History of Los Angeles

The earliest inhabitants in the Los Angeles coastal area were Gabrieleo and Chumash Indians, who arrived in the desert region between 5000 BC and 6000 BC. The first European known to have visited the LA basin was Portuguese sailor Juan Rodrguez Cabrillo, who sailed along the coast in 1542.

European settlers

Spanish occupation began in 1769, when an exploratory expedition of more than 60 people led by Gaspar de Portola moved north through the area now known as Los Angeles. They camped by a river that had fertile soil and Father Juan Crespi, who accompanied the group, saw the location as having all the requirements for a large settlement.

In September 1771, Father Junipero Serra and a group of Spaniards founded the San Gabriel Mission as the centre of the first community in an area inhabited by small bands of Gabrielino Indians. These settlers were of African, Indian, Filipino and Spanish ancestry.

In 1781, a group of settlers called Los Pobladores were recruited in the states of Sonora and Sinaloa in Mexico. Their mission, under the authority of Governor Felipe de Neve, was to establish pueblos in the name of the King of Spain. They established a community in the area discovered by Portola and named it El Pueblo de Nuestra Seora la Reina de los Angeles del Ro de Porcincula, after the nearby river.

It remained a small ranch town for decades, but by 1820 the population had increased to 650 people, making it the largest civilian community in Spanish California. Over time, the area became known as the City of Angels and in 1850 it became the City of Los Angeles.

American rule

California was ruled by Spain until 1822, when Mexico assumed jurisdiction. Their rule was brought to an end after the Battle of Rio San Gabriel in 1847. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848 and Mexico formally ceded Alta California to the United States.

Control over the area was motivated by the discovery of gold near the San Fernando mission and then by James Marshall's famous 1848 discovery on the American River in northern California, which witnessed one of the greatest gold rushes in history.

Los Angeles was incorporated as a city in 1850, and the local people asserted their newly won right of self-government and elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first governing body. It was an unruly and dirty city, full of saloons, brothels and gambling houses. It was made worse by northern California's gold rush, as unemployed miners came to LA, and the state fell into a depression.

The first transcontinental railroad, the Central Pacific, reached San Francisco in 1869. A spur line finally reached LA in 1876, boosting the fledgling orange-growing industry. LA's population soared to one million by 1920 and to two million by 1930, mainly due to the discovery of oil.

By 1923 Los Angeles was supplying one quarter of the world's petroleum. In the early 1900s, east coast filmmakers arrived in Hollywood, and Los Angeles became the capital of the entertainment industry. The rapid development of the city was assured thanks to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which supplied enough fresh water for its inhabitants as well as for surrounding areas.

Economic expansion

The city was the host of the 1932 Summer Olympics, which saw the creation of Baldwin Hills, the original Olympic Village. The region played an important role in WWII, as factories produced aeroplanes, weaponry and machinery for the war.

When the war ended, the automobile industry sustained the city's expansion. Despite the economic upswing, ethnic friction was brewing, yet it was ignored for decades by local politicians and policy makers. Trouble exploded in 1965, and the country saw one of the worst ever race riots, as the black district of Watts succumbed to six days of burning and looting.

The 1960s and 70s were prosperous for the economy, helped by overseas immigrants from Asia and the Middle East. The Olympics successfully returned to Los Angeles in 1984, but urban problems such as gang crime and homelessness were on the rise. In 1992 riots tested the city once again, sparked by the trial of the beating of black motorist Rodney King. The riots cost 51 lives and millions of dollars in damage.

Recently, urban redevelopment and gentrification have been taking place in various parts of the city, most notably downtown. The economy is fairly robust, unemployment low and crime rates are falling.