History

The first known inhabitants of the region were the Huchiun Amerindians who belonged to the linguistic group that was later called Ohlone] (an Indian word Miwok meaning "westerners"). At the time, they were concentrated around Lake Merritt and Temescal Creek, a stream that reaches the San Francisco Bay to Emeryville.

Oakland, like the rest of Northern California, became a possession of Spain in 1772 following the discovery of the region by Spanish explorers. Between the end of the eighteenth century and the first decades of the nineteenth century, Oakland belonged to a wealthy landowner, Luís María Peralta, who called his land Rancho San Antonio. When his death approached in 1842, Peralta divided his land so that each of his four sons inherited a portion of it. Most of the present city was then shared by Antonio Mara and Vincent, who opened it to colonization.

The large-scale development of the city began after the conquest of California by the United States during the Mexican-American war, and with the Gold Rush of 1848. Oakland was founded in 1852 and grew with the arrival of the railway. It has been an important railway center since the 1870s. Oakland quickly annexed nearby towns and settlements. Its industrial growth led to the construction of a canal in 1902 that created Alameda Island and allowed the construction of the port of Oakland. In 1906, its population increased considerably, owing to the arrival of the survivors of the earthquake (and the subsequent fire) in San Francisco. In 1920 Oakland was the center of many industries, including automotive, boat construction and metallurgy.

During the Second World War, the shipbuilding industry was fully solicited and attracted many workers from all over the country. Many of them were African-Americans from the southwestern states of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas who lived in prosperity during those years. Unfortunately, the shipbuilding industry, and the automotive industry, stopped, as did the jobs involved. Many of those who came for this type of work decided to stay in Oakland while others moved to the developing suburbs north and south of the city limits.

By the late 1960s, Oakland, which had been relatively prosperous before the war, was dominated by a much poorer population than before. The common reputation of high crime levels is linked to this transformation.

In recent years the city center has been redeveloped and the population has increased (409,300 inhabitants in 2004).

By plane

• 1 Oakland International Airport (IATA: ICAO, ICAO: KOAK, Oakland International Airport) (16 km south of Oakland, south-east of San Francisco but on the opposite side of San Francisco Bay) (last updated August 2018)

By boat