History of California: Spanish Colonialism to US Statehood Analysis

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of California's historical evolution, tracing its transformation from an outpost of the Spanish Empire to a prominent state within the United States. The essay begins by detailing the early Spanish presence, including the arrival of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and the establishment of missions and trade routes. It then discusses the shift to Mexican control and the subsequent American takeover, highlighting key events and figures. The essay emphasizes the impact of colonialism, the missions system, and the eventual integration of California into the US. The conclusion summarizes California's journey, emphasizing its transition from a colonial outpost to a major trade center and a significant state in the United States. The essay also references several academic sources to support its arguments and provide a well-rounded historical perspective on the state's development.

Running head: HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
History of California
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
California is a well-known state in the Pacific region of North America. California is
a popular state of the United states of America and is also the third largest state in the country
itself. It is the second most densely populated state in the country after New York in the
United States of America. However, the state of California was not always the same as the
people of the world knows it. This is because the state once was an outpost on the edge of the
Spanish Empire and later changed into the state that the people commonly know today.
The purpose of this essay is to describe how the state of California went from
being an outpost on the edge of the Spanish Empire to being an important state of the
United States of America itself.
The state of California, as it is commonly known today, was once the centre of
colonialism by many different groups of immigrants. These included the Europeans, The
Spaniards, the Mexicans as well as the Americans who ultimately turned it into an American
state itself. California was first inhabited by the Spaniards under the leadership of Juan
Rodriguez Cabrillo who arrived on the area looking for areas to colonize. Later, the Spaniards
used the California area as a point for carrying out trade as well as other activities in the area
so that the region slowly developed into a living area for the Spaniards (Kessell:2013). The
region was divided into two areas by the Spaniards which included the Baja California as
well as the Alta California.
These regions saw the rise of Spanish colonies as well as the establishment of
churches and the arrival of the Jesuit priests in the area. However, the problem with Charles
III of Spain caused the Jesuit priests to be driven out of California itself and the churches
were controlled by the Dominicans as well as the Franciscan groups which belonged under
the Spanish Monarchy (Berg:67). During this time, the Spaniards also gained the territories
around the Louisiana and the other regions where they also set up various activity centres in

2HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the city itself. The main settlement of California around this time consisted of the soldiers and
the friars who were sponsored by the state under the rule of King Charles the III. Thus, these
states how the settlement first started in the region of California which later became a part of
the United States itself.
It was later that the Portola Expedition was planned by the Spanish Visitor General
Jose de Galvez which involved all the soldiers, friars as well as the civilians living in
California to assemble in San Diego Bay itself. Unfortunately, the third of the five vehicles
was lost in the sea with no additional survivors in the area itself. Similar expeditions have
also been carried out by the explorers like Juan Bautista de Anza and a number of other
Spanish explorers who have visited the region of California and had established the
settlement in those areas (Borucki:645) Hence, it is because of these reasons that California is
once considered to be a gate post for the Spanish empire which was said to have settled in
those areas (Berg: 65).
After the Spanish period, the region was home to the Mexican colonialists who started
to settle in the region of California. The Mexican period saw the launch of the missions
systems in the region which saw the deaths of a large number of native Indians in the regions
dur to large number of disease in the region.
It was finally in the year around 1845 that the Americans began to take the initiative
of claiming the region of California for themselves. After period of hostilities with the
Mexicans in the region, the Americans finally took over the region in 1846 by overthrowing
the Mexicans and declaring California a republic (Schoenberr:2013).
In the present day, California is one of the most popular states in The United States of
America. It not only has Americans living in it but also people from other cultures and

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nationalities. In the present times, the state has become one of the most important points of
trade for the country itself.
From the above discussions, it can be concluded that the state of California had
indeed come a long way since the time it had been discovered by the Spanish. From the
outpost of the Spanish Empire to one of the most important trade centres of the region itself.
Therefore, it can be said that California is indeed one of the most important states of the
United States of America itself.

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Reference List
Berg, P., & Dasmann, R. (2014). Reinhabiting California. In The Biosphere and the
Bioregion (pp. 65-70). Routledge.
Borucki, Alex, David Eltis, and David Wheat. "Atlantic history and the slave trade to Spanish
America." The American Historical Review 120.2 (2015): 433-461.\
Kessell, John L. Spain in the Southwest: A narrative history of colonial New Mexico,
Arizona, Texas, and California. University of Oklahoma Press, 2013.
McGuinness, Aims. Path of empire: Panama and the California gold rush. Cornell
University Press, 2016.
Schoenherr, Allan A. A natural history of California. Univ of California Press, 2017.