The Yelamu group of the Ohlone people resided in several small villages when a Spanish exploration party, led by Don Gaspar de Portolà arrived on November 2, 1769, the first documented European visit to San Francisco Bay. Seven years later, on March 28, 1776, the Spanish established the Presidio of San Francisco, followed by a mission, Mission San Francisco de Asís. Despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography.
When the Gold Rush hit California, San Francisco was a port of entry for people who came to the area to try and find gold. The Gold Rush propelled the city into a period of rapid growth which transformed the city into on of the largest city in the west coast at that time.
After World War II, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco
No comments:
Post a Comment