Spain’s General José de Gálvez was the first to suggest the settling of the Alta California region in New Spain. The presidios – forts – and their supporting towns would add a new source of revenue, he thought, and create a bulwark against encroachment by Russian settlers from the north. Felipe de Neve, the governor of California picked three sites for the forts — one in Santa Barbara, one in San Jose, an one in the middle, in Los Angeles.

On this day, the settlement of Los Angeles was founded by 44 Pobladores (“townspeople”): 22 adults and 22 children making a new settlement.

The town expanded, as all of the original founders were given land to farm, and more settlers and soldiers joined them in the following years. A great need for extra help created opportunities for commerce with the Native Americans. The settlers used them for everything from landscaping and water hauling to domestic work, and paid with the alcohol as often as cash. The growing town traded with the natives for fur pelts and woven clothes, attracting more from both sides to the area, and Los Angeles grew.