Located in Monterey County , the city occupies a land area of 8. Monterey was elevated to capital of the Province of the Californias in , servings as the administrative and military headquarters of both Alta California and Baja California , as well as its only official port of entry.
Following its capture, Monterey continued to serve as the capital of the American interim government of California until , during which it hosted the California's 1st Constitutional Convention. In the late 19th century, Monterey and its surrounding area began to attract communities of artists, writers, and other creatives, leading to the creation of an art colony. Long before the arrival of Spanish explorers, the Rumsen Ohlone tribe, one of seven linguistically distinct Ohlone groups in California, inhabited the area now known as Monterey.
They subsisted by hunting, fishing and gathering food on and around the biologically rich Monterey Peninsula. Researchers have found a number of shell middens in the area and, based on the archaeological evidence, concluded the Ohlone's primary marine food consisted of various types of mussels and abalone.
The city is named after Monterey Bay. He anchored in what is now Monterey harbor on December 16, and named it Puerto de Monterrey , in honor of the Conde de Monterrey , then the viceroy of New Spain. Some variants of the city's name are recorded as Monte Rey and Monterey.
Despite Monterey's limited use as a maritime port, the encroachments of other Europeans near California in the 18th century prompted the Spanish monarchy to try to better secure the region.
