On this day in 1602, the eve of St. Catherine’s Day, Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno sighted three islands. He renamed Pimu, the largest island, Santa Catalina. Pimu—so-called by its native inhabitants, the Pimungan (or Pimuvit) people, was first discovered by Spaniards in October 1542, when the explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the island for his king. He named the island San Salvador, after his ship. Archaeological evidence shows that the island was inhabited by maritime hunter-gatherers at least 7,000 years ago. Members of the Takic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, the residents developed a strong seagoing trade with the peoples of both nearby islands (Santa Barbara, San Nicolas, and probably San Clemente) and the mainland. Aleut, Russian, and American hunters trapped sea otters in Santa Catalina waters while the island was controlled by Spain. Under subsequent Mexican rule, smugglers used Santa Catalina as a warehouse for undeclared cargo. Under the terms of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Santa Catalina became part of the United States. In the twentieth century, Santa Catalina became a vacation spot. Tourists traveled to the island to visit its hotels and watch its famous flying fish. Avalon, the islands only city, was incorporated in 1913. In 1972, most of the island’s interior and forty-eight miles of coastline were deeded to the non-profit Catalina Island Conservancy.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 11:39:39 +0000
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