When did Spanish colonization of California begin?

Spanish colonization of California began in 1769. In that year, the Spanish viceroy dispatched land and sea expeditions from Baja California, leading to the establishment of the first mission at San Diego by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.123

This arrival initiated a period of significant cultural rupture for Indigenous peoples of the region, as missionaries, soldiers, and later colonial developers forcibly dislocated native communities to missions to provide labor and undergo conversion to Christianity. The establishment of these missions and military outposts, such as the one founded at Monterey in 1770 by Gaspar de Portolá, served as the primary mechanism for securing Spanish claims to the area.213