France and California have a long and
historic relationship, which began in the 18th century when French artist
Gaspard Duche de Vancy traveled to California by sea, later painting the landscape
of the future state in 1786. In 1832
Jean-Louis Vignes purchased 104 acres of land between the Los Angeles Pueblo
and the Los Angeles River, where he established a successful vineyard, becoming
California’s
first commercial winemaker. In the mid-1840s
the first French Consulate was established in Monterey.