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LA History The earliest residents of the Los Angeles area were Gabrieleño and Chumash Indians, who arrived in the desert region between 5000 and 6000 BC. The first European known to have visited the LA basin was Portuguese sailor Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, who cruised the coast in 1542, but it wasn't until the late 18th century that the real influx began. In 1769, the Spanish governor of California, Don Gaspar de Portola, and Franciscan father Junipero Serra led …

…Central saw subsequent riots in 1979 and 1992; the latter, a direct result of the notorious Rodney King beatings, cost 51 lives and $1 billion in property damage, much of it directed at Korean shopkeepers. In contrast, a ray of hope came with the city's unified response to a recent spate of natural disasters. Though a surprising number of earthquakes, wildfires, floods and mud slides have plagued LA in the last decade, they've brought out the best in Angelenos.