Atlas of Hispanic-American History

MANIFEST DESTINY AND HISPANIC AMERICA 101

In 1781, a group of 44 Spanish, Filipino, Native American and African settlers founded Los Angeles, naming it "El Pueblo
de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula" ("The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels on
the River Porciúncula"). By 1820 the population had reached about 650 residents, spread out over a number of vast
estates. When Mexican rule ended in 1847, and the Mexican government ceded Alta California and other territories to
the United States, many of the old Spanish and Mexican ranches were lost to Anglo land speculators.