Commonwealth of California | ||||||
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Motto: E pluribus unum (Latin) "Out of many, one" |
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Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner |
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Location of California within North America
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Capital | Sonoma | |||||
Largest city | Los Angeles | |||||
Languages | English (official) Spanish French |
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Demonym | Californian | |||||
Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional republic | |||||
- | President | Joe Biden | ||||
- | Chancellor | Bernie Sanders (P) | ||||
- | Vice Chancellor | Elizabeth Warren (D) | ||||
- | House Speaker | Nancy Pelosi (D) | ||||
- | Chief Justice | John Roberts | ||||
Legislature | Parliament | |||||
- | Upper house | House of Councillors | ||||
- | Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||
Establishment | ||||||
- | Spanish colonisation | 1579 | ||||
- | Great Exodus | 1791 | ||||
- | Californian Revolution | 1846–48 | ||||
- | Proclamation of Loyalty | 9 September 1850 | ||||
- | Constitution | 1 January 1851 | ||||
- | Dominion Act | 11 December 1931 | ||||
- | California Act | 17 April 1982 | ||||
- | Constitutional Convention | 2–3 February 1998 | ||||
- | Republic referendum | 6 November 1999 | ||||
Population | ||||||
- | 2016 estimate | 109,928,636 | ||||
Currency | Californian Dollar ($) (CAD ) |
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Time zone | Californian Standard Time (CAST) (UTC–8) | |||||
- | Summer (DST) | Californian Daylight Time (CADT) (UTC–7) | ||||
Date formats | dd.mm.yyyy | |||||
Drives on the | left | |||||
Internet TLD | .ca | |||||
Calling code | +1 |
California, officially the Commonwealth of California, is a federal republic composed of 14 states and one Federal District located in the western half of North America. California's capital is Sonoma, and the largest city by population is Los Angeles. Other major urban areas include San Francisco, Phoenix, Seattle, San Diego, Denver, Dallas and Houston. California is bordered by Alaska to the north, Louisiana to the east, and Mexico to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of California.
California had been occupied by Native Americans for around 15,000 years before European colonisation began in the 16th century when Spain lay claim to the area. When the French denizens of eastern North America overthrew their British governors and established French rule, British settlers were expelled from the colonies and fled westward in the Great American Exodus, settling in California. Tensions between the British colonists and the Mexican government escalated in the mid-19th century, leading to the Californian Revolution. The Revolution resulted in a victory for the British, who created the Commonwealth of California and claimed the western half of North America for Queen Victoria of Cygnia. The Government of Cygnia accepted the Proclamation of Loyalty in 1851 when representatives of the Californian government reached Northam, TS.
Upon the acceptance of the Proclamation, California became the first self-governing colony of the Empire of Cygnia, with its own independent executive, legislative and judicial authorities. In 1859, the Republic of Texas joined the Commonwealth. Through the latter half of the 19th century, Californians settled the eastern territories, and the country adopted a federal system of governance, with the national government at Sonoma delegating authority to several States.
The Dominion Act, passed by the Cygnian Congress in 1931, made California the first Dominion of the Cygnian Empire, and removed Congress' right to legislate for the Dominions. It is at this point that California became a de jure sovereign state within the Empire, although it had been de facto independent for far longer. After the Cygnian Revolution, the Californian government sided with Cygnia, and followed suit in abandoning the monarchy, establishing a republic of its own with a new constitution and joining the new Commonwealth of Nations. In 1982, the California Act severed the Cygnian government's remaining links with California, and ended the Supreme Court of Cygnia's status as a court of final appeal in California's federal court system.
California is a highly developed country. It is a regional power and has the world's 13th-highest military expenditure. California ranks highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights. California is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Trade Organisation, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
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