Discover the cities that were once capitals of California throughout the history of this modern American state, full of Spanish and Mexican cultural influences.
The most populous US state is a place steeped in history, with enormous cultural and linguistic diversity. Its history can be divided into a few steps very briefly:
The events described above were essential for the California capital to change its location over time. The first official capital only emerged during the Spanish colonial period, when the colonization of the territory began to be carried out in fact, with many expeditions and the construction of missions with the objective of taking the Catholic religion throughout the state and consolidating the domination of the territories. In 1774, the Expeditions of Juan Bautista de Anza began, which crossed the Sonora desert (currently in the state of Arizona) and went up towards the north, bordering the coast, whenever possible, and founding missions (religious posts established by Catholic priests of the Franciscan order between 1769 and 1833, to expand Christianity among Native Americans).
In addition, a series of four Presidios (Royal Forts) were built in Alta California by the Spanish Crown. To support the prisons and missions, half a dozen towns (called pueblos) were established in California. the towns of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Villa de Branciforte (later abandoned before becoming Holy Cross) and the village of San Jose were all established to support missions and prisons in California. These were the only towns (pueblos) in California.
All cities that were once the capital of California are located in the north of the state, and 3 of them are in the San Francisco Bay Area, the region of San Francisco Bay. Check below each of the cities that were once privileged to host the California state government.
Founded in 1770, Monterey functioned as the capital of Alta California during both the Spanish period (1804-1821) and the Mexican period (1822-1846). Located on the California coast, Monterey was home to California's first theater, public building, public library, public school, printing press, and newspaper and was the sole port of entry for all taxable property in California. After Mexico was compelled to cede California to the United States at the end of the war, Monterey hosted California's first constitutional convention in 1849 at Colton Hall, deciding that the capital would be moved to San Jose.
The pueblo of San Jose was chosen to be the first capital of California after the territory was conquered by the Americans in the Mexican-American War. Shortly after the election, a provisional state government was formed which established the counties, elected a governor, senators and representatives, and operated for ten months before statehood. Congress passed the California State Act on September 9, 1850, making it the 31st state of the United States. A two-story adobe hotel built around 1830 became the state's first capitol and hosted the first legislative sessions in 1850 and 1851. However, the building that housed the state government had poor lighting, poor ventilation, and low ceilings. very low, so legislators began looking for a new location. This site is now the Circle of Palms Plaza, a ring of palm trees surrounding a California state seal, which contains quotes from the 1849 state constitutional convention in Monterey, where San Jose was chosen as the capital. Currently, with more than 1 million inhabitants, San Jose is the third largest city in California, after Los Angeles and San Diego.
General Guadalupe Mariano Vallejo offered a building to be the new capitol at no cost, in the city of Vallejo, founded in 1851, and which bears his name. It all started after the American conquest of California, when Vallejo used his significant political influence to become a major force for reconciliation between Californians and Americans. In 1850, Vallejo proposed plans for a new city with a capitol, university, botanical garden, and other features. After a statewide referendum, his proposal was accepted and the city was settled on a hill overlooking the bay overlooking San Francisco. In 1851, Vallejo was declared the official capital of the state, with the government set to convene for the first time the following year. However, the site of the new capital was chaos, without furniture, with works to be done, and construction noise all day long. Thus, the state government was shifted to the nearby city of Benicia.
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