Fresno-Tulare-Kern County CA Archives History - Books .....Discovery 1892
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Book Title: Memorial And Biographical History Of The Counties Of Fresno, Tulare, And Kern, California

DISCOVERY.

THE discovery of California was directly the result of a belief entertained in
the early part of the sixteenth century that there was a direct passage from the
Atlantic ocean to the Indian seas. This highway was sought for by various
navigators of that time, and when Hernando Cortez landed in Vera Cruz in April,
1519, he was confident that he had reached Asia. It was his intention to settle
the shadow of doubt by following the coast around to India, and this resolution
in succeeding years resulted in the discovery of California. Cortez founded the
town of Zacatula, 180 miles north  of Acapulco, Mexico, where he built a fleet
and a few years later, in 1532, sent out the ships in search of lands then
unknown to previous travelers. The voyage was a disastrous one, and in 1533 he
sent out two ships in search of the missing vessels. These ships were under the
command of Hernando Grijalva and Diego Becerra de Mendoza, the latter a cousin
of Cortez. Grijalva soon abandoned the search in despair and returned to
Zacatula; Mendoza was murdered by the crew of his ship, headed  by one Fortuno
Jimenez, a pilot; and the mutineers followed the coast northward until a
beautiful  bay, since called La Paz, was reached. This bay is on the western
side of the gulf of California, 100 miles north of Cape St. Lucas. Jimenez and
nearly all of his crew were here murdered by Indians, and the leader of the
mutineers was not aware, at the time of his tragic death, that he possessed the
proud distinction and would be credited in history as the discoverer of California.

  Cortez landed at Santa Cruz, then known as Jimenez Bay, May 3, 1535, but owing
to the hostility of the Indians he was compelled a year later to abandon his
possessions. In 1539, he sent Captain Francisco de Ulloa to the gulf, which he
explored nearly to the mouth of the Colorado, and then, rounding the point,
sailed up the outer coast to Cedros Islands.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Memorial and Biographical History
OF THE COUNTIES OF
Fresno, Tulare, and Kern, California

Illustrated
Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the
Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of
its Prospective Future: with Profuse Illustrations of its Beautiful Scenery,
Full-page Portraits of Some of its most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of
Many of its Pioneers, and also of Prominent Citizens of to-day.

"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendants." -Macaulay.

CHICAGO:
The Lewis Publishing Company.
Undated, but OCLC lists a publication date of 1892

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/fresno/history/1892/memorial/discover342ms.txt

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