Europeans first set foot in California in the 16th century, and the Spanish first began concentrated efforts to colonize the region 200 years later by establishing missions in 1776. That same year, the United States declared independence from Britain, and quickly began expanding westward after triumphing in the resulting war. In 1846, California along with Texas and New Mexico became part of the U.S. following the war with Mexico. A year later, the town formerly known as Yuerba Buena was rechristened “San Francisco”, with a population of less than 500 people. Only a year later, the population boomed as the Gold Rush drew in people from all over the world, and the expansion of communication and the railroad system helped to boost the population of San Francisco to over 330,000 by the turn of the century. The 1906 Earthquake destroyed most of the city, but the decades that followed created a new culture. Various bridges as well as the BART connect surrounding cities to San Francisco, which has reached a population of over 896,047 { 2020 } it is the 4th largest City in California.
{after Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose } and the 16th largest in the United States.