Alta California
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Alta California (Upper California) was formed in 1804 when the province of California, then a part of the Spanish colony of New Spain, was divided in two along the line separating the Franciscan missions in the north from the Dominican missions in the south. The southern part became the territory of Baja California. The two territories were also alternatively called California Nueva (New California; Upper California) and California Vieja (Old California; Lower California).
Alta California—covering the land that belongs to the modern-day US states of California, Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, and southwestern Wyoming—gained independence from Spain in 1821 upon conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence, following the war and short-lived inclusion in the First Empire (that Spain deemed illegal in 1822), but was was not recognized as one of the newly independent United Mexican States. The 1824 Constitution refers to it as one of the territories. Mexico lost control of this province following the Mexican-American War (1846–1848).
War was declared by the US Congress due to actions in the Texas Republic after their annexation, and responding to calls from Northern California American residents striving for independence from Mexico City, US Army and US Navy forces entered into the territory and overpowered the remaining Mexican military units. In Southern California, the Californios formed a defensive army and were victorious at the Battle of San Pascual, and the Battle of Dominguez Rancho, before loosing decisive encounters at the Battle of Rio San Gabriel and the Battle of La Mesa, formally ending military actions with the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga on January 13, 1847. California was formally ceded to the United States in 1848 by the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The last Mexican Governor of California was Pío Pico, who served until 1846.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, there was a San Francisco-based newspaper called The Daily Alta California (or The Alta Californian). Mark Twain's first widely successful book, The Innocents Abroad, was an edited collection of letters written for this publication.
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[edit] Lands under Spanish rule
- See also: Spanish missions in California
Under Spanish rule, all lands in California were claimed by the king of Spain, who granted them to the Roman Catholic Church and to individuals. Specifically, the Spanish constructed and funded the missions for the Franciscans of the Catholic Church to gather and convert the Native American people, presidios to house Spanish soldiers who would enforce the peace, and Spanish settlement lands. The presidios and missions were the first lands chosen and developed.
By law, the mission land and property was to pass to the resident Native Americans of California after a period of about ten years, when the natives would become Spanish citizens. In the interim period, the Franciscans were to act as mission administrators who held the land in trust for the Natives. The Franciscans, however, prolonged this power arrangement and ran the missions for more than 60 years.[1]
Once the Spanish began to send settlers to Northern California, a grey area began to grow over the future (and boundaries) of the mission properties. Property disputes arose over the mission (and adjacent) lands, between the Spanish Crown and the Catholic Church, and also between the Natives and the Spanish settlers: There were heated debates between the Spanish State and ecclestiastical bureaucracies over the government authority of the missions.[2] Setting a precedent, an interesting petition to the Governor in 1782, the Franciscan priests of Santa Clara claimed the "missions Indians" owned both land and cattle, and represented the Natives in a petition against the Spanish settlers of the San Jose pueblo.[3] The fathers mentioned the "Indians' crops" were being damaged by the San Jose settlers' livestock, and also mentioned settlers "getting mixed up with the livestock belonging to the Indians from the mission." They also stated the Mission Indians had property and rights to defend it.[4]
Under Spanish rule, Southern California and the Rancho's prospered and grew with the Missions. Californio cattle ranchers and the local people evolved into a different society from the northern American settlers of the fur trapper / mining economy that developed in the Sacramento River valley. This dichotomy of evolution was reflected during the Mexican-American war where the American immigrants of the north wanted American rule and Southern California Californios wanted to maintain their lands and government as is. (Reference Historical California Adobes and Rancho San Pascual).
[edit] Flags over California
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Spanish Empire, first by Juan Cabrillo in 1542, founding San Diego, north to the Russian River. Validated and mapped in 1602, by sea voyage of the San Agustin under Sebastián Vizcaíno. |
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St. George Cross of England, June 1579, voyage of the Golden Hind under Captain Francis Drake at Bodega Bay (exact location disputed) |
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October 1775, the Sonora at Bodega Bay, under Lt. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra until 1821, when New Spain gained Independence from the Spanish Empire. |
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Russian-American Company, by Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov, the founder of Fort Ross and, from 1812 to 1821, its colonial administrator. Note: There is an overlap of rule with the Mexican Empire (next item), until the Russians sold Fort Ross in 1841 to John Sutter, and subsequent left the area in 1842 |
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Mexican Empire, 24 August 1821, Mexico under Emperor Agustin Iturbide (October 1822, probable time new flag raised in California) until 1823 |
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Mexican Republic, 1823 until June 1846 at Sonoma |
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Bear Flag of the California Republic, June 14, 1846, at Sonoma until 9 July 1846 |
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United States of America/California, 9 July 1846 |
[edit] Ranchos of California
Under Spanish rule, individual land grants were scarce. Three of the largest original ranchos first granted in 1784 by the Spanish King Carlos III were;
- Rancho San Pedro, granted to Juan Jose Dominguez, stretching from the Pacific Ocean west at present day Manhattan Beach, to the Los Angeles river on the east, and north from present day Rosecrans Blvd, south to the Pacific Ocean.
- Rancho Los Nietos, granted to Manuel Nieto, stretching from the LA river on the west to the Santa Ana river on the east, from Whittier / Harbour blvds north, south to the Pacific Ocean.
- Rancho San Antonio, granted to Jose Antonio Yorba, from the Santa Ana river west to the Arroyo /Laguna Canyon on the east, north to the Brea / Santa Ana Canyon, and south to the Pacific Ocean.
In 1830, only fifty private ranches existed in all of Alta California.[5]
When California came under control of the Mexican government, the governors gained the power to grant state lands. With the new régime most lands were turned into large Mexican-owned rancherias. The missions were secularized and their land and property also redistributed by local administrators.
Few ranchos remained as they were, depending on the fortunes of the owners they were expanded, parceled out or even sold outright. Some of the more noted ranchos with their descendent communities are listed below.
[edit] See also
[edit] Spanish and Mexican control
- Spanish colonization of the Americas
- History of California
- Spanish Missions of California
- List of pre-statehood governors of California
- Presidio of Monterey, California
- Presidio of San Francisco
- El Camino Real (California)
- Island of California
[edit] Russian colonies
[edit] United States control
- List of pre-statehood governors of California
- Bear Flag Revolt
- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
- Treaty of Cahuenga
[edit] References
- ^ Beebe, 2001, page 71; Fink, 1972, pages 63-64.
- ^ Milliken, 1995, page 2 footnote.
- ^ Milliken,1995, page 72-73
- ^ Milliken,1995, page 73, quoting Murguia and Pena [1782] 1955:400.
- ^ Fink, 1972, page 64: "Land grants were scarce; In 1830 only 50 private ranches were held in Alta California, of which 7 were in the Monterey region."
- ^ José Maria Alviso Adobe/Rancho Milpitas. milpitashistory.org. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
- ^ Marquez, Ernest (2004). Santa Monica Beach: A Collector's Pictorial History. Angel City Press.
- Beebe, Rose Marie. Lands of Promise and Despair: Chronicles of Early California, 1535-1846. 2001. ISBN 1-890771-48-1.
- Fink, Augusta. Monterey, The Presence of the Past. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1972. ISBN 0877010723. (emphasis on Alta California in the Monterey region but also covers Spanish and Mexican American Eras.)
- Milliken, Randall. A Time of Little Choice: The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area 1769-1910. Menlo Park, CA: Ballena Press Publication, 1995. ISBN 0-87919-132-5 (alk. paper)
