Spaniards paid little attention to those stories because they already had lots of money and even more soldiers at their disposal. But later generations took notice!
Many scholars believe that some of the sailors who heard these tales became the first white settlers in California. In fact, one man claimed to have found golden coins with his own hands while digging in the area we know today as San Francisco!
Settlers came from Europe alone but mostly from France. They called themselves Francos or French after their homeland.
French colonial rule
Before there were British, Spanish, or Mexican influence in California, it was all under one kingdom - that of France. The French had occupied the area for quite some time before they gave up their control in what is now called Mexico.
They left most of the land intact as a colony, with the government back home running the show. This continued until just after the Revolution when Spain and France fought over who would control which countries again.
France controlled California until 1795, when Napoleon took over. He made several changes to the way things operated in his colonies, including ending the practice of having separate governments run each region.
He instead put his own man in charge in every corner of the country he owned - this didn’t go well sometimes!
This article will talk about how and why the state of California got its start, but first let us look at an interesting fact:
The word “California” comes from the name of the Kingdom of France.
It is pronounced like the English word “kale” with a silent ‘a’ sound. Some say the ‘h’ is dropped because it sounds similar to the word “elite.” Either way, it implies excellence or high quality. You can see this today with the way people refer to the state as either “the Golden State” or simply “Gold State.
The Spanish-American war
During this period, Europe was divided into two large blocs that fought against each other in several conflicts. Spain and Portugal were wealthy European countries at this time, but their wealth began to dwindle due to poor management.
Their economies suffered from powerful rulers who spent extravagantly on military campaigns instead of investing in business ventures. This led to less revenue being generated and used for future growth.
Spain’s economy deteriorated more rapidly than Portugal’s because its main export is olive oil, which does not naturally grow well in colder climates. Thus, most of Spain’s money went overseas to be invested in warmer places.
Italy and France also became strong economic powers during this era, making it hard for Spain to get some of their market share. This hurt Spain even more since they had to spend more money to win back lost ground.
Because Italy and France are natural allies, this made them work together with Germany as they built up larger militaries. This put additional pressure on Spain to do the same, causing it to focus more on defense and less on spending on things like education or infrastructure.
In 1898, German troops invaded nearby Austria-which belonged to both Germany and Hungary before then-forcing the Hungarian government out. This opened up the opportunity for Spain to invade Mexico, her neighboring country.
When Spain did so, she found rich deposits of gold and minerals.
California becomes a territory
The Spanish Empire was collapsing, and its colonies were facing civil wars and external attacks. Spain could no longer maintain control of its largest colony, which at that time included all of North America west of Mexico and south of Canada.
In 1821, Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna led an army into what is now the state of Texas. He conquered part of this land from France for Mexico, but retained it as his personal property.
General Santa Anna later declared himself president of the Republic of Mexico, making him one of the first self-proclaimed presidents in history. However, he did not remain in power long; a military coup overthrew him and established the empire of Latin American nations we know today.
Santa Anna retired to his private estate in San Angel, where he died several years later. After his death, his body was moved to Madrid and given a ceremonial burial with great fanfare.
He was eventually replaced by another general, who would go on to found our country.
Gold is discovered
After an uneventful winter in Mexico, several Spanish settlers head south of the border to explore. While exploring the area around present-day San Diego, they come across an Indian settlement. The Indians invite them into their homes for food and shelter, but they also ask about rumors of gold deposits in the region.
The Spaniards go looking for this gold themselves, but they don’t find it. So, they bring more people to look for it instead. More than twenty men set out with supplies for the journey back home, never to return.
Some say that these men left because there was no water or grass for their horses, but most agree that it was due to greed. They wanted not only to take what little money they had with them, but they also wanted to keep all the goods they could get their hands on.
A few years later, some of those men’s children are still trying to figure out what happened to their parents. Some believe that they died from lack of water or starvation, while others think that they found the elusive gold and lived to tell about it.
The California Republic
While most people know that America’s northernmost coast is called the Pacific Ocean, few are aware of what lies beyond it. For this reason, many refer to the region south of Oregon as the United States Southeast. But this name is not very descriptive - it leaves out an important part of our country’s history!
In fact, before Mexico gained its independence in 1821, there was once a separate nation right here in North America! Its territory bordered that of present-day Canada across the border, making it two nations sandwiched together with almost no land area inside their borders.
This foreign state was originally colonized by Spain back in the 1600s, but they gave up control of it after only five years due to lack of resources. Since then, it has been occupied variouslyby different countries including France, Britain, and later Mexico.
Now that we have gone into more detail about the Southwestern United States, let us take a look at one of its major cities!
Image source: pixabay.
The Mexican-American war
After Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, it was left with many things to manage including its American territories. Two of these territories were New Spain’s Florida territory and Texas.
While most people know that Texan Independence wasn’t officially recognized by any other country until after the War for Southern Independence (the Revolutionary War), fewer know what happened next in regards to Florida.
Florida had been under Spanish rule for years before becoming an independent nation, but now it was up to Argentina, Chile, or France to decide who would get to control it. None did, so it was given back to Spain as per their terms.
This is where trouble began to brew between Spain and America. While some Americans considered themselves loyal Spaniards, others didn’t. A few even felt that Florida should belong to them since they paid taxes there while still being ruled by Spain!
These tensions came to a head when several groups decided to fight for not just Florida, but also for either Argentine or Chilean land. This thing we now refer to as “The Mexican-American War” broke out.
After winning this small conflict, both countries agreed to make a deal; California and Arizona would go to Mexico, and Texas would be its own republic again.
The California Gold Rush
During this period, large groups of people gathered in one place to try and make their dreams come true by finding valuable resources or experiences. This is called speculating.
The gold rush in North America was an example of speculation. People traveled long distances to look for gold, which is very expensive. They would spend hours walking around looking for it, only to be disappointed that they did not find any.
Many of these people began to congregate in one area until there were enough people to form small towns. At this time, someone who knew about the gold deposits could profit off of this information.
These people became wealthy by investing in mining equipment and supplies or owning land near mine sites. Because the money came from chasing something that does not exist, this concept is referred to as capitalism.
Los Angeles was founded during this era, when many prospectors headed west towards the Sierra Nevada mountains. Some say that because so many people migrated here, we needed a place to live and work, so California allowed us to use some of its parks and buildings.
Land was extremely expensive due to all of the miners searching for minerals and metals, so most homeowners cannot afford to live close to the beach.