The calm harbor, red-roofed white stucco houses, white sand beach, Monterey cypress, and Monterey pine all existed in the days when Monterey was the Spanish heart of California. A mélange of Mexican, New England, sea, mission, and ranch makes Monterey uniquely Californian in its culture and history. The Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino sailed into the bay in 1602 and named it for the Count of Monte-Rey, Viceroy of Mexico. The spot was rediscovered in 1770 when Fray Crespi, Fray Junipero Serra, and Gaspar de Portola took possession, founding the Presidio and the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Rio Carmelo. The King of Spain recognized it as the capital of California in 1775, but in 1822 it became part of the Mexican Republic. Soon after, American whalers and traders began to arrive. Commodore Sloat raised the American flag in 1846, ending years of opposition to Mexican rule. Delegates to a constitutional convention in 1849 met in Monterey and drew up California's first constitution. The city became a whaling center; fisheries, canneries, and specialized agriculture developed. The sardine fisheries and canneries, in particular, inspired the novels Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck. Now, with the sardines gone and the canneries silent, the row has been taken over by an aquarium, gourmet restaurants, and art galleries, while Fisherman's Wharf offers fishing and sightseeing trips and the bay's famous sea otters; nearby is the Maritime Museum of Monterey.