History
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El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles sobre el Río de la Porcíuncula was founded near this site on or about September 4, 1781, as the first Spanish civilian settlement in Southern California. Eleven families, including twenty-two adults and twenty-two children, were recruited from the Provinces of Sinaloa and Sonora in New Spain, now called Mexico, by Captain Fernando de Rivera y Moncada, emissary of Governor Felipe de Neve of California. Their task was to provide food for the soldiers of the presidios, help secure Spain’s hold on the region, and supply the farmers, artisans, and stock raisers necessary for the settlement’s survival. Escorted by soldiers, they departed Los Alamos, Sonora, on February 2, 1781, arrived in several groups during the summer of 1781, and ranged in age from one to sixty-seven, reflecting the cultural heritage and racial diversity that link the city’s past to the present.
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Los Angeles, California · United States
