California: A HistoryBy: Jessica Bakken

Queen Calafia’s Island: Place and First People (chapter 1)

California originally entered history as a myth

In 1510, the Spanish writer Garci Ordonez de Montalvo wrote a sequel to his novel about the people known as the Californians who were black Amazons under the command of Queen Calafia who were at war with people from Constantinople

They were described as having weapons that were even made out of gold

Queen Calafia’s Island: Place and First People (chapter 1) cont.

In the book Queen Calafia sets out to join other great captains in a siege against the Turks with her fleet of ships

Also in the book it talks about her and the rest of the Californians becoming Christians after giving up their evil ways of feeding their male babies to their griffins

Queen Calafia’s Island: Place and First People (chapter 1) cont. 2

The Californians ruled by Queen Calafia was described as having a bountiful amount of gold and precious stones which incised all the readers of the popular book, a land made out of gold was almost everyone’s dream to find

Laws of the Indies: Spanish Colonial Era (chapter 2)

Within the decade, the Spanish sailing expedition commanded by a Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan would create hope finding the wealth in the Indies

With five vessels and 265 men he reached the shores of South Africa in January

He also traveled to South America, the Marianas and the Philippines

Even though he was killed attempting to solve a native dispute, one of his ships again reached Europe, being the first ever to travel the globe

Laws of the Indies: Spanish Colonial Era (chapter 2) cont. Magellan’s expedition linked

Spain, the Atlantic, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Mexico, the Pacific and the Philippines that would hold its unity until its collapse in the Spanish empire in the early 1800’s

Mexico would soon lead to the exploration of California as well as the settlement

However, Mexico had to become Spanish first by being conquered

Laws of the Indies: Spanish Colonial Era (chapter 2) cont. 2

Hernan Cortes, who was another explorer who participated in the conquest of Cuba decided to do the same in Mexico

He sailed to Mexico in February 1519

By November he had reached the Aztec capital and had seized the Aztec emperor Montezuma which after he made deals with other local Indians in order to take over

Striking it Rich: The Establishment of an American State (chapter 4) On February 2nd 1948, the

United States and Mexico signed a treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that gave the United States all the territory above the Rio Grande for 15 million dollars in cash and 3.25 million dollars that would go to the Mexican citizens for payment in claims against the United States

Striking it Rich: The Establishment of an American State (chapter 4) cont. After acquiring California

through the treaty they claimed it to be under international law as occupied by enemy territory during a time of war

Due to the fact California is under the federal government it was controlled by them with a measure of home rule

The North wanted California to be slavery free and the South wanted at least part of California under its influence and opinions on slavery

Striking it Rich: The Establishment of an American State (chapter 4) cont. 2

Once again, similar to that after the Spanish and Mexican eras California was expecting difficulties in the establishment of a civil society

As the American population grew, a succession of military governors, seven in all, found themselves increasingly reluctant to administer civilians