CLASSIC: California Was Named for a Fictional Island Ruled by a Black Amazon Queen

Summary

Ridiculous History Podcast Summary
Episode: CLASSIC: California Was Named for a Fictional Island Ruled by a Black Amazon Queen
Release Date: November 9, 2024
Host: Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown
Producer: Casey Pegram

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Introduction

In this classic episode of Ridiculous History, hosts Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown delve into the quirky and fascinating story behind California's name. Contrary to popular belief, California wasn't named after a natural feature or a prominent individual but was inspired by a fictional island ruled by an Amazonian queen from a 16th-century novel. This episode uncovers the layers of history, fiction, and cultural influences that culminated in the naming of one of the United States' most iconic states.

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The Fictional Origins: Garci Rodriguez de Montevallo's Novel

Ben opens the discussion by highlighting that California's name has its roots in a work of fiction. The key source is Garci Rodriguez de Montevallo's novel, La Sergas de Esplandian ("The Exploits of Esplandian"), published in Seville in 1510. This romantic and swashbuckling epic introduces readers to an imaginary island named California, an allusion to a land of paradise inhabited solely by strong and beautiful black women—Amazons—with gold as their only metal.

Ben [10:16]: "On the right hand, from the Indies exists an island called California, very close to a side of the earthly paradise. And it was populated by black women without any man existing there."

Casey Pegram adds that the novel not only predates Cervantes' Don Quixote but was also referenced within it, indicating its popularity and influence during that era.

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Cortés and the Misnaming of California

The episode transitions to Hernán Cortés, the famed conquistador responsible for the fall of the Aztec Empire. While leading an expedition along what is now the Baja California peninsula in the early 1530s, Cortés and his men mistakenly identified the peninsula as an island, a misconception influenced by the fictional account from Montevallo's novel.

Casey Pegram [12:07]: "He sent an expedition to the western coast of California. They thought it was an island and decided to call it California."

Though initially naming it Santa Cruz, Cortés and subsequent explorers began referring to the region as California, directly borrowing the name from the fictional paradise envisioned in Montevallo's work. This misnaming persisted until more accurate geographic knowledge clarified that California was a peninsula, not an island.

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The Lost Connection Between Fiction and Reality

Interestingly, the link between Montevallo's fictional island and the real-life naming of California faded over time. By 1864, scholars like Edward Everett Hale rediscovered the connection while translating the novel for the Antiquarian Society. Hale pondered the origin of "Calafia," speculating whether it derived from terms related to Islamic leadership, reflecting Spain's historical interactions with Muslim culture.

Casey Pegram [15:21]: "The term could derive from a Spanish phrase, an old Spanish phrase, califa forna, an alteration of the old Latin term calida fornax, which means hot furnace. But we stick with the novel."

This rediscovery reignited interest in Montevallo's work and its inadvertent influence on one of America's most significant state names.

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Cultural and Racial Implications of the Original Story

The episode doesn't shy away from addressing the problematic aspects of Montevallo's portrayal of Califia and her people. Casey Pegram references an article from Ms. Magazine's blog, highlighting how Califia was depicted with exaggerated physical traits and racial stereotypes, reflecting the colonial and prejudiced mindset of the time.

Casey Pegram [35:10]: "He describes Queen Califia as such as a queen. 'Queen of majestic proportions, more beautiful than all others, and in the very vigor of her womanhood. She was large and black as the ace of clubs.'"

Moreover, the narrative in Montevallo's novel evolves from a matriarchal society to one influenced heavily by Christian ideology, depicting Califia's conversion from paganism—a possible reflection of Spanish efforts to convert indigenous populations.

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Alternative Theories on California's Naming

While Montevallo's novel remains the most intriguing explanation, the hosts explore other theories regarding the etymology of "California." One alternative suggests a connection to the 11th-century French epic poem, The Song of Roland, where the term "Californe" appears.

Casey Pegram [31:07]: "In the Song of Roland, the word Californe is mentioned, which some believe was a source for Montevallo's use."

Another hypothesis ties the name to the Latin term "calida fornax," meaning "hot furnace," potentially referencing California's warm climate.

However, Ben emphasizes that the fictional novel provides the most compelling and direct link between the name and its origin.

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Modern Perspectives and Legacy

Fast forward to contemporary times, the legacy of Califia has seen a resurgence. Casey Pegram discusses Tamara L. Dickus's campaign to replace California's state seal, which currently features Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, with Califia. This movement aims to honor the state's unique and diverse heritage, reflecting a more inclusive and accurate representation of California's origins.

Casey Pegram [42:50]: "She is featured on the seal that was designed by a Confederate soldier who just kind of made the seal on his own. And this woman, Tamara El Dickus, mounted a campaign called 'Califia is Me' to replace Minerva with Califia."

Additionally, the podcast touches upon Disney's brief homage to Califia through a multimedia exhibition at California Adventure Park, where actress Whoopi Goldberg portrayed the fictional queen, integrating Califia’s narrative into popular culture.

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Conclusion: Reflecting on California's Name and Identity

Ben and Noel wrap up the episode by reflecting on how California has evolved from its fictional naming origins to become one of the most progressive and economically significant states in the U.S. They acknowledge the state's complex history, rooted in both myth and reality, and appreciate how modern California distances itself from its racially charged beginnings to embrace a diverse and inclusive identity.

Ben [44:50]: "We feel pretty good about the name California overall, despite its dodgy beginnings. We hope this has been as fascinating and strange for you all as it is for us."

The hosts encourage listeners to engage with the podcast's community for more unusual historical insights and suggest future episodes to continue exploring the quirky histories of other U.S. states.

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Notable Quotes

• Ben [10:16]: "On the right hand, from the Indies exists an island called California, very close to a side of the earthly paradise."

• Casey Pegram [15:21]: "The term could derive from a Spanish phrase, an old Spanish phrase, califa forna, an alteration of the old Latin term calida fornax, which means hot furnace."

• Casey Pegram [35:10]: "He describes Queen Califia as such as a queen. 'Queen of majestic proportions, more beautiful than all others, and in the very vigor of her womanhood. She was large and black as the ace of clubs.'"

---

Final Thoughts

This episode of Ridiculous History masterfully intertwines historical facts with intriguing fiction, revealing how literature can inadvertently shape real-world geography and cultural identities. By uncovering the shadowy origins of California's name, Ben, Noel, and producer Casey Pegram deliver a captivating narrative that underscores the often-ridiculous intersections of history and mythology.

Listeners gain a deeper appreciation for California's unique name and the complex tapestry of stories that have contributed to its present-day identity. This exploration not only enlightens but also entertains, staying true to the podcast's mission of uncovering the most bizarre and unexpected tales from human civilization.

Transcript

[Ben]

Fellow ridiculous historians, we have an absolute banger of a classic episode for you today. No fooling. California doesn't just know how to party. It was also named in a in a really ridiculous way.

[Noel]

Do you think Anthony Kiedis knows about this?

[Ben]

I hope he does.

[Noel]

He really likes California.

[Ben]

Yeah, we gotta check the bridge.

[Noel]

That's true. He's under there somewhere.

[Casey Pegram]

California was in fact admitted to the.

[Noel]

United states as the 31st state in 1850, but it acquired its own unique name a lot earlier, and the provenance of this name is a little more ridiculous than you might think. It comes from the realms of fiction.

[Ben]

And we'll tell you the facts behind it.

[Noel]

Let's jump in.

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[Ben]

Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Hello Ridiculous Historians. Thank you so much for tuning in. My name is Ben. I have a question for you as well as my compatriots.

[Casey Pegram]

Lay it on us, brother.

[Ben]

All right, Noel super producer Casey Pegram. Here is the question. I noticed recently that we have been doing a lot of cool stuff with US States. And today we're going to look at another US State.

[Casey Pegram]

A large one.

[Ben]

A big one. And it inspired me to pitch the following idea. I propose that we, Ridiculous History, endeavor to do an episode, at least one, about every US State.

[Casey Pegram]

Like Sufjan Stevens style.

[Ben]

Yeah, but we'll actually do it.

[Casey Pegram]

You think we will though?

[Ben]

Yeah. Because we're not making a whole album.

[Casey Pegram]

That's true. And we do kind of have to do the show until we keel over. So. Yeah, it's in our contract. That's the language.

[Ben]

Which we signed in blood.

[Casey Pegram]

Yeah, I'm okay, Ben. I'll raise you One. Let's do one on every state and territory.

[Ben]

Every state and territory, yeah. Historical territories or current territories?

[Casey Pegram]

God, you got me, Ben. I don't know what the difference is.

[Ben]

You know what? We'll be there. I bet you we'll wrap up our 50th state episode and then we'll say we want to do more territories.

[Casey Pegram]

It'll be a learning adventure.

[Ben]

It will be. And we're off to the races. We are traveling today in spirit, in mind, to a place that both of us love, the state of California.

[Casey Pegram]

I'm a huge fan of California, man.

[Ben]

I love it despite the traffic.

[Casey Pegram]

Am I right? No cost. Bumper to bumper. The one, the five.

[Ben]

The 405.

[Casey Pegram]

The 501.

[Ben]

You know what?

[Casey Pegram]

That's not real. Yours was real.

[Ben]

I gotta tell you, though, Los Angeles makes me tired.

[Casey Pegram]

Well, it's such sprawl that it's like it takes forever to get anywhere. I mean, not that we're not used to that here in Atlanta. The traffic's quite bad, but the geography of Los Angeles, very spread out. And yeah, it's a bit of a slog to get anywhere, but, boy, do I enjoy it when I find of cool area that I. That I dig. Like, I've got a friend who lives in Highland Park. Really like that whole area and like Silver Lake and all that stuff. And we actually have a studio there with our comedy division that's right in the heart of Hollywood Boulevard.

[Ben]

Yes. Yes. It's headed by our pal Jack O'Brien, who was the founder of Cracked.com.

[Casey Pegram]

I wonder if Jack O'Brien knows the mythical history of California. The name, at least.

[Ben]

He might. He's one smart hostess cupcake. But he. If he. He knows this history, he is an exceptional person because this was new. A hazard to both of us.

[Casey Pegram]

Hazard away, because you're right.

[Ben]

Yeah. So one thing that I think occurs to many school children here in the states is this moment of epiphany where you're looking around at the name of the state in which you reside or the names of other states and you go, hey, that's a weird word. You know, Oklahoma, for instance, That's a weird word. Right. California, we just all accept as normal.

[Casey Pegram]

Sure.

[Ben]

But it's a strange word.

[Casey Pegram]

It is. And I think there's this overarching notion that most of the weird word states come from Native American words.

[Ben]

Right.

[Casey Pegram]

But that's not entirely true, especially not in today's case.

[Ben]

Yes. Today we are exploring the strange story of how California became, you know, California.

[Casey Pegram]

California.

[Ben]

California.

[Casey Pegram]

Yeah.

[Ben]

I Love that sketch.

[Casey Pegram]

That's a good sketch.

[Ben]

Yes. So right now it's used by. The term California is used by three different places. It's used here in the U.S. it's the name of the state of California. In Mexico there are two states. One is called Baja California and then Baja California surrounding. So, like South Baja California.

[Noel]

That's right.

[Casey Pegram]

I think originally California was called Las California's province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Yeah, that's a mouthful.

[Ben]

Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

[Casey Pegram]

No, it doesn't. But where'd all this California business come from? Ben?

[Ben]

We were startled to find there were several explanations, but one of the strongest and the one we want to focus on today is the idea that the name California came from a work of fiction.

[Casey Pegram]

That's right, a work of fiction by a gentleman by the name of Garci Rodriguez de Montevallo. I think that's okay. Casey's not. We're not going to consult Casey on that.

[Ben]

No, no, he's busy.

[Casey Pegram]

He's the Francophone.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Casey Pegram]

He's not a Spania. Phone. Is that a word? Doesn't matter. Montevallo. And he wrote a novel, a romantic, swashbuckling kind epic, part of a series called La Sergas de Esplandian, which means the exploits or adventures of Esplandian.

[Ben]

Yeah. This was around the turn of the 16th century and largely thought to be inspired by real life stories of explorers traveling to what they called the New world in the 1400s. Noel, as you said, this is part of a five part series. This was the final book and it featured a specific land. We can go ahead and let's see. You want. You want to hear a quote? We got a little quote about this from the book.

[Casey Pegram]

Quote away, my man.

[Ben]

All right. Know that on the right hand, from the Indies exist an island called California, very close to a side of the earthly paradise. And it was populated by black women without any man existing there. Because they lived in the way of the Amazons. They had beautiful and robust bodies and were brave and very strong. Their island was the strongest in the world. World with its steep cliffs and rocky shores. Their weapons were golden, and so were the harnesses of the wild beast that they were accustomed to taming so that they could be ridden because there was no other metal in the island than gold.

[Casey Pegram]

That, my friend, was a summary of the recent DC Comics film, A Wonder Woman.

[Ben]

Right. There are some. There are some clear parallels. Yeah. That is from the Exploits of Esplandian, which, as we said, turn of the Century. You published it in Seville in 1510.

[Casey Pegram]

In fact, it's actually, it predates Don Quixote by Cervantes, and it's cited in that work as a list of one of the books in Don Quixote's library. So it was a very popular work. And folks like, oh, I don't know, Hernan Cortez, the famous conquistador, would have been intimately familiar with this story.

[Ben]

Right. Hernan Cortez, who was a conquistador who led the expedition that brought about the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought lots of what is modern day Mexico under the rule of Spain, he would have been aware of this book. And when the Spanish forces were exploring California, they originally thought that southern peninsula that they ran into.

[Noel]

Right.

[Ben]

They thought it was an island.

[Casey Pegram]

Exactly. I think it was. It was quite a long time before they realized there was more.

[Ben]

Yeah, it was a long time. And you can, you can see maps from the mid-1600s and so that depict it as an island. A sort of just imagine the peninsula as if the rest of the top of California doesn't exist.

[Casey Pegram]

Exactly. And Cortez was in fact the governor of Mexico at the time, and he sent an expedition to the western coast of California. Pilot Fortune Jimenez. Actually there was a mutiny too, involving the murder of the expedition leader Diego Becerra. But this was the first European to sail near what you just described, Ben. Baja California. This was in the year 1534, and as you said, mistook it for an island and decided to call it California. Why?

[Ben]

Why?

[Casey Pegram]

Ben, we talked about the story a minute ago. Did we name the character the Queen?

[Ben]

Ah, yes, the queen. We mentioned her in the quotation. Khalifa.

[Casey Pegram]

Khalifa. And the island is called California and it is ruled by this badass Amazonian type woman with weaponized griffins and all kinds of crazy golden armor and spears. And I think there was a note about they only allowed men to come to the island one day a year so they could procreate. And if ever an offspring was a male, they would. They would give it the ax or the spear.

[Ben]

Right.

[Casey Pegram]

Or drown it in the sea. I don't know.

[Ben]

They would cut the kid's life off.

[Casey Pegram]

Very early, big time.

[Ben]

And here's one of the fascinating things. This was a work of fiction, right? That's. We know clearly it was a work of fiction, but it still inspired Cortez enough to. To think of this later as California. Now, it's not clear if California had already been named at the time when Cortez led that expedition, but we do know that he had originally. He had also thought it was an island. He named it Santa Cruz, but the historical records pretty soon after that refer to it as California, named after the fictional land in Rodriguez's book. And there's another weird part here. For a long time afterward, it would appear that the connection between this fictional novel and the state, what would become the state of California, was lost to history. The novel languished. It was obscure. Nobody connected it with the name of California until around 1864.

[Casey Pegram]

That's what I read as well. Yeah. Interesting.

[Ben]

Yeah. A guy named Edward Everett Hale was translating this novel for the Antiquarian Society, and this translation he did was printed in the Atlantic. And so Hale was trying to figure out how this caliph entered the author's mind at all. And he was thinking, well, maybe it was. He was taking a term for a leader of an Islamic community.

[Casey Pegram]

Oh, you mean like a caliph? Yeah, that's right. There's actually two different ways you'll see it spelled. One is calafia, C, A, L, A, F, I, A. Sometimes you'll see it caliphia, but it does date back to that term caliph, which the Arabic is spelled K, H, A, L, I, F, A, H. And then we mangle it up to be C, A, L, I, P, H here in English. But that would be the leader of an Islamic religion or a group or a state, which is interesting. A lot of times, religious leaders end up being political leaders as well in that culture.

[Ben]

Yeah. And you can read in depth about the conquistador in California in a book by W. Michael Mathes called the Conquistador in California. This strange relationship between fiction and fact reminds me a little bit of the inspirations we've seen in earlier episodes. But let's stick with Cortez for a second because he did not have the happiest of lives.

[Casey Pegram]

Not at all. And just a quick assumption. Spain does have a big relationship with the Islamic culture. The Iberian Peninsula was actually invaded by Muslim forces in the year 711 and eventually conquered the peninsula. So it would make sense that that language would be floating around in the.

[Noel]

In the ether there.

[Ben]

And there would be what are called loan words. Right. That came from Arabic and were incorporated into Spanish.

[Casey Pegram]

Absolutely.

[Ben]

And, you know, I really appreciate you bringing up that point, because for a long time from, what, 7 11? Well, at various times between 711 and 1492, there was a caliphate of Cordoba. Right. And Islamic Iberia is another name you'll hear thrown around. This was not a solidly Spanish place.

[Casey Pegram]

No. And 1492, as it turns out was when Amontavallo wrote the book in question. So give us Cortez, my friend.

[Ben]

Ah, Cortez. His unhappy life. Yeah. So this expedition to California is one of his last big plays. This in the 1530s, you'll hear anywhere between 1534 to 1536. He was not super popular in Spain. He returned a few years later. This is just an aside because I just want to show that it wasn't all trumpets and angel farts for this guy. When he returned to Spain in 1541, he kept trying to get the emperor to meet with him. He's like, I've won so much land for Spain. I've conquered so much territory for you. And no one would talk to him. It got so bad that he had to follow the Emperor's carriage through town one day, and there was a crowd surrounding him. He forced himself through the crowd. He jumped up on the carriage, which, you know, imagine a presidential motorcade and having and seeing someone run up and try to jump in the car. It's essentially what he did. And the emperor said, who is this man? Who is this incredibly, I guess, rude, audacious fellow? And Cortez, according to the record, said, I am a man who has given you more provinces than your ancestors left you cities. He spent a lot of his own money to finance his expeditions. He was heavily, heavily, heavily in debt. And when he died in 1547, his body would later be moved multiple times after his burial. Around eight times.

[Casey Pegram]

Ugh. Insult to injury.

[Ben]

And when Mexico became independent, it was thought that his body might be desecrated. Just a couple of Cortez facts here. The strangest thing, though, is that when we think of this idea of an island that's so close to the Garden of Eden, right, and it's full of gold. We know the Spanish expeditions were very, very focused on finding those material riches, right?

[Casey Pegram]

Oh, for sure.

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Additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details. It seems strange, though, that they would name this island after something that they had to know to be fictional, right?

[Casey Pegram]

Yeah. I mean, it's sort of the way I recently went to a wrestling match out in kind of a rural part of Georgia, and I really got the sense that some of the folks there did not know that it wasn't real and they were acting accordingly. So you gotta wonder, back in these days, even if something was a quote, unquote, work of fiction, was there maybe a sense that it was written from a place of real discovery and this was like a mythical land they could find? Because that's certainly what I'm seeing, that they saw this island and they were like, surely this is the place of note from this story.

[Ben]

Right? Yeah. Because it's not as if they could hop on snopes.com or something and check whether this was real. And we know that the island idea of an Amazonian legend would have been very familiar to people. We also have to remember that at this time it was much, much more difficult to differentiate fiction from fact. And there were a lot of allegorical works of antiquity that were taken to be literal truths.

[Casey Pegram]

Tell you what else is interesting about the book, it's actually pretty radical. Montevallo really injected this story with a lot of characteristics that kind of mirrored the experience of conquered indigenous people and colonized indigenous people throughout the Americas. Later in the novel, Calafia actually converts to Christianity. Coming from much more of a pagan tradition. It's hard to say if he was doing this the writer, in protest or as, like, satire in some way, or if it was sort of meant to be almost, what's the word? Propaganda.

[Ben]

Right.

[Casey Pegram]

Because that was certainly what the Spanish conquistadors were all about when they found these indigenous people was setting up all these missions, you know, all the missions that are in California and the Presidios and the like, all about converting the native people to Catholicism? So pretty interesting trajectory the story has.

[Ben]

Yeah. And we also can see how this would have been seen as inspirational to Spanish explorers because they had expelled, at the time the dominant Muslim forces that were ruling Spain, and there was nothing left to conquer unless they set out to find a western route to India. But, Noel, why don't we learn a little bit more about Montalvo's book? Because he's a relatively obscure author himself in real life. But we know a little bit about his character, right?

[Casey Pegram]

We do. And I have not read it myself, but I learned a lot of really cool stuff from an article on Ms. Magazine's blog from Abini Moreno entitled Reappropriating the Amazon Queen. And there's a pretty incredible quote here. So apparently later in the story, Calafia gets married, and she gives her title of queen to one of her bodyguards. And then this is what she says to her. She says, you shall be my senior, and you shall rule over my state. On account of you, the island will change the style of living. Whereas the island has been isolated from men for many ages, henceforth it will adopt the practice of natural generation of men and women. So this idea of being outside of the patriarchy and kind of there was even like, when they were in battle, they would take men as their prisoners and execute them or keep them around for procreation purposes. Now they're kind of opening up their borders to allow men to live amongst them. And there's this sense that a lot of this had to do with Montevallo's need to kind of tame the character. So it is, I think, less. I think, unfortunately, it is less of a. A satire and a little more of the propaganda vibe that I was talking about earlier, where he kind of has this strong female character, don't need men, and turns it to the point where they kind of become more beholden to men and also more Christian ideology.

[Ben]

Oh, and speaking of appropriation, very important point here. Montalvo did not write all of the books in that series. The first three books were written by an unknown author. He picked it up, wrote the fourth book and the fifth book, which would be the exploits or the adventures. And then after him, the saga continued. There was a sixth novel, a seventh novel, an eighth, and a ninth novel that we know of.

[Noel]

Jeez.

[Ben]

And it's strange when we think of it alternating between different authors, you know, especially when those first three books are unknown today. Could you even get away with that?

[Casey Pegram]

All right, my dyslexia is showing. I don't really have dyslexia, but I've been mispronouncing this man's last name entirely incorrectly for the entire episode, which is fine. We don't need to correct it. I'm just gonna go ahead and say it right now. I said a Montavalo, and it's Montalvo, but I just switched up the V and the A. It's fine, it's fine. I just wanted to put it out there. Now I'm gonna fix it from here on out, but just don't email us about it.

[Ben]

I didn't. I think you're beating yourself up. I did not, for my part, notice. But what I did notice, Noel, is that there were a couple of other competing theories about the etymology of California's name.

[Casey Pegram]

Yeah. There's one of like a. There's a poem, I think.

[Ben]

Yes. The Song of Roland.

[Casey Pegram]

Yeah, give it to us.

[Ben]

Also the inspiration in part for Stephen King's the Dark Tower series or a thing based on that child, Roland to the Dark Tower, the gunslinger.

[Casey Pegram]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ben]

So the Song of roland is an 11th century old French epic poem. And people who believe that it inspired the name California. I can't not say it.

[Casey Pegram]

California.

[Ben]

Like I'm in the sketch, Stuart.

[Casey Pegram]

What a Yoda.

[Ben]

Sorry. Please do. Check out the Californians on Saturday Night Live.

[Casey Pegram]

You heard of it? Great show.

[Ben]

Yeah, right.

[Casey Pegram]

You should really check it out.

[Ben]

It's a weekly sketch show in case anybody somehow doesn't know.

[Casey Pegram]

Been running since like the 70s, I.

[Ben]

Think, at the least. Right. So this poem, the Song of Roland, is about the defeat of Charlemagne's army by the Muslim army in a battle in the Pyrenees in 778. And let's get specific in line 29, 24 of the poem, again, it's an epic poem in. In verse 209, the word Californe, C A L I F E R N e is one of the lands that's mentioned. But they don't say in the poem where it is. They don't tell you what it's next to or, you know, it's named after a reference to what people believe is Africa.

[Casey Pegram]

Cool.

[Ben]

So people are saying maybe Montalvo found that somewhere and maybe that's where he found the name California. And then there's the other idea that the term could derive from a Spanish phrase, an old Spanish phrase, callit forne, an alteration of the old Latin term calida fornax, which means hot furnace. I don't. You know what? I think we stick with the novel. I think that's the most interesting answer.

[Casey Pegram]

Yeah, I think the thing too is it really is kind of up in the air. It's not clear when California was named and there was no, like, documentation of, I hereby name this land California.

[Ben]

Right.

[Casey Pegram]

You know, like the way you get in other foundings, you know, it's much more of a thing like that Michelin Webb sketch that we keep referencing ad nauseum. Go to ridiculous historians and join our Facebook group. And you can see it for yourself or, you know, just Google it.

[Ben]

It's not ad nauseam yet. No, it's ad nauseam. I think if we do it four times.

[Casey Pegram]

Oh, no, I think it's. I think it applies because it really is. It's very much like, I will call this the West Indies. Like, why does it make sense? Or this shall be named henceforth New Connecticut.

[Ben]

No, not North Wales. No, South Wales. But yeah. What's interesting here is that it's also a story of cartography because maps were bibles of geography right at this time. And they didn't agree nearly as often as maps do nowadays. And maps don't agree near as often as you might think, even in the modern day.

[Casey Pegram]

For sure. I want to backtrack just a little bit to Montalvo. Huh? Huh. Got it right. There you go.

[Ben]

Nailing it.

[Casey Pegram]

I'm on the right track. He absolutely eroticized and exoticized this woman and her people and her. Her body and her strength and the like in almost a fetishistic kind of way. There's a quote in this fabulous article from a blog called afro.com that reads as such. And this is a little rough language, but I just want to. It also is. It's quite racist. He was quite racist. Yes. So here it goes. He describes Queen Califia as such as a queen. Quote. Queen of majestic proportions, more beautiful than all others, and in the very vigor of her womanhood. She was not petite, nor blonde, nor golden haired. She was large and black as the ace of clubs.

[Noel]

Oof.

[Casey Pegram]

That's rough.

[Ben]

That's a hard oof.

[Casey Pegram]

That's a big oof. I'm just saying, I think it really. It makes sense that this would have been written in such a way as to take these characters and twist them to this particular kind of worldview of the Spanish at the time. He would have been around during like the Spanish Inquisition and a lot of the kind of medieval thinking around some of this stuff. And it shows.

[Ben]

Yeah. It calls to mind the person for whom both New World continents are named after America is named after Amerigo Vespucci.

[Casey Pegram]

Not a good guy.

[Ben]

Not the best. Not the best one. But luckily California as a modern state has moved well beyond the othering racist descriptions found in Montalvo's novel. Right, that's true. And become not only one of the most progressive states in the United States.

[Noel]

Right.

[Ben]

But also the largest economy, I believe.

[Casey Pegram]

Oh my God. For sure.

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[Casey Pegram]

Here's one more thing from this afro.com piece it talks about. There's a woman that's interviewed for this piece whose name is Tamara L. Dickus, and she is actually mounting, or at least at the time of this article, was mounting, a campaign to change the seal of California to include an image of Califia, as opposed to Minerva, who was the Roman goddess of wisdom. And also in the Greek trad, she would have been Athena, right?

[Ben]

Etruscan counterpart.

[Casey Pegram]

Exactly. And so she is featured on the seal that was designed by a Confederate soldier who just kind of made the seal on his own. And then he even used, according to the article, a false name, and it just kind of stuck. And this woman, Tamara El Dickus, mounted a campaign called Callie is Me to, quote, right the wrong and put Califia on the seal, to have this beautiful black woman featured and to show kind of the history of the naming. But again, all of the stuff that we've just discussed about that history, it's not exactly on, shall we say?

[Ben]

Yeah, and speaking of the name, one quick correction here. I believe it was me who said that once upon a time, Cortez tried to name the island, quote, unquote island, Santa Cruz. No, no, no, no, no, no. He went back and tried to rename it Santa Cruz. And everybody said, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. Sorry, buddy, you took your shot. It's California.

[Casey Pegram]

Gotcha.

[Ben]

And that's how it's always been. So think about it. If things went a little bit differently in history, we would not have the fine state of California. We'd have the fine state of Santa Cruz.

[Casey Pegram]

It's very true. And Califia is actually featured in a kind of a multimedia exhibition that ended in 2008 at Disney's California Adventure park in Anaheim, where Whoopi Goldberg actually plays her in sort of projection mapped form where there are these busts, these statues of the goddess well, she wasn't really a goddess. I guess she was more of a warrior queen. Sure. And she narrates kind of this history of California with all these Disney bells and whistles and stuff. But they retired that in 08. But it was kind of the centerpiece of the whole production, so they clearly felt pretty good about having that heritage there.

[Ben]

And we feel pretty good about the name California overall, despite its dodgy beginnings. We hope this has been as fascinating and strange for you all as it is for us. And this concludes our episode today, but we have a couple of questions for you. First, have you ever seen a griffin Griffin in real life?

[Casey Pegram]

I thought that they're not real.

[Ben]

No. Cool.

[Casey Pegram]

Okay. Just making sure. It's not like, you know how I feel about birds. I don't really keep up with them, so maybe I figure out maybe I missed.

[Ben]

But you, like, you know what?

[Casey Pegram]

Isn't a griffin like a comic? Like a bird, lion or something? That's what it is.

[Ben]

They're super cool, too. So, yeah, surprise us. If you have actually seen a griffin, let us know. We will be astounded. Also, let us know what states you think we should cover next in an upcoming episode of Ridiculous History.

[Casey Pegram]

Well, now we got to keep track.

[Ben]

Well, we. We're good so far?

[Casey Pegram]

Yeah.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Casey Pegram]

We haven't doubled up, have we?

[Ben]

No, not yet.

[Casey Pegram]

Are you certain?

[Ben]

Yes.

[Casey Pegram]

Okay.

[Ben]

And we are going to. We're going to have so much fun with this. It's going to be so strange. If you'd like to have fun with us, then check out our community page on Facebook, Ridiculous Historians, where you can hang out with your fellow listeners and learn some very strange facts. You can also give us topic suggestions. And who knows, they might appear on the air. You can find us on Instagram and Twitter as well.

[Casey Pegram]

You can also write to us@riculous stuffworks.com and we might even read one of your letters on the show.

[Ben]

We have one last thing to do. We hope you will join us in doing this. Wherever you're listening to this podcast, say it out loud with us. We are going to, on the count of three, bid our super producer, Casey Pegram, bon voyage.

[Casey Pegram]

All right.

[Ben]

One, two, three.

[Casey Pegram]

Bon voyagey.

[Ben]

He will return very soon. We have a cavalcade of super producers who will be sitting in a cadre. A cadre.

[Casey Pegram]

A stable of them. Yes.

[Ben]

A roster of battalion.

[Casey Pegram]

And again, twist in Casey's arm. Hopefully he's going to send us some cool audio postcards from a Perry.

[Ben]

I'm gonna make eye contact real quick with him. You already said yes.

[Casey Pegram]

He's nodding. Okay, we'll see you next time.

[Noel]

For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

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Listen to your favorite shows.

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