Page 43 - California Diving and Surfing

ettled by successive waves of arrivals tuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in Alta California remained a remote northern
1542. Some 37 years later English explorer province of the nation of Mexico. Cattle
S during the last 10,000 years, California Francis Drake also explored and claimed an ranches, or ranchos, emerged as the domi-
undefined portion of the California coast nant institutions of Mexican California. After
was one of the most culturally and lin- in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended Mexican independence from Spain, the
guistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian visits with the Manila Galleons on their chain of missions became the property of
North America. Various estimates of the return trips from the Philippines beginning the Mexican government and were secular-
native population range from 100,000 to in 1565. Sebastián Vizcaíno explored and ized by 1834. The ranchos developed under
300,000, which was about one-third of all mapped the coast of California in 1602 for ownership by Californios (Spanish-speaking
native Americans in what is now the United New Spain.Finally, after the Portola expedi- Californians) who had received land grants,
States. The Indigenous peoples of Califor- tion of 1769-70, Spanish missionaries began and traded cowhides and tallow with Boston
nia included more than 70 distinct groups setting up 21 California Missions on or near merchants. Beginning in the 1820s, trappers
of Native Americans, ranging from large, the coast of Alta (Upper) California, begin- and settlers from the U.S. and Canada began
settled populations living on the coast to ning in San Diego. During the same period, to arrive in Northern California. These new
groups in the interior. California groups Spanish military forces built several forts arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail, California
also were diverse in their political organiza- (presidios) and three small towns (pueblos). Trail, Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to
tion with bands, tribes, villages, and on the Two of the pueblos grew into the cities of cross the rugged mountains and harsh de-
resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms, such Los Angeles and San Jose. The Russian Em- serts surrounding California. Between 1831
as the Chumash, Pomo and Salinan. Trade, pire established their largest settlement in to 1836, California experienced a series
intermarriage and military alliances fostered California at Fort Ross in 1812. of revolts against Mexico; this culminated
many social and economic relationships in the 1836 California revolt lead by Juan
among the diverse groups. Bautista Alvarado, which ended after Mexico
appointed him governor of the department.
T he first European effort to explore the I n 1821 the Mexican War of Independence
coast as far north as the Russian River gave Mexico (including California) inde-
was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Por- pendence from Spain; for the next 25 years,