The first attempted Spanish occupation of California was by the Jesuit missionary
Eusebio Kino, in 1683. His
Misión San Bruno failed, however, and it was not until 1697 that
Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó was successfully established by another Jesuit,
Juan María de Salvatierra. The mission became the nucleus of
Loreto, first permanent settlement and first administrative center of the province. The Jesuits went on to found a total of
18 missions in the lower two-thirds of the
Baja California Peninsula.
Province of New Spain , five years before the establishment of the Province of the Californias. Note the name "California" placed on the Baja California Peninsula. In 1767, the
Jesuits were expelled from the missions, and Franciscans were brought in to take over.
Gaspar de Portolá was appointed governor to supervise the transition. At the same time, a new
visitador,
José de Gálvez, was dispatched from Spain with authority to organize and expand the fledgling province. The more ambitious province name,
Las Californias, was established by a joint dispatch to the King from
Viceroy de Croix and
visitador José de Gálvez, dated January 28, 1768. Gálvez sought to make a distinction between the
Antigua ('old') area of established settlement and the
Nueva ('new') unexplored areas to the north. At that time, almost the only explored and settled areas of the province were around the former Jesuit missions but, once exploration and settlement of the northern frontier began in earnest, the geographical designations ('upper') and ('lower') gained favor. The single province was divided in 1804, into
Alta California province and Baja California province. By the time of the 1804 split, the
Alta province had expanded to include coastal areas as far north as what is now the
San Francisco Bay Area in the
U.S. state of
California. Expansion came through exploration and colonization expeditions led by
Portolá (1769), his successor
Pedro Fages (1770),
Juan Bautista de Anza (1774–76), the Franciscan missionaries and others. The capital of Alta California was
Monterey. Independent Mexico retained the division but demoted the former provinces to territories, due to populations too small for statehood.
Department of Mexico In 1836, the designation
Las Californias was revived, reuniting Alta and Baja California into a single
departamento (
department) as part of the conservative government reforms codified in the
Siete Leyes (Seven Laws). The Seven Laws were repealed in 1847, during the
Mexican–American War, and the split of the two Californias was restored.
The Californias after 1848 in 2019, San Diego. Pictured are Governor
Jaime Bonilla Valdez of Baja California (left), Governor
Gavin Newsom of California (center), and Governor
Carlos Mendoza Davis of Baja California Sur (right). Following Mexico's defeat in the war, most of the former Alta California territory was ceded on 2 February 1848 to the United States, under the terms of the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The new
Mexico–United States border was established slightly to the north of the previous Alta-Baja border, and the terms '
and ' were no longer formally used. The areas acquired by the U.S. remained under military authority, pending creation of civilian government through territorial designation and/or statehood. Baja California in Mexico was established as the
Baja California Territory after the War. It was split by the Congress into Northern and Southern territories. Seven new U.S. states were created entirely or partly from land formerly included in the Californias. •
1850. California became the 31st of the United States. •
1853. The
Gadsden Purchase transferred additional territory from Mexico to the United States. •
1853.
William Walker led a force that attempted to capture the Baja California Territory and
Sonora to create an independent
Republic of Sonora. Walker was defeated by Mexican forces led by
Antonio Meléndrez. •
1864. Nevada became the 36th of the United States. •
1876. Colorado became the 38th of the United States. •
1890. Wyoming became the 44th of the United States. •
1896. Utah became the 45th of the United States. •
1912. New Mexico became the 47th of the United States. •
1912. Arizona became the 48th of the United States. •
1931. Baja California Territory was divided into the
Territory of Baja California Norte and the
Territory of Baja California Sur. •
1952. The Territory of Baja California Norte became the 29th State of Mexico as
Baja California. •
1974. The Territory of Baja California Sur became the 31st State of Mexico as
Baja California Sur. ==Geography==