History

The Ohlone and pre-contact period

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century, Santa Cruz was home to the nomadic Ohlone Native Americans.

Mission and Pueblo period

In 1769 the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolà accidentally arrived in the vicinity while attempting to travel to Monterey.
He named the river San Lorenzo for Saint Lawrence and he named a local creek "Arroyo de Santa Cruz" which translates as "Holy Cross Creek".

In 1791, Father Fermín Lasuén continued the use of Portolà's name when he declared the establishment of La Misión de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz (also known as Mission Santa Cruz) for the conversion of the Awaswas of Chatu-Mu and surrounding Ohlone villages.

Santa Cruz was the twelfth mission to be founded in California.

In 1797, Governor Diego de Borica, by order of the Viceroy of New Spain, Miguel de la Grúa Talamanca y Branciforte, marqués de Branciforte, established the Villa de Branciforte, a town named in honor of the Viceroy. One of only three civilian towns established in California during the Spanish colonial period (the other two became Los Angeles and San Jose), the Villa was located across the San Lorenzo River, less than a mile from the Mission. Its original main street is now North Branciforte Avenue.

Villa de Branciforte later lost its civic status, and in 1905 the area was annexed into the City of Santa Cruz. In the 1820s, newly independent Mexico assumed control of the area.

Following the secularization of the Mission in 1834, the community that had grown up around the Mission was renamed Pueblo de Figueroa. The name didn't catch on, however, and later reverted back to Santa Cruz. After 1834, immigrants from the United States began to arrive in steadily increasing numbers. In 1848, following the Mexican-American War, Mexico ceded the territory of Alta California to the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

California was the first portion of the territory to became a state, in 1850.

Santa Cruz became a city in 1866.

Social activism

As a center of liberal and progressive activism, Santa Cruz became one of the first cities to approve marijuana for medicinal uses.
In 1992, residents overwhelmingly approved Measure A, which allowed for the medicinal uses of marijuana. Santa Cruz also became one of the first cities in California to test the state's medical marijuana laws in court after the arrest of Valerie Corral and Mike Corral, founders of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, by the DEA.

The case was ruled in favor of the growers.

In 2005, the Santa Cruz City Council established a city government office to assist residents with obtaining medical marijuana. In 2006, Measure K was passed by voters, making marijuana enforcement "lowest priority" for law enforcement. Santa Cruz has an activist Veteran community.

The United Veterans Council sponsors a community-based program for Veterans dealing with re-entry into society as an alternative to government remedies. The Bill Motto VFW post #5888 sponsors anti-war and peace efforts in Santa Cruz and throughout the country.

The Veterans Memorial Building is host to punk, reggae, and hip-hop acts from Santa Cruz and around the world. It is also the home of the Bill Motto Post sponsored Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. These dinners were started by post #5888 in the late seventies.

In 2006, the Thanksgiving dinner served 1,400 people.

Founded in 1976, The Resource Center for Nonviolence is one of the oldest and most centrally located non-profit organizations committed to political and social activism in Santa Cruz County.

The center is "dedicated to promoting the principles of nonviolent social change and enhancing the quality of life and human dignity".
In 1998, Santa Cruz declared itself a Nuclear-free zone, and in 2003, the Santa Cruz City Council became the first City Council in the U.S. to denounce the Iraq War.

The City Council of Santa Cruz also issued a proclamation opposing the USA PATRIOT Act.

Notable feminist activists Nikki Craft and Ann Simonton resided in Santa Cruz where they formed the "Praying Mantis Brigade". This collection of activists organized the "Myth California Pageant" in the 1980s protesting "the objectification of women and the glorification of the beauty myth.

"Myth California was staged concurrently with the Miss California pageant held in Santa Cruz since the 1920s. The protests, including women dressed in meat and pouring the blood of raped women across a pageant entryway, ran for nine years and eventually contributed to the Miss California pageant leaving Santa Cruz.

Simonton founded and coordinates the non-profit group "Media Watch" which monitors and critiques media images of women and ethnic minorities. Beginning in 1983 Santa Cruz has hosted an annual Take Back the Night candlelight vigil, rally, march, and protest focusing on the issue of violence against women.

Santa Cruz has an active community of independent media makers as demonstrated by the Santa Cruz Independent Media Center and many other do-it-yourself media projects. Incendio is a bi-lingual journal to connect English- and Spanish-speaking anarchists throughout the world to anarchist, indigenous, ecological, and social struggles occurring throughout Latin America.

Santa Cruz also has an active independent media outlet.

Recent history

On March 11, 2011, Santa Cruz was hit by ocean surges caused by the Tōhoku earthquake off the coast of Japan. The Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor sustained an estimated $10 million of damage, with another $4 million of damage to docked boats there.