Monterey Harbor’s recorded history began when Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sighted the “Bay of Pines” on Nov. 17, 1542. Sebastian Viscaino first touched land on Dec. 16, 1602, claimed the land for Spain, and named the harbor for the Viceroy of Mexico, the Count of Monterey. On June 3, 1770, Gaspar de Portola and Padre Junipero Serra joined from land and sea to form the first settlement, marking Monterey’s beginning. For 76 years Monterey was the capital of Spanish and Mexican California, with the Royal Chapel, the Presidio, and the only Custom House nearby. In 1818, the Argentine privateer Bouchard sailed into the bay and sacked the town. In 1842, Commodore T. Ap Catesby Jones of the U.S. Navy, mistakenly believing war had been declared against Mexico, seized the port but withdrew after three days. On July 7, 1846, after war actually had been declared, Commander John Drake Sloat, leading a squadron of three ships, raised the 28 star flag of the United States over the Custom House and took possession of a great western territory that now forms all or part of seven states. In 1849, many delegates to the state’s constitutional convention arrived by ship. Robert Louis Stevenson walked these sands in 1879 while dreaming the plot for “Treasure Island.” From 1854 until the early 1900’s, Monterey was a whaling port, and later, in the 1930’s, it was the site of the greatest sardine fishery in the world.
