History of the west coast of North America
The human history of the west coast of North America
Geography
As used in this article, the term "west coast of North America" means a contiguous region of that continent bordering the
First people
The west coast of North America likely saw the first sustained
Although the cultures on the west coast of today's Canada and United States are not known to have developed substantial urban centers and sophisticated writing or scientific systems, it is likely that, before European contact, the population density was significantly higher than in the rest of the northern part of the continent. For example, it has been estimated that in 1492, one-third of all Native Americans in the United States were living in what is now California.[3]
The Channel Islands of California provide the earliest evidence for human seafaring in the Americas. They are now known to have been settled by maritime Paleo-Indian peoples at least 13,000 years ago. The Arlington Springs Man was discovered in 1960 at Arlington Springs on Santa Rosa Island (California). The remains were dated to 13,000 years BP.[4]
The Cedros Island off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, had a human presence already about 11,000 years ago. The earliest fishhooks in the Americas were found here, dating to that time. These ancient fisher folk were catching deepwater fish species, indicating that they were using boats.[5]
These island peoples maintained trading connections with the mainland for thousands of years.[6]
The oldest dated human remains were found in the Los Angeles area. Partial remains of a skeleton referred to as Los Angeles Man were recovered from the ancient channel of the Los Angeles river in the
It was years later that the ‘Los Angeles Man’ remains were finally dated, but by then the mammoth remains were not available for comparative study,[10] and only the cranium of ‘Los Angeles Man’ remained available for dating. The UCLA radiocarbon laboratory indicated the sample age to be more than 23,600 old (UCLA sample #1430), but the sample, obtained from cranial bone collagen, was too small to produce a confident date.[11][12]
Along the middle reaches of Marsh Creek near the modern day city of Brentwood lies land that was once occupied by the Bay Miwok speaking peoples more specifically the Volvon tribelet. Radiocarbon dates at the burial site estimate that the individuals were interred around 5,000 to 3,000 BP. In the earliest periods of the Black Marsh occupation, individuals were buried in an extended position facing north if on the east side of the site and south if on the west side. Observations by researchers suggest that individuals were not interned based on their sex or age, leading some archaeologists to assume a more culturally significant reason. [13]
Larger human settlements
In the western half of Mesoamerica (that is, western portions of today's Mexico and northern Central America), some larger settlements appeared around 2000 BCE.[14] A succession of cultures started with the very early Capacha culture, which appeared on the Pacific coast of modern Mexico about 1450 BC and spread into the interior.[15] The following cultures developed into "high civilizations" in Mesoamerica, with extensive urban areas, writing, astronomy and fine arts:
- Olmec(beginning about 1150 BC)
- Mixtec (beginning perhaps 1000 BC)
- Maya (settled villages along the Pacific coast appear from 1800 BC, and ceremonial architecture by approximately 1000 BC) and
- Aztec(from the 14th century AD)
Farther south, Panama was home to some of the earliest pottery-making, such as the Monagrillo culture dating to about 2500–1700 BC; this culture evolved into significant populations best known for spectacular burial sites (dating to c. 500–900 AD) and polychrome pottery of the
Each of these cultures rose, flourished, and was then conquered by a more militarily developed culture. While not all of these civilizations had large settlements along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, their influence extended to the Pacific coast.
Regional communications in ancient Mesoamerica—and especially along the west coast—have been the subject of considerable research. There is evidence of trade routes starting as far north as the Mexico Central Plateau, and going down to the Pacific coast. These trade routes and cultural contacts then went on as far as Central America. These networks operated along the west coast with various interruptions from pre-Olmec times and up to the Late Classical Period (600–900 CE).
European arrival (1513–1750)
In 1513,
Spanish explorers and conquistadors
Explorers flying the flag of
The commonly held belief at the time was that the west coast of North America was in modest sailing distance of Asia to the west, or the two might actually physically connect. To the north was imagined a narrow Northwest Passage, known as the Strait of Anián, which some believed reached the Pacific Ocean at 42° north latitude (the latitude of today's border between Oregon and California) and connected to the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Confirmation of the land connection, and discovery of this Strait of Anián, were key elements in Spain's efforts to establish direct trade routes with China and other countries in Asia. See Early knowledge of the Pacific Northwest.
The Pacific Coast of Mexico and Central America was not especially conducive to economic development during this era. The northern Mexican coast (including the
Notable exceptions were the development of important Spanish ports at Puerto de Navidad and Acapulco in today's Mexico. While Navidad faded in importance, Acapulco became the primary port of the Spanish Empire on the west coast of North America, and was used as a base for exploratory expeditions north and trade routes with the Far East.[16]
From 1533–1535, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés personally sponsored and financed exploratory sailing voyages north from Acapulco, in a search for legendary riches reported to be in the site of today's California. In the third of these voyages, Cortés accompanied the voyage, and likely reached the site of today's La Paz on the Baja California peninsula.[17]
In 1539, another voyage financed and sponsored by Cortés, and led by
Voyages in 1540 and 1541 to Baja California were sponsored by Cortés's rival, the Viceroy of
The governor of Guatemala also determined to build a Pacific fleet on the west coast of Guatemala, for use in an attempt to cross the Pacific to Asia. Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain, had shown in 1521 that the Pacific Ocean could be crossed from South America. Hence, beginning in 1536, using hardware from Spain (such as anchors) hauled across the isthmus of Central America, and local hardwoods, a flotilla of some thirteen ships was built over the next four years. After much difficulty, the larger number of these ships (under the command of Ruy López de Villalobos) was ordered to make the first crossing of the Pacific Ocean from North America to the Philippines. A smaller number was placed under the command of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese navigator sailing for the Spanish Crown. Cabrillo was ordered north along the west coast of North America to explore the expected coastal route to reach the Asian mainland, as well as attempt to find the Strait of Anián.[16][21]
In 1542, Cabrillo became the first European to explore the west coast of today's United States, leading the expedition that landed at San Diego Bay, and continued north along the coast up to Punta del Año Nuevo, 37° 10' north of Monterrey. But Cabrillo died on January 3, 1543, and the remainder of the exploration was led by Bartolomé Ferrer, who sailed perhaps as far north as the Rogue River in today's western coast of Oregon.[22][23]
Importantly beginning in 1565, Acapulco was a home of the vital
When Miguel López de Legazpi completed the conquest of the Philippines in 1565, he sent his flagship, the San Pedro, back to New Spain, with orders to survey and chart a practicable route for ships returning from the Islands. The San Pedro sailed from Cebu, headed roughly northeast, followed the Kuroshio Current (also known as the Japan Current), and made landfall on the coast of California about the latitude of Cape Mendocino. A sail of two thousand five hundred miles down the coasts of California and New Spain brought the voyagers to the port of Acapulco. This route was charted by the Basque navigator and friar Andrés de Urdaneta,[26] on board the San Pedro, and for nearly three centuries was the one followed by the galleons of Spain sailing from Manila to Acapulco. This return voyage across the Pacific could take up to seven months. A harbor on the coast of California where ships could find shelter and repair damage was greatly desired. A survey of the unknown northern Pacific coast of North America was ordered, and it was also suggested that the explorations be extended north of 42° north latitude.[25][27][28]
In 1585, Captain Francisco de Gali, on the return voyage from the Philippines, via
In 1594, Captain
In 1602, the Basque captain
In the late 17th century, Spain sent the first missionaries into today's Baja California, founding the first mission there in 1683 at San Bruno on the east coast of the Baja peninsula (San Bruno was abandoned as unsuccessful after two years). In 1697, the first "permanent" mission was established at Loreto, about 20 miles (32 km) away from San Bruno, also on the east coast of the peninsula. During this period (until 1750), some 16 missions were established on the peninsula—mostly on the east coast of the peninsula, with a handful on the Pacific coast, in the northwestern part of the peninsula.[31]
English interest
Although it wasn't until 1579 that the west coast of North America was visited by an English explorer, the
Settlements and conflicts (1750–1846)
While the Spanish had dominated development on the west coast of North America for over 200 years since the early 16th century, beginning in the mid-18th century, this period saw the advent of
Spanish settlements in coastal New Spain
In the 1760s, a decision was made to create a harbor at San Blas (in today's Mexican state of Nayarit), for the purpose of building ships, supplying them, and being the expeditionary base for voyages north along the west coast of North America, from Baja California to Alaska. Today it remains unclear exactly why the Viceroy of New Spain decided to create an entirely new shipbuilding port along the west coast of Mexico, when the port at Acapulco already existed. It has been speculated that the reasons San Blas was chosen included that it was a week's sailing closer than Acapulco to the intended destination sites in California, that it was not far from the capital of New Spain, and perhaps more importantly, it had ready access to tropical hardwoods that would be needed to build the ships for the strenuous voyages as far north as today's Alaska. San Blas built the ships and was the home port for these exploration and supply voyages beginning in 1769 and continuing to 1820.[34]
Spanish missions
It was not until 1769 that the first missions were established in today's California (then called
Russian settlements
Explorers and fur trappers from the
Spanish exploration
In the late 18th century, Spain reacted to the increasing Russian and British presence in the
By design, the two vessels separated with one continuing to what is today the border between Washington state and Canada. The other (now with second officer
In 1790, Spanish explorer Salvador Fidalgo led an expedition that included visits to the sites of today's Cordova, Alaska and Valdez, Alaska, where acts of sovereignty were performed. Fidalgo went as far as today's Kodiak Island, visiting the small Russian settlement there. Fidalgo then went to the Russian settlement at Alexandrovsk (today's English Bay or Nanwalek, Alaska), southwest of today's Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula, where again, Fidalgo re-asserted the Spanish claim to the area by conducting a formal ceremony of sovereignty.
In 1791, the
During the return to Mexico, Malaspina's expedition spent a month at the Spanish outpost in
Today, Spain's legacy endures as dozens of Spanish place names. In Alaska these include the
British North America
In 1778, the British seafaring Captain James Cook, midway through his third and final voyage of exploration, sailed along the west coast of North America, mapping the coast from California all the way to the Bering Strait. The northern stretch of the west coast of North America was claimed by the British, but the region was not occupied by any British subject until 1788, when John Meares first small trading post in Nootka Sound in today's British Columbia. His post was torn down at the end of 1788, although he claimed otherwise.
Conflict between Spain and Great Britain
Spain established its own competing fortified trading post at Nootka Sound (Santa Cruz de Nutka, maintained between 1789 and 1795[38]) on Vancouver Island, in today's British Columbia, and sought forcibly to remove British traders by seizing their ships, triggering the Nootka Crisis.
War between Spain and Great Britain over control of the Pacific Northwest was averted by the three Nootka Conventions, signed in 1790, 1793, and 1794. Spain gave up its claim that it alone could establish settlements in the Pacific Northwest (a claim that dated back to the 1493 papal bull and Balboa's actions in 1513), and conceded the British right to establish settlements in any area nominally claimed by Spain but never occupied. This agreement effectively allowed a greatly increased British presence in the Pacific Northwest, including today's British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington.
The primary beneficiary of this agreement was the
Mexican independence
After the Spanish possession now known as Mexico (first known as "
Central American independence
During the 1820s, the Central American possessions of Spain gained their independence, and the boundaries of the young nations shifted in alliances and configurations. For example, what was to become the nation of Panama was simply a province of
French interest
In 1786,
The leader of a further French scientific expedition to California,
U.S. expansion
In 1805, the first official party of Americans to arrive on the west coast of North America, the fabled expedition of
In 1841, the United States Exploring Expedition visited the west coast of North America by ship, and sent an overland party down the Siskiyou Trail, from the site of today's Portland, Oregon, to San Francisco.
Americans continued arriving on the west coast of North America in significant numbers in the mid-1830s. They first came overland along the Oregon Trail, settling primarily in the rich Willamette Valley south of today's Portland. By 1841, the first overland party of American settlers reached California along what became the California Trail, and by the mid-1840s significant numbers of Americans were arriving in California.
In addition, the long-standing dispute between the United States and Great Britain over the Oregon Country was resolved in 1846, with the signing of the Oregon Treaty; the Oregon Treaty divided the disputed territory along what later became the current international boundary between Canada and the United States.
Rapid growth (1846–1945)
In this era, much of the west coast of North America transformed from an area still largely populated by indigenous peoples to widespread population of non-natives. In particular, the west coast of the United States showed the most dramatic change, beginning with the
United States
Americans in California rebelled against Mexico, and in 1846 established the short-lived
In 1867, the United States acquired Alaska from the Russian Empire, capping American westward expansion on the North American continent.
The next 75 years saw a monumental change on the west coast of the United States. Successive booms of agriculture, oil, entertainment, and industry greatly increased California's population. Logging, fishing, and industry drove the economies of California, Oregon, and Washington. However, Alaska had a small economy, despite the three gold rush eras (Klondike, Nome, and Fairbanks) and commercial fishing. This was due to high costs and a risky investment climate that limited development in the Alaskan landscape.
During
Canada
The gold rush fever spread progressively north; in 1858, the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush began in British Columbia, and at the end of the century, the Klondike Gold Rush saw the Yukon hit by masses of prospectors.
The formal delineation of the international border had not completely allayed Britain's fears of losing its Pacific territories, especially as it continued to lag behind the western United States in population and development. As a condition of British Columbia's joining
Mexico
While the Pacific Coast of Mexico remained relatively undeveloped economically, exceptions were tobacco cultivation in the coastal territory of Nayarit, tourism at Acapulco, and local-scale fishing all along the coast.
Central America
The countries of Central America continued to struggle politically during this time (with perhaps the notable exception of Costa Rica), and began to expand agriculture, particularly in coffee and bananas with investment and substantial control by the United States. The establishment in 1903 of the newly independent nation of Panama (under pressure from the United States) led to the creation of the Canal Zone and opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. The opening of the Canal benefited the region economically as trade with the Eastern United States and Europe became far easier.
Immigration
Both the gold rushes and the building of the railroads required vast amounts of labor. One available source that was used on both sides of the border were
Increased trade and World War II
The rise of the Japanese economy also benefited the region as the ability to trade across the Pacific continued to show its great potential.
However, only a few decades later,
Post-war period (1945–present)
The post-war years would be ones of great prosperity and growth on the west coast of North America. The quick reemergence of Japan and its stunning growth over the next decades meant great wealth for the west coast ports. Japan became the second largest trading partner of both Canada and the United States, and this trade was almost entirely based in the west coast (the United States and Canada are each other's largest trading partners). Later the other Asian economies would add to this trade. Throughout the Pacific Northwest, the primary extractive activities of logging, mining, and fishing remained the central industries. California became a center of entertainment, aerospace engineering, and electronics. Following Alaska's admission to the Union in 1959, military spending, the development of Cook Inlet oil industry, and rebuilding after the 1964 earthquake fueled the state's economic growth in the 1960s.
Unlike other areas of the United States, the western economies were not based upon manufacturing and the great deindustrialization of the 1970s and 1980s did little to hurt the region—creating an imbalance between rapid growth in the west and stagnation or decline in the east.
During this period, the west coast departed from positions held in the FDR years and moved toward the direction of conservatism with the population favoring lower taxes. In the United States, this manifested itself in support for the Republican Party, especially for the two Republican California-based presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. In British Columbia, the right wing Social Credit Party governed for over thirty years. Nonetheless, the great port cities of San Francisco and Vancouver both fostered alternative views, acting as centers for environmentalism, unions, feminism, and gay rights.
The general economic revival of North America in the late 1990s brought growth in Northern California due to the
See also
- 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
- American frontier
- Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas
- Colonial police action against the people of Haida Gwaii
- First Nations
- Fort Stikine
- History of Alaska
- History of British Columbia
- History of California
- History of Costa Rica
- History of El Salvador
- History of Guatemala
- History of Mexico
- History of Oregon
- History of Panama
- History of Washington (U.S. state)
- Indigenous peoples of California
- Indigenous peoples of the Americas
- Native Americans in the United States
- Origin of the name California
- Paleo-Indians
- Settlement of the Americas
- Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest
- West Coast of the United States
- Western United States
- Yukon
References
- ^ The term North America has a variety of meanings, including just the United States and Canada, those two countries plus Mexico, or all of the continent from Panama north; this article uses this most expansive definition.
- ^ Ranked by 2007 market valuation, nearly 10% of the 200 largest publicly traded companies in the world are based on the west coast of North America: Microsoft, Chevron, Cisco Systems, Intel, Wells Fargo, Google, Amgen, Hewlett-Packard, Qualcomm, Oracle, Apple Computer, eBay, Walt Disney, Yahoo, Washington Mutual, and Occidental Petroleum. (See Top ranked publicly traded companies. Accessed 2008-02-01.) Of the 200 largest privately held companies in the United States (ranked by 2006 revenue), over 20% are based on the west coast of North America, including brand names Levi Strauss & Co. and E&J Gallo Winery, and global firms Bechtel and Parsons. (See Top ranked privately held companies. Accessed 2007-01-02.) Finally, of the nearly 800 billionaires in the world (as ranked by Forbes magazine in 2006) nearly 100 (or over 10%) live on the west coast of North America, including Bill Gates, listed as the wealthiest individual in the world. (See List of billionaires. Accessed 2007-01-02.)
- ^ Starr, Kevin. California: a history, New York, Modern Library (2005), p. 13
- ^ Glassow, Michael A. (editor), Todd J. Braje, Julia G. Costello, Jon M. Erlandson, John R. Johnson, Don P. Morris, Jennifer E. Perry, and Torben C. Rick (2014). Technical report. Channel Islands National Park Archaeological Overview and Assessment.
- S2CID 165030382.
- ^ Glassow, Michael A. (editor), Todd J. Braje, Julia G. Costello, Jon M. Erlandson, John R. Johnson, Don P. Morris, Jennifer E. Perry, and Torben C. Rick (2014). Technical report. Channel Islands National Park Archaeological Overview and Assessment.
- ^ Moratto, M. 1984. California Archaeology. Florida: Academic Press, p.53
- ^ Heizer and Cook 1952
- ^ Technical report for power plant construction. CULTURAL RESOURCES. Archived 2017-12-22 at the Wayback Machine California Energy Commission, Sacramento, California, December 2000
- ^ Dillon, B. 1990. Archaeological Record Search and Impact Evaluation for the Los Angeles Wastewater Program Management (NOS-NCOS) Project, Los Angeles, California. Prepared for Dr. Janet Fahey, James M. Montgomery, Consulting Engineers, 250 N.Madison Ave., P.O. Box 7009, Pasadena, CA 91109-7009. p.6
- ^ Chartkoff, J. and K. K. Chartkoff. 1984. The Archaeology of California. Stanford: Stanford University Press: pp.33-35
- ^ Technical report for power plant construction. CULTURAL RESOURCES. Archived 2017-12-22 at the Wayback Machine California Energy Commission, Sacramento, California, December 2000
- ^ Jelmer W. Eerkens, Eric J. Bartelink, Karen S. Gardner & Randy S. Wiberg (2013) The Evolution of a Cemetery: Rapid Change in Burial Practices in a Middle Holocene Site in Central Alta California, California Archaeology, 5:1, 3-35, DOI: 10.1179/1947461X13Z.0000000005
- ^ See Matanchén Complex: New Radiocarbon Dates on Early Coastal Adaptation in West Mexico. Joseph B. Mountjoy, R. E. Taylor, and Lawrence H. Feldman. Science 17 March 1972: Vol. 175. no. 4027, pp. 1242–1243. Abstract: Samples of marine shell from archaeological context on the coast of Nayarit, Mexico, have given radiocarbon determinations of 1810 ± 80 B.C., 2000 ± 100 B.C., and 2100 ± 100 B.C. Even with maximum correction for upwelling these are the earliest dates for coastal occupation in West Mexico north of Acapulco, Guerrero. Analysis of the midden contents has provided new insights regarding early coastal adaptation.
- ^ "Discussion of the Chapaca culture". Archived from the original on 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
- ^ a b c Development of Spanish ports and fleets on west coast
- ^ Text of Baja California history
- ^ Spate, O. H. K., The Spanish Lake on-line text
- ^ History of Cerritos.
- ^ Descubrimientos y Exploraciones en las Costas de California ("Discoveries and Explorations on the Coasts of California 1532–1650," Madrid, 1947; 2ª edición 1982, pp. 113–141): relevant passage quoted and cited at [etimologias.dechile.net/?California Etimología de California] on [etimologias.dechile.net etimologias.dechile.net]. Accessed 1 April.
- ^ Information about Cabrillo's voyages.
- ^ U.S. National Park Service Juan Cabrillo website
- ^ U.S. National Park Service Juan Cabrillo website
- ^ It is estimated that one-third of the silver from Mexico was used to purchase trade goods in Manila.
- ^ a b c Summary of Spanish North Pacific history Archived 2009-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Information about de Urdaneta
- ^ a b c Etext of Spanish exploration of west coast, including diaries Archived 2006-06-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ History of Spanish explorers of west coast, retrieved
- ISBN 9781108024099.
- ^ Information from Monterey County Museum about Vizcaino's voyage and Monterey landing retrieved; Summary of Vizcaino expedition diary retrieved
- ^ Other explorers who visited Baja California include: Tomas Cardova, in 1610; Francisco de Ortega, in 1632, and again in 1636; Luigi Cestin de Cañas in 1642; Porter y Casanate in 1644; Bernal de Pinadero in 1667: Ysidro Otondo (who founded at La Paz a colony that endured about two years, and was then abandoned) in 1683. See On-line text of Baja California history
- ^ Nolte, Carl (2016). "Point Reyes declared Drake landing site". SFGate.com. SFGate. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ISBN 0-7748-0113-1.
- ^ History of creation of San Blas harbor
- ^ Cook, Warren L. (1979). "Pérez Hernández, Juan Josef". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Archer, Christon I. (1983). "Alcalá-Galiano, Dionisio". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. V (1801–1820) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Collection and discussion of Spanish placenames in today's Alaska.
- ^ History of Nootka Archived 2006-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1884–1890) History of California, v.4, The works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, complete text online Archived 2012-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, p.260
- ^ Sailing With the Winds of History: A Pacific Coast Chronicle. Jevne Haugan, Author (Authorhouse; 1999)
- ^ "World War II on the West Coast". Ancestry.com.