Brief History of California

1. B Y A M I T A V A D L A M U D I
THE HISTORY OF
CALIFORNIA

3. INTRODUCTION
• California is one of the most prominent states in the
United States.
• Located on the western coast of Northern America, it
has a population of over 35 million. It is the third largest
state (area wise) after Alaska and Texas, respectively.
• California is famously known for its big cities, varied
topography, favorable climate, and large economy. The
most notable feature out of these is the economy of
California. It ranks 5th in the world, beating the UK. In
2017, California boasted almost $2.8 trillion – bigger than
any other state in the U.S.

4. THE STATE’S HISTORY
• Thousands of years ago, California was occupied by
diverse groups of native people. At that time, the land
was known as “Alta California”. When Europeans first
arrived there, they found many Native American tribes
residing in the land. Some of them were the Chumash,
Mohave, Yuma, Pomo, and Maidu.
• All of these tribes used to speak different forms of
language. Different areas of the land were separated in
terms of mountain ranges and deserts. This is the reason
why they spoke different languages and followed
different cultures. They also lived a simple life - hunted,
fished, and ate nuts and fruits for food.

5. THE ARRIVAL OF EUROPEANS
• In 1542, a Spanish ship captained by Portuguese
citizen – Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first
explorer to arrive in California.
• After many years, in 1579, an English explorer Sir
Francis Drake arrived near the coast of San
Francisco and declared the land for England.
However, the land wasn’t to be occupied by the
Europeans for another 200 years.

6. CALIFORNIA BECOMES SPANISH
COLONY
• In 1769, the Spanish started building several missions
in California. They built 21 missions near the coast of
California in hopes of converting the Native
Americans into Catholicism. They also built various
forts namely presidios and small towns such as
pueblos. Spain began colonizing the area at this
time.

7. PROVINCE OF MEXICO
• After the independence of Mexico from Spain in
1821, California became a province of Mexico.
During the Mexican rule, many cattle ranchers
settled in the region.
• Various people also came to this region for trade
purposes. They trapped and traded in beaver furs
and earned their livelihood this way.

8. THE BEAR REPUBLIC
• By the 1840s, more people, especially natives of the
East, arrived in California using the Oregon Trail and
the California Trail.
• These settlers, led by John Fremont, soon started a
revolt against the Mexican rule. 1n 1846, the settlers
declared their own independent country and
called it the Bear Flag Republic.

9. CALIFORNIA JOINS THE UNITED
STATES
• The same year, in 1846, the United States and Mexico
went to a war, known as, the Mexican-American War.
• The war ended in 1848 and California became the
territory of the United States. After two years, on
September 9, 1850, California was claimed as the 31st
state of America.
• The demography of California completely changed
when gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848. The
population surge that began at this time, continued and
now California leads in the size of the population at
nearly 39,000 million surpassing all other U.S. states.

10. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• Having worked in the Information Technology field
for over three decades, Amita Vadlamudi now
focuses her energies on studying subjects such as
history, science and technology. The following links
provide access to Ms. Vadlamudi’s professional
credentials.
•
• https://www.cakeresume.com/amita-vadlamudi
• https://www.xing.com/profile/Amita_Vadlamudi
• http://zerply.com/AmitaVadlamudi/public