Santa Barb
Santa Barbara is a city on the Pacific coast of Santa Barbara County, California, United States, and the county seat of Santa Barbara County. According to the United States Census Bureau in 2010, the population was 88,410, making it the second largest city in the county after Santa Maria, with 75.1% white, 38.0% Latino, 3.5% Asian, 1.6% African American, and 1.0% Indian. Santa Barbara is also the home of the University of California, Santa Barbara, which is adjacent to the west of the city.
Human history in the Santa Barbara area dates back 13,000 years, with Stone Age human remains such as the Arlington Springs Man found here. However, the history with detailed records can only be traced back to the Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo's voyage to the area. He arrived in what is now the Santa Barbara Channel in 1542 and briefly docked here. In 1602, Juan Crespi officially named the waterway "Santa Barbara".
The earliest European residents here were Spanish missionaries and soldiers under Felipe de Verde. They used this place as a fortress to resist the expansion of the English and Russian territories, and also preached to the local indigenous people. Because these Spaniards brought their families with them, they eventually settled here. On December 4, 1786, the Santa Barbara Mission was built, which was one of the earliest missions in California. Although the immigrants did not carry out large-scale massacres of the local indigenous people, the indigenous people still died of smallpox. [10] During the Spanish rule, Santa Barbara experienced an earthquake of about magnitude 7 on the Richter scale. This earthquake and the subsequent tsunami destroyed the entire town, including the church.
In 1822, the Mexican War of Independence broke out. The area became independent in the war and became part of Mexico, thus ending its colonial rule. On December 27, 1846, during the Mexican-American War, Santa Barbara was occupied by American soldiers. With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Santa Barbara became part of the United States.
After the United States acquired the land, the local population grew rapidly. In the decade between 1850 and 1860, Santa Barbara's population doubled. [13] After the gold rush, the area was infested with bandits and gamblers, and public security was extremely poor. In the early 1850s, it was occupied by the bandit Jack Powers. At the same time, with the increase in British immigrants, Spanish gradually lost its importance, and English became the official language in 1870. [14] The first local newspaper, the Santa Barbara Gazette, began publication in 1855.
The American Civil War had little impact on Santa Barbara. The more important event in the area was the severe drought in 1863, which killed many livestock and displaced people. In 1871, entrepreneur Mortimer Cook arrived here and opened Santa Barbara's first bank. Cook later became the mayor of the city. [16] The construction of Stern's Wharf in 1872 further promoted the local economy. In the 1870s, writer Charles Nordhoff described the city as a resort, which attracted a large number of tourists. In the late 19th century, trains from Los Angeles to San Francisco made transportation in Santa Barbara more convenient. [17] Architect Peter J. Barber designed many Victorian buildings for Santa Barbara and was elected mayor twice in 1880 and 1890.