California History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, California was inhabited by many distinct groups of Native Americans.

The Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo reached San Diego Bay in 1542, and claimed the area for Spain. From 1565, Spanish traders are known to have made visits to the area, and the English explorer, Sir Francis Drake visited the region in 1579. Spain began to colonize the territory beginning in 1769, with the establishment of fortresses (presidios) and missions.

When Mexico became independent from Spain as a result of the Mexican War of Independence (1810 to 1821), the territory became part of Mexico. Following a brief revolt by US settlers (the Bear Revolt - from which California gets its flag) in 1846, California first became an independent republic, and then soon after was annexed by the United States.

In 1849, gold was discovered in the region, a huge number of immigrants arrived. California was admitted as the 31st state of the Union on September 9th, 1850. Following the establishment of transcontinental railroads and highways, migration to California continued and accelerated, a pattern that has to the present day, making the state into the most populous in the Union.

California played a relatively minor role in the American Civil War (1861 to 1865). While it is true that the state was home to some Confederate sympathizers, they were not allowed to organize and their newspapers were closed, and hence the state remained peaceful. The main involvement of California during the war, was that California Column, a force of 2,000 Union volunteers who marched across New Mexico and Arizona (at that time both part of the New Mexico Territory) into western Texas, engaged in some skirmishes with the Confederates, and spent most of the war fighting Apaches.

In the 20th century, California continued to grow both in population and economic important. When oil was discovered in southern California it was, for a time, the most important industry in the state. California also became an important center of movie-making and the entertainment industry more generally. During World War II, the state produced massive amounts of armaments for the Allied war effort. In more recent years, California became a key location in the new computer and high technology industries.

Related Links:

Travelocity for California Deals
(Advertisement)

Disclosure: Products details and descriptions provided by Amazon.com. Our company may receive a payment if you purchase products from them after following a link from this website.

California: A History (Modern Library Chronicles)

By Kevin Starr

Modern Library
Released: 2007-03-13
Paperback (400 pages)

List Price: $14.95^*
Lowest New Price: $8.00^*
Lowest Used Price: $5.98^*
Usually ships in 24 hours^*
^*(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info)

Click Here

ISBN13: 9780812977530
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description:
California has always been our Shangri-la–the promised land of countless pilgrims in search of the American Dream. Now the Golden State’s premier historian, Kevin Starr, distills the entire sweep of California’s history into one splendid volume. From the age of exploration to the age of Arnold, this is the story of a place at once quintessentially American and utterly unique.

Arguing that America’s most populous state has always been blessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing human diversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe, and triumph.

For generations, California’s native peoples basked in the abundance of a climate and topography eminently suited to human habitation. By the time the Spanish arrived in the early sixteenth century, there were scores of autonomous tribes were thriving in the region. Though conquest was rapid, nearly two centuries passed before Spain exerted control over upper California through the chain of missions that stand to this day.

The discovery of gold in January 1848 changed everything. With population increasing exponentially as get-rich-quick dreamers converged from all over the world, California reinvented itself overnight. Starr deftly traces the successive waves of innovation and calamity that have broken over the state since then–the incredible wealth of the Big Four railroad tycoons and the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906; the emergence of Hollywood as the world’s entertainment capital and of Silicon Valley as the center of high-tech research and development; the heroic irrigation and transportation projects that have altered the face of the region; the role of labor, both organized and migrant, in key industries from agriculture to aerospace.

Kevin Starr has devoted his career to the history of his beloved state, but he has never lost his sense of wonder over California’s sheer abundance and peerless variety. This one-volume distillation of a lifetime’s work gathers together everything that is most important, most fascinating, and most revealing about our greatest state.

From the Hardcover edition.

A Natural History of California (California Natural History Guides)

By Allan A. Schoenherr

University of California Press
Paperback (772 pages)

List Price: $36.95^*
Lowest New Price: $20.00^*
Lowest Used Price: $13.74^*
Usually ships in 24 hours^*
^*(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info)

Click Here

Product Description:
In this comprehensive and abundantly illustrated book, Allan Schoenherr describes a state with a greater range of landforms, a greater variety of habitats, and more kinds of plants and animals than any area of equivalent size in all of North America. A Natural History of California will familiarize the reader with the climate, rocks, soil, plants and animals in each distinctive region of the state.

Major Problems in California History

By Sucheng Chan & Thomas Paterson Wadsworth Publishing Paperback (512 pages)	List Price: $78.95^* Lowest New Price: $48.95^* Lowest Used Price: $29.00^* Usually ships in 24 hours^* ^(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info) Click Here*
Product Description: This volume compiles carefully selected documents and essays to illuminate the most important controversies in the history of California from the precontact period to the present.

California: An Interpretive History with Map Poster

By James Rawls

McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
Paperback (576 pages)

Lowest New Price: $61.10^*
Lowest Used Price: $61.00^*
Usually ships in 24 hours^*
^*(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info)

Click Here

Product Description:
The best selling text in California History today, James Rawls’ comprehensive, interpretive approach has engaged professors and students in discussion and analysis of the most populous and economically powerful state in the U.S. for over 30 years. Abundant graphics, maps, and photos bring California history alive for the student. This thoroughly updated ninth edition features a new six-part structure, placing the book’s thirty-six shorter chapters within the framework of larger, overarching themes.

Land in California: The Story of Mission Lands, Ranchos, Squatters, Mining Claims, Railroad Grants, Land Scrip, Homesteads (Chronicles of California)

By W. W. Robinson

University of California Press
Paperback (291 pages)

List Price: $23.95^*
Lowest New Price: $14.99^*
Lowest Used Price: $6.65^*
Usually ships in 24 hours^*
^*(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info)

Click Here

The California Missions: A Complete Pictorial History and Visitor's Guide (Sunset Pictorial)

By Editors of Sunset Books

Oxmoor House
Paperback (320 pages)

List Price: $15.95^*
Lowest New Price: $8.87^*
Lowest Used Price: $1.47^*
Usually ships in 24 hours^*
^*(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info)

Click Here

Mammals of California (California Natural History Guides)

By E. W. Jameson Jr.

University of California Press
Paperback (440 pages)

List Price: $19.95^*
Lowest New Price: $10.00^*
Lowest Used Price: $3.02^*
Usually ships in 24 hours^*
^*(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info)

Click Here

Product Description:
From river otters and minks to bobcats, pikas, and flying squirrels, California boasts a diverse and intriguing fauna. But many of these animals can be secretive, shy, and nocturnal and observing them in the wild can be difficult. During the past two decades, the first edition of this popular guide introduced thousands to California's mammals by describing techniques for recognizing their presence, and when possible, methods for watching them in their natural habitats. Mammals of California is now completely revised and updated throughout, making it an ideal companion in the field or classroom.
* Includes 144 line drawings, 143 range maps, and 18 illustrated color plates
* Gives valuable overviews of mammal evolution, biology and anatomy, natural history, and conservation
* Features an expanded and updated section on diseases harbored by wild mammals that can affect humans--including Lyme disease and Hanta virus

Introduction to Water in California (California Natural History Guides)

By David Carle

University of California Press
Paperback (292 pages)

List Price: $18.95^*
Lowest New Price: $12.89^*
Lowest Used Price: $12.55^*
Usually ships in 24 hours^*
^*(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info)

Click Here

Product Description:
The food each of us consumes per day represents an investment of 4,500 gallons of water, according to the California Farm Bureau. In this densely populated state where it rains only six months out of the year, where does all that water come from? This thoroughly engaging, concise book tells the story of California's most precious resource, tracing the journey of water in the state from the atmosphere to the snowpack to our faucets and foods. Along the way, we learn much about California itself as the book describes its rivers, lakes, wetlands, dams, and aqueducts and discusses the role of water in agriculture, the environment, and politics. Essential reading in a state facing the future with an already overextended water supply, this fascinating book shows that, for all Californians, every drop counts. A new preface on recent water issues brings the book up to the minute.
* Features 130 color photographs and 26 color maps
* Includes a table, "Where Does Your Water Come From?," that answers the question for 315 California cities and towns
* Provides up-to-date information on water quality in California, covering such timely topics as Giardia, groundwater contamination, fluoride, and the bottled-water phenomenon
A book in the Californians and Their Environment subseries, dedicated to understanding human influences on the state's ecology and natural resources

World History: Ancient Civilizations, California Edition Grade 6 (2-01904)

By Douglas Carnine & Kenneth R. Curtis

McDougal Littell
Hardcover (550 pages)

Lowest New Price: $34.89^*
Lowest Used Price: $15.80^*
^*(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info)

Click Here

Product Description:
Developed specifically for the way middle school students learn, the Pupils Edition motivates students to interact with the past and see the impact of history on their lives today.Unit 1: Introduction to World HistoryUnit 2: Early Civilizations of Southwest AsiaUnit 3: Ancient AfricaUnit 4: Ancient Asian and American CivilizationsUnit 5: The Roots of Western IdeasUnit 6: The World of Ancient Rome

California: An Interpretive History

By James J. Rawls McGraw-Hill Companies Paperback (576 pages)	List Price: $87.00^* Lowest New Price: $65.00^* Lowest Used Price: $56.77^* Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.^* ^(As of 08:40 Pacific 14 Mar 2010 More Info) Click Here*
Product Description: This lively and provocative history of California offers an unparalleled account of contemporary California, the events of the late 80s and early 90s, as well as expanded coverage of social and cultural history, particularly on the post-1960s.

Note: Our company does NOT provide travel, vacation, hotel, car rental services or associated products or services. Any links (including but not limited to banners, text links, or search forms) to such items on this web site are adverts from third parties. Sorry we can NOT answer questions about these types of products or services.

Unless specifically noted on the page in question, our company is NOT associated with any particular destinations, resorts, attractions or places of interest that may be described on this website. In such cases, we have often provided links to the official sites where possible, or other third party sites containing useful information, purely as a courtesy and for informational purposes only.

All information about attractions, places of interest, travel destinations, travel services, etc., was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared, but may be change at any time. Readers are advised to check with the facility/resort operator, their travel agent, travel provider, or the attraction operator, for current information.

Copyright © 2006-2010, Answers 2000 Limited

CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.

Disclosure: Our company's websites' content (including this website's content) includes advertisements for our own company's websites, products, and services, and for other organization's websites, products, and services. In the case of links to other organization's websites, our company may receive a payment, (1) if you purchase products or services, or (2) if you sign-up for third party offers, after following links from this website. Unless specifically otherwise stated, information about other organization's products and services, is based on information provided by that organization, the product/service vendor, and/or publicly available information - and should not be taken to mean that we have used the product/service in question. Additionally, our company's websites contain some adverts which we are paid to display, but whose content is not selected by us, such as Google AdSense ads. For more detailed information, please see Advertising/Endorsements Disclosures

Privacy Terms of Use Advertising/Endorsements Disclosures

In Association With Amazon.com
In Assocation With AllPosters.com

All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
All third party content and adverts are copyright of their respective owners.

Some graphics on our web sites are Copyright (C) 1997-2000 Hemera Technologies Inc., and used under license. All such pictures are provided for viewing purposes only and are not to be saved or downloaded. All such pictures of recognizable individuals are models and used for illustrative purposes only, and not meant to imply any association or endorsement of said individual with any product or service.