As the U.S. Nears 250 Years, What Was Happening in the Bay Area?

As our nation nears its 250th anniversary, we reflect on what was going on in the Bay Area at the time. In 1776 California was newly part of the Spanish colony that would later become Mexico. The summer of 1776 was also pivotal in San Francisco’s history: construction started on the Presidio and Mission Dolores was founded five days before the Declaration of Independence was signed. Most of the local population consisted of indigenous people and some Mexican settlers. The people, ecosystems and coastline were dramatically different. We look back on the Bay Area in 1776. Guests: Steven Hackel, professor of history, UC Riverside; author, "Junipero Serra: California's Founding Father" Laura Feinstein, resilient landscapes program director, San Francisco Estuary Institute Vincent Medina, East Bay Ohlone cultural leader; co-founder, Cafe Ohlone in Berkeley; founder, mak-warép Ohlone Land Conservancy Michael Wilcox, senior lecturer, Native American Studies and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University Gabriel Duncan, founder, Alameda Native History Project Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices