Changes

==History==

==History==

===Spanish Era to 1848===

===Spanish Era to 1848===

Permanent Spanish settlement began with the Portolá expedition of 1769 and the founding of the pueblo of Los Angeles in 1781. Until 1822 Los Angeles existed as a tiny agricultural settlement, its founders multi-ethnic, its recorded history minimal. With Mexico gaining independence, Los Angeles benefited from liberalized trading policies and arrival of American merchants. Los Angeles was a village surrounded by cattle ranches operated by "Californios." From the 1820s to 1850 Los Angeles merchants played an important role as middlemen between ranchos and world trade. American merchants such as Abel Stearns and A. B. Thompson took cattle hides and tallow, negotiated for trade goods, extended credit, utilized hides as a form of currency, and kept meticulously accurate records. They handled imports and exports through the small port at San Pedro Harbor. They provided financial liquidity in an era lacking in currency and credit mechanisms both in California and the United States. In doing so they helped create economic stability and brought prosperity to an isolated region.<ref>William J. Barger, "The Merchants Of Los Angeles: Economics and Commerce in Mexican California." ''Southern California Quarterly'' 2000 82(2): 125-144. 0038-3929</ref>  

Permanent Spanish settlement began with the Portolá expedition of 1769 and the founding of the pueblo of Los Angeles in 1781. Until 1822 Los Angeles existed as a tiny agricultural settlement, its founders multi-ethnic, its recorded history minimal. With Mexico gaining independence, Los Angeles benefited from liberalized trading policies and arrival of American merchants. Los Angeles was a village surrounded by cattle ranches operated by "Californios." From the 1820s to 1850 Los Angeles merchants played an important role as middlemen between ranchos and world trade. American merchants such as Abel Stearns and A. B. Thompson took cattle hides and tallow, [[negotiate]]d for trade goods, extended credit, utilized hides as a form of currency, and kept meticulously accurate records. They handled imports and exports through the small port at San Pedro Harbor. They provided financial liquidity in an era lacking in currency and credit mechanisms both in California and the United States. In doing so they helped create economic stability and brought prosperity to an isolated region.<ref>William J. Barger, "The Merchants Of Los Angeles: Economics and Commerce in Mexican California." ''Southern California Quarterly'' 2000 82(2): 125-144. 0038-3929</ref>

===Americanized===

===Americanized===