On September 4, 1781, a group of 44 Spanish settlers founded a small settlement named El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles on the site of present-day Los Angeles. The town was established in Alta California as part of Spain’s colonial expansion along the Pacific coast. Its settlers included people of Spanish, Indigenous, and African ancestry, reflecting the diverse makeup of the Spanish Empire. Over time, the pueblo developed into an important farming and trading center under Spanish, then Mexican, and finally American control. Today, Los Angeles is one of the largest cities in the United States, but its roots trace back to this modest colonial beginning.
