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==History==
==History==
California's first European contact came in the 16th century AD. Spanish explorer and conquistador [[Hernando Cortez]] explored Alta California (upper California) extensively during this time period. Several years after this, [[Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo]] explored the area in his search for a passage to Asia. <ref>http://www.kindredtrails.com/California-History-1.html</ref> The [[Catholic church]] established a strong presence in the area over the next 200 years by establishing a number of missions in the area. <ref>http://www.californiamissions.com/cahistory/background.html</ref>
California's first European contact came in the 16th century AD. Spanish explorer and conquistador [[Hernando Cortez]] explored Alta California (upper California) extensively during this time period. Several years after this, [[Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo]] explored the area in his search for a passage to Asia. <ref>http://www.kindredtrails.com/California-History-1.html</ref> The [[Catholic church]] established a strong presence in the area over the next 200 years by establishing a number of missions in the area. <ref>http://www.californiamissions.com/cahistory/background.html</ref>
Spanish explorers sailed along the coast of California from the early 1500s to the mid-1700s, but no settlements were established.
During the last quarter of the 18th century, the first European settlements were established in California. Reacting to interest by Russia and Britain in the fur-bearing animals of the Pacific coast, Spain created a series of Catholic missions, accompanied by troops and ranches, along the southern and central coast of California. These missions were intended to demonstrate the claim of the Spanish Crown to modern-day California.
The first quarter of the 19th century continued the slow colonization of the southern and central California coast by Spanish missionaries, ranchers, and troops. By 1820, Spanish influence was marked by the chain of missions reaching from San Diego to just north of today's San Francisco Bay area, and extended inland approximately 25 to 50 miles from the missions. Outside of this zone, perhaps 200,000 to 250,000 Native Americans were continuing to lead traditional lives. The [[Adams-Onís Treaty]], signed in 1819 set the northern boundary of the Spanish claims at the 42nd parallel, effectively creating today's northern boundary of California.
Father [[Junípero Serra]], a Franciscan missionary, founded the mission chain, starting with San Diego de Alcalá in 1769. The California Missions comprised a series of outposts established to spread the Christianity among the local Native Americans, with the added benefit of confirming historic Spanish claims to the area. The missions introduced European technology, livestock and crops. The highway and missions have become for many a romantic symbol of an idyllic and peaceful past. The "Mission Revival Style" was an architectural movement that drew its inspiration from this idealized view of California's past. The Spanish encouraged settlement of California with large land grants which were turned into ranchos, where cattle and sheep were raised. The Hispanic population reached about 10,000 in the 1840s, located primarily in ranches along the coast of southern California.
==Miscellaneous facts==
==Miscellaneous facts==