Key Moments in the Hispanic History
 CALIFORNIA
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1769
Father Jun???pero Serra, a Catholic priest, and Captain Gaspar de Portol???, a soldier, establish 21 missions along the coast of present-day California. Each mission is approximately 30 miles (or a day's walk) apart. The priests attempt to convert the approximately 150,000 natives to Christianity, while the soldiers protect the territory from the Russian fur traders to the north. Deadly diseases brought by the Europeans kill thousands of the Native American inhabitants of the region.
1825
The newly independent nation of México makes Alta California, as the California region was called, an official territory of México.
1830's and 1840's
Attracted by an abundance of resources, waves of American settlers begin to come to California, although the land is officially Mexican territory.
1848
The Mexican-American War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which gives the U.S. official ownership of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. The great majority of Mexicans living in California at the time are granted U.S. citizenship.
1849
Following the discovery of gold along the American River in northern California, a "gold rush" brings hundreds of thousands of Americans, Mexicans, and people from other parts of the world to California. While California benefits from the influx of people, the Native American population, which was estimated at 150,000 in 1845, decreases to 16,000 by 1900. Most natives die from diseases introduced by the multitude of new settlers.
1850
On September 9, California officially becomes a state.
1910
Mexican immigration to California increases in response to the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Due to the war, an economic crisis has struck, and Mexicans come to California in search of better opportunities.
1943
The Mexican community of East Los Angeles is terrorized during the "Zoot Suit Riots." From June 3 through June 7, thousands of U.S. servicemen attack Mexican youths dressed in "zoot suits," flashy, colorful suits that were fashionable at the time. The attacks stem from a fight between sailors and a group of Mexican Americans occurring on June 3, during which a sailor is seriously injured. The attacks on the Mexican-American population are widely reported by the Mexican and Latin American press and strain war-time relations between the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America. Press coverage raises the awareness among Americans and Latin Americans of the prejudice and injustices that Mexican Americans face in the United States.
1962
César Chávez founds the National Farm Workers Association to obtain better wages and working conditions for grape pickers and other farm workers. In 1965, the NFWA organizes a boycott of California grape growers. By 1970, most grape growers sign contracts with the unions. Chávez continues to organize California farm workers through the 1970s.
1968
Governor Ronald Reagan creates the Career Opportunities Development Program, the first of its kind in the nation. This is California's first program to advance the employment and participation of minorities in institutions funded by state money. By the 1970s California is leading the nation in the development of affirmative action programs. Thousands of California Latinos benefit from the program through employment and college admissions.
1990
According to 1990 Census, Latinos make up more than 25 percent of the population of California, although undocumented immigrants may make this population much larger. Projections show that from 1990-2010, the Latino population of California will double.
FLORIDA
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1513
Ponce de Leon lands on the coast of Florida and claims it for Spain. Amazed by the beauty of the land he names it "Pasqua Florida," or Feast of Flowers. When the Spanish arrive, there are approximately 350,000 Native Americans from three major nations living in the Florida area: the Apalachee, the Timucua and the Calusa.
1565
Spanish soldiers establish the first permanent Spanish settlement at St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. Destroyed and rebuilt many times, the city becomes the key to Spain's hold on the Florida coast as Spaniards fight the French and British for control of the New World.
1566
Pedro Menéndez de Aviles and Brother Francisco Villareal are the first Europeans to set foot in what is now Miami. They come to build a Jesuit mission in lands heavily populated by Tequestan Indians.
Early 1700's
The Seminoles, the Native American group most commonly associated with Florida today, enter Florida from Alabama and Georgia. The Seminoles take over territories that were formerly inhabited by many of Florida's original Native American tribes before European-introduced diseases and exploitation destroyed their populations.
1819
Spain cedes Florida to the United States as part of an agreement that recognizes Texas as part of New Spain. Florida's population is an eclectic mix of U.S. settlers, Spaniards, Seminoles, runaway slaves, and English traders.
1822
Citizens of Florida elect Joseph Marion Hernández to Congress as a territorial delegate. He is the first Latino in the history of the U.S. to serve in Congress. 1845
1931
Florida becomes an American state.
1959 - 1962
Regular air service is established between Miami and Havana. This service fortifies Miami's role as the United States main link to Cuba.
1985
Fleeing Castro's revolution
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hispanic/cubahistory.htm, 155,000 Cubans leave their homeland. A large number of these Cuban "exiles" settle in an area of Miami known as "Little Havana" because of its overwhelmingly Cuban population. Today, more than 60 percent of Miami's population is Latino, and more than 700,000 Cubans live in the Miami area.
Miami elects its first Cuban-American mayor, Xavier L. Suárez.
New York
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1930's
Puerto Ricans begin settling in New York's East Harlem. The area eventually becomes the largest Puerto Rican neighborhood in the U.S. and is often called "Spanish Harlem" or "El Barrio"
1945
The "great wave" of Puerto Rican immigration to New York City begins as large numbers of Puerto Ricans arrive after the end of World War II. Most come searching for better opportunities and employment in the U.S.'s booming economy. The huge numbers of immigrants continue through the 1960s before slowing down. Today, more than 1 million Puerto Ricans live in New York City alone more than in Puerto Rico's capital of San Juan.
1950
Dominican-American author Julia Alvarez is born in New York City. Alvarez is the award-winning author of Yo!; How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents; In the Time of the Butterflies; and numerous other works of fiction and poetry.
1958
New York holds its first Puerto Rican Day Parade. The parade later becomes the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in 1995 and a fixture in New York City's annual cultural events.
1961
After the assassination of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, emigration laws become much looser in the Dominican Republic. Thousands of Dominicans leave their homeland and come to the United States. More than three quarters of these immigrants settles in New York, primarily in New York's Washington Heights and Inwood sections. Only the Dominican Republic's capital of Santo Domingo has a larger Dominican population than New York City. Today, Dominicans are New York City's largest ethnic population, eclipsing Puerto Ricans.
1965
Oscar de la Renta, a Dominican-American fashion designer, opens his own shop in New York. His work is met with great critical acclaim.
1969
In a protest aimed at raising awareness of the needs of the Puerto Rican community, the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican student activist group, shut down the City College of New York, East Harlem People's Church, and Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. Their activities help establish Puerto Rican studies departments in universities and lead to the creation of other Puerto Rican activist groups.
1974
The "Nuyorican Poet's Cafe" is founded in New York's Lower East Side. It is founded by a group of Puerto Rican New Yorkers (sometimes called "Nuyorican"). In 1993, the Municipal Society of New York declared the Cafe one of the "Living Treasures of New York."
1998
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announces that June 7 through June 14 is Puerto Rican Week in New York City.
PUERTO RICO
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1493
During his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus claims Puerto Rico for Spain. The island is inhabited by thousands of native Taños, who will all but become extinct in the coming centuries due to disease, war,
and persecution by the Spaniards.
1513
African slaves are first introduced to Puerto Rico by the Spanish. Today almost all Puerto Ricans have some mixture of African, Native American, and European blood.
1868
A group of Puerto Ricans takes over the town of Lares and demands independence from Spain. The revolt is crushed by the Spanish government. Today, Puerto Ricans celebrate September 23 as "El Grito de Lares" (the shout of Lares) in remembrance of the rebellion.
1873
Slavery is abolished by the Spanish crown.
1898
The United States invades Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War. When the war ends three months later, Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines, is ceded to the United States.
1917
All Puerto Ricans are granted U.S. Citizenship.
1945
A large wave of emigration begins, as thousands of Puerto Ricans leave for the United States in search of better jobs and economic stability.
1952
Puerto Rico becomes a self-governing Commonwealth under Luis Muñoz Mara???n, who helped draft Puerto Rico's constitution.
1993
Spanish and English are declared the official languages of Puerto Rico. Previously, Spanish had been Puerto Rico's only official language.
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