The French have been closely associated with California’s history since the 18th century. The first foreign vessels to visit Spain’s northern Pacific colonies were Laperouse’s L’Astrolabe and La Boussole, in 1786. These illustrious seamen and scientists were the first to report on Monterey’s mission, Indians, fauna, and residents. On their heels came several other French explorers and traders, who each greatly contributed to our knowledge of early California. Their reports were avidly sought by the French public who hungered for tales of their countrymen’s explorations in the unchartered wilds of the world. They proved a source of prestige for the explorers themselves, while on a human level, a few of their seamen, who jumped ship, became some of the territory’s first settlers.

The collapse of the Napoleonic empire and the expansion of worldwide trade encouraged many Frenchmen to travel far from home in quest of personal fortunes. Many drifted to the Pacific and settled in south America and Mexico. When in 1821 Mexico gained its independence from Spain, California’s ports opened to foreign trade. French whalers, traders and wanderers trickled north and participated in settling the province while French-Canadian trappers like Michel Laframboise blazed a trail from Oregon into California. A French consulate was established at Monterey, before the American consulate, with the first French consul arriving in early May of 1845. The building can still be visited today.