Who settled California?

California was first settled by Native American tribes, who lived in the region for thousands of years before European contact. The first Europeans to settle in California were Spanish explorers and missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the mid-18th century, the Spanish established missions and presidios (military forts) along the coast of California, and began to colonize the region. Mexico gained control of California in the early 19th century, but it was ceded to the United States after the Mexican-American War in 1848. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 led to a massive influx of American settlers, and California became the 31st state of the Union in 1850.