Who owned California?

Answer 1

Originally, native Americans settled in the area known now as California.

The first European to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was the Portuguese Joao Rodrigues Cabrilho, in 1542, sailing for the Spanish Empire.

Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed an undefined portion of the California coast in 1579.

Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila Galleons on their return trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565. Sebastian Vizcaino explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain. Spanish missionaries began setting up 21 California Missions along the coast of what became known as Alta California (Upper California), together with small towns and presidios.

In 1821 the Mexican War of Independence gave Mexico (including California) independence from Spain; for the next 25 years, Alta California remained a remote northern province of the nation of Mexico.

Beginning in the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the U.S. and Canada began to arrive in Northern California, harbingers of the great changes that would later sweep the Mexican territory. These new arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail, California Trail, Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts surrounding California. In this period, Imperial Russia explored the California coast and established a trading post at Fort Ross.

In 1846 settlers rebelled against Mexican rule during the Bear Flag Revolt. Afterwards, rebels raised the Bear Flag (featuring a bear, a star, a red stripe and the words "California Republic") at Sonoma.

The Republic's first and only president was William B. Ide, who played a pivotal role during the Bear Flag Revolt. His term lasted 22 days and concluded when California was occupied by U.S. forces during the Mexican-American War.

The California Republic was short lived. The same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). When Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay and began the military occupation of California by the United States. Northern California capitulated in less than a month to the U.S. forces. After a series of defensive battles in Souther California, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Califonios on January 13, 1847, securing American control in California.

Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the war, the region was divided between Mexico and the U.S.; the western territory of Alta California, was to become the U.S. state of California, and Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah became U.S. Territories, while the lower region of California, Baja California, remained in the possession of Mexico.

On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted to the United States as a free state (one in which slavery was prohibited).

Answer 2

The US is the owner of California, as the state is a part of the country.