Francis of Assisi became famous not only for his holy deeds, but also gave the name to one of the most famous cities in the world. True, most of the inhabitants of this beautiful corner of the planet are hardly aware of this. The history of San Francisco began in 1776 with the landing of Spanish travelers on the coast of the peninsula.
The history of San Francisco can be summarized in the following stages:
- pre-colonial history, residence of Indian tribes;
- the middle of the 17th century - early colonies, the first Spanish settlers;
- the second half of the 19th century - the beginning of gold mining, the "gold rush";
- end of XIX - XX cent. - "Western Paris";
- modern life of the metropolis.
Naturally, this division is conditional, in each of the periods there were important and secondary events for the townspeople.
From a Spanish settlement to a city of peace
In the territories where the beautiful American metropolis is located today, Indians belonging to the Oloni tribe have long lived. Archaeologists have found their household items that date back to the third century BC.
The Spaniards wrote the first pages into the book of the history of San Francisco (as a settlement). It was they who built a military fort near the strait, which today has a beautiful name - "Golden Gate". The first name of the settlement that appeared at the fort was Yerba Buena.
The development of the settlement was facilitated by the discovery in the middle of the 19th century of gold deposits in California and the beginning of the so-called "gold rush". Since 1848, there has been a rapid growth of the city - both residential areas and public buildings, government institutions. This year was also remembered by the residents for the fact that the settlement with the unattractive name of Yerba Buena was renamed to the sonorous San Francisco.
The "Gold Rush" led to a sharp increase in the number of residents, very soon San Francisco became the largest urban settlement (west of the Mississippi), only in 1920 it lost first place to Los Angeles. Gold mining contributed to the development of industry, trade and entertainment.
West Paris
San Francisco received such a beautiful name at the end of the 19th century - a famous European architect was invited, who developed a new plan for the development of the city, many beautiful buildings and structures appeared.
It is clear that the metropolis cannot live without problems related to the provision of housing, food, hygiene and sanitation (the city has been repeatedly exposed to plague epidemics). In 1906, the townspeople experienced the largest earthquake in the history of San Francisco, previously the worst fire. These tragic events contributed to the renewal of the city, many of the architectural masterpieces have survived.
