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In 1542, when Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese explorer sailing under the Spanish flag, entered San Diego Bay, the land he found had already been inhabited for centuries by the San Dieguito people and the Kumeyaay Indians. Cabrillo, who had actually been exploring for the elusive northwest passage that would link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, named his discovery San Miguel, in honor of the feast day of San Miguel on Sept. 28, when Cabrillo first sailed into the new land.
In 1602, another Spanish expedition, led by Sebastián Vizcaíno, entered San Miguel. Vizcaíno renamed his discovery San Diego in honor of the patron saint of his flagship, San Diego de Alcalá. But the actual colonization of the area by Spain would not happen until a century and a half later, with the arrival of Father Junípero Serra who would eventually establish 21 missions throughout California. The dedication of the first mission in the state-San Diego de Alcalá-on July 16, 1769, was effectively the de dication as well of the city of San Diego.
The Spanish retained control of California until Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, at which time the Mexican flag was raised over San Diego. The following year the area that we now know as Old Town San Diego began to be settled. By 1846, the war between Mexico and the United States was raging, and the U.S. took San Diego and raised the American flag over the city. In 1850 California became a state. San Diego had a population of 650.
Years later, in 1867, real estate speculator Alonzo Horton bought 960 acres of land in San Diego and set out to make the land into a new American city. Indeed, by 1884, when the transcontinental railroad reached San Diego, the city was booming. The fortunes of San Diego, however, waned with lack of interest in land speculation and little industrial development.
But the city's fortunes rose again with tourism resulting from the Panama-California Exposition, and when the U.S. military recognized San Diego's strategic importance-and perfect flying weather-they moved in to stay.
Today the city's population numbers almost 1.5 million and houses one of the world's largest military complexes, which continues to attract economic growth. The future of San Diego is also closely tied to the new high-tech industries, and tourism is still strong. The zoo and the weather and the city's natural beauty are powerful attractions-and all of that's not likely to change.
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