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97-460: It was granted in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Juan Avila . The rancho was named for a local Indian village called "Niguili." The grant extended along the Pacific coast from Laguna Canyon and Laguna Beach , past Aliso Creek to Dana Point and San Juan Creek . The rancho encompassed those present-day places and Laguna Niguel , Aliso Viejo , and Laguna Hills . Juan Avila (1812–1889)

194-583: A California Historical Landmark . The former settlement of Alvarado (now part of Union City ) was named after him, as was Alvarado Street in San Francisco 's Noe Valley . Portions of the Rancho San Pablo adobe are incorporated into the current City of San Pablo government campus and Alvarado Park within Wildcat Canyon Regional Park is named in his honor. The Governor Alvarado House

291-475: A Californio to be any Spanish-speaking person born in California. Writer Jose Antonio Burciaga considers Californios to be any Hispanic living in California, even if they have lived there temporarily. Burciaga, in a 1995 Los Angeles Times article, points to such examples as Cesar Chavez , Luisa Moreno and Bert Corona . As seen here, sources differ on elements of classification of the term “Californio”. “At

388-650: A Californio to be any settler who migrated to Alta California and their descendants; and also non-Hispanic immigrants who intermarried with Hispanics and integrated into the Californio culture during the Mexican era, and their descendants. Calisphere and author Ferol Egan restrict the meaning of Californio to the Californian elite who acquired land during the Spanish and Mexican periods and their descendants. Leonard Pitt considers

485-505: A Californio, was the governor of California during the conflict. The Pacific Squadron , the United States Naval force stationed in the Pacific was instrumental in the capture of Alta California after war was declared on April 24, 1846. The U.S. Navy with its force of 350–400 U.S. Marines and "bluejacket" sailors on board several U.S. Naval ships near California were essentially the only significant United States military force on

582-517: A bear and star (the " Bear Flag ") to symbolize their taking control. The words "California Republic" appeared on the flag but were never officially adopted by the insurgents. The present flag of California is based on the original "Bear Flag". Their capture of the small garrison in Sonoma was later called the " Bear Flag Revolt ". The Republic's only commander-in-chief was William B. Ide , whose command lasted 25 days. On June 23, 1846, Frémont arrived from

679-515: A crew of 600, man-of-war HMS  Collingwood , flagship under Sir George S. Seymour, also arrived at about this time outside Monterey Harbor. Both British ships observed, but did not enter the conflict. Shortly after July 9, when it became clear the US Navy was taking action, the short-lived Bear Flag Republic was converted into a United States military occupation and the Bear Flag was replaced by

776-430: A degree of social racial segregation by custom, while maintaining Spanish-language newspapers, entertainment, schools, bars, and clubs. Cultural practices were often tied to local churches and mutual aid societies. At some point in the early 20th century, the official recordkeepers (census takers, city records, etc.) began grouping together all Californios, Mexicanos, and Native ( Indio ) peoples with Spanish surnames under

873-748: A difficult time persuading people to emigrate to such an isolated outpost with no agriculture, no towns, no stores or developments of almost any kind. The majority of settlers were recruited from the northwestern parts of Mexico. The only tentative link with Mexico was via ship after the Quechans (Yumas) closed the Colorado River 's Yuma Crossing in 1781. For the next 40 years, an average of only 2.5 ships per year visited California with 13 years showing no recorded ships arriving. In Californio society, casta ( caste ) designations carried more weight than they did in older communities of central Mexico. One similar concept

970-443: A dispatch from Gillespie notifying him of the situation. Gillespie, on September 30, finally accepted the Californio terms and departed for San Pedro with his forces, weapons, flags and two cannon (the others were spiked and left behind). Gillespie's men were accompanied by the exchanged American prisoners and several non-Californio residents. It would take about four months of intermittent sparring before Gillespie could again raise

1067-585: A home on the plaza at Sonoma, where he entertained all who came with hospitality; few travelers of note came to California without visiting him. At Petaluma he had a great ranch house called La Hacienda. About 1849 on his home farm called Lachryma Montis (Tear of the Mountain), he built a modern frame house where he spent the later years of his life. Vallejo tried to get the California State Capital moved permanently to Benicia, California on land he sold to

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1164-575: A minimum” means the most restrictive grouping included within every grouping stated above. Thus, this group consists of the Californian elite who were descendants of Spanish settlers and who acquired land during the Spanish and Mexican periods and their descendants. “At a maximum” means the most expansive definition inferred above. This group consists of any settler who migrated to California or any person born in California and their descendants, plus anyone who resides in California. In 1769, Gaspar de Portolá and less than two hundred men, on expedition founded

1261-595: A movement for independence of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, in which he successfully deposed interim governor Nicolás Gutiérrez , declared independence, and created a new flag and constitution, before negotiating an agreement with the Mexican government resulting in his recognition as governor and the end of the independence movement. Alvarado was born in Monterey , Alta California , to Jose Francisco Alvarado and María Josefa Vallejo. His grandfather Juan Bautista Alvarado accompanied Gaspar de Portolá as an enlisted man in

1358-632: A private. The first job given to the California Battalion and was to assist in the capture of San Diego and Pueblo de Los Angeles . On July 26, 1846, Lieutenant Colonel Frémont's California Battalion of about 160 boarded the sloop USS  Cyane , under the command of Captain Samuel Francis Du Pont , and sailed for San Diego. They landed July 29, 1846, and a detachment of Marines and blue-jackets, followed shortly by Frémont's California Battalion from Cyane , landed and took possession of

1455-896: A report of a planned revolt against Alvarado by a group of foreigners, led by former ally Isaac Graham , caused the governor to order their arrest and deportation to Mexico City for trial. They were eventually, however, acquitted of all charges in June 1841. Also in 1841, political leaders in the United States were declaring their doctrine of Manifest Destiny , and Californios grew increasingly concerned over their intentions. Vallejo conferred with Castro and Alvarado recommending that Mexico send military reinforcements to enforce their military control of California. In response, Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna sent Brigadier General Manuel Micheltorena and 300 men to California in January 1842. Micheltorena

1552-604: A wealthy educated woman of influence and town matriarch, asked to speak with him. She advised him that a generous peace would be to his political advantage. Fremont later wrote of this 2-hour meeting, "I found that her object was to use her influence to put an end to the war, and to do so upon such just and friendly terms of compromise as would make the peace acceptable and enduring". The next day, Bernarda accompanied Fremont south. On January 11, 1847, General Jose Maria Flores turned over his command to Andrés Pico and fled. On January 12, Bernarda went alone to Pico's camp and told him of

1649-418: A white background, but neither were used after Alvarado made peace with Mexico. Alvarado, at age 27, was then appointed governor, but the city council of Los Angeles protested. Alvarado, Castro, and Graham went south and negotiated a compromise after three months, avoiding a civil war. However, the city council of San Diego then voiced its disagreement with Alvarado's revolt. This time, the Mexican government

1746-439: Is California Historical Landmark number #348. California Historical Landmark reads: The adobe house, which is now occupied by a local bank branch, was seriously damaged in January, 2023, during the 2022–2023 California floods . Californio Californios (singular Californio ) are Hispanic Californians , especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California

1843-565: Is buried there. Monterey was originally the only port of entry for all taxable goods in California. All ships were supposed to clear through Monterey and pay the roughly 42% tariff (customs duties on imported goods before trading anywhere else in Alta California). The oldest governmental building in the state is the Monterey Custom House and California's Historic Landmark Number One. The Californian , California's oldest newspaper,

1940-601: The California Gold Rush , instead concentrating his efforts on agriculture and business. He opened the Union Hotel on the rancho in 1860, but his businesses were mostly unsuccessful. After Martina's death in 1876, Alvarado wrote his Historia de California . He died on his ranch in 1882 and is buried at Saint Mary Cemetery in Oakland . Alvarado's adobe house, at the foot of Alvarado Street in downtown Monterey, survives as

2037-645: The Catholic Church (estimated then at about one-third of all settled property), which was continually granted property by many landowners when they died and controlled property supposedly held in trust for the Native Americans. This land, as it gradually accumulated, was seldom sold, as it cost nothing to keep, but could be rented out to gain additional income for the Catholic Church to pay its priests , friars , bishops, and other expenses. The Catholic Church

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2134-650: The Mexican–American War had begun. Pico, Castro, and Alvarado set aside their differences to focus on the American threat, but by the end of August, Pico and Castro fled to Mexico, and Alvarado was captured. Following his release, Alvarado spent the remainder of the war on his estate in Monterey. After the war, Alvarado was offered the governorship but declined, instead retiring to his wife Martina's family estate at Rancho San Pablo in 1848. Alvarado did not participate in

2231-548: The Presidio of San Diego (military post). On July 16, Franciscan friars Junípero Serra , Juan Viscaino and Fernando Parron raised and 'blessed a cross', establishing the first mission in upper Las Californias , Mission San Diego de Alcalá . Colonists began arriving in 1774. Monterey, California was established in 1770 by Father Junípero Serra and Gaspar de Portolà (first governor of Las Californias province (1767–1770), explorer and founder of San Diego and Monterey). Monterey

2328-517: The Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando ranch which makes up large part of what is present day Los Angeles. He went on to become a California State Assemblyman and later a California State Senator. His brother former governor of Alta California (under Mexican rule) Pío Pico also became a U.S. citizen and a prominent ranch owner/businessman in California after the war. Many others were not so fortunate as droughts decimated their herds in

2425-488: The Rancho system . In the 1820s–40s, American and European settlers increasingly migrated to Mexican California. Many married Californio women and became Mexican citizens, learning Spanish and often converting to Catholicism , the state religion. They are often also considered Californios, for their adherence to Californio language and culture. In 2004 studies estimated that between 300,000 and 500,000 have ancestry descended from

2522-471: The Spanish missions in California . He was appointed by José María de Echeandía to oversee the turn over of Mission San Miguel , even though Echeandía was no longer governor. The new governor Manuel Victoria rescinded the order and sought to have Alvarado and Castro arrested. The pair fled and were hidden by their old friend Vallejo, who had become adjutant at the Presidio of San Francisco . However, Victoria

2619-538: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , wherein it guaranteed full protection of all property rights for Mexican citizens—with an unspecified time limit. Many ranch owners with their thousands of acres and large herds of cattle, sheep and horses went on to live prosperous lives under U.S. rule. Former commander of the California Lancers Andrés Pico became a U.S. citizen after his return to California and acquired

2716-474: The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers . Rumors that the Californio government in California was planning to arrest and deport many of the new residents as they had in 1844 led to a degree of uncertainty. On June 14, 1846, thirty-three settlers in Sonoma Valley took preemptive action and captured the small Californio garrison of Sonoma, California without firing a shot and raised a homemade flag with

2813-643: The U.S. Navy ships in the harbor to the U.S. flag now flying over Monterey. Two days later on July 9, USS  Portsmouth , under Captain John S. Montgomery, landed 70 Marines and bluejacket sailors at Clark's Point in San Francisco Bay and captured Yerba Buena (now named San Francisco ) without firing a shot. On July 11, the Royal Navy sloop HMS  Juno entered San Francisco Bay, causing Montgomery to man his defenses. The large British ship, 2,600 tons with

2910-481: The U.S. flag . Commodore Robert F. Stockton took over as the senior U.S. military commander in California in late July 1846 and asked Frémont's force of California militia and his 60 men to form the California Battalion with U.S. Army pay and ranks with Fremont in command. The California "Republic" disbanded and William Ide enlisted in the California Battalion , when it was established in late July 1846, as

3007-690: The United States , which has inhabited the American Southwest and the West Coast since the 16th century. Some may also identify as Chicanos , a term that came about in the 1960s. The term Californio (historical, regional Spanish for 'Californian') was originally applied by and to the Spanish-speaking residents of Las Californias during the periods of Spanish California and Mexican California , between 1683 and 1848. The first Californios were

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3104-461: The missions for several generations in some cases. When the missions were secularized or dismantled and the Indians did not have to live under continued friar and military control, they were left essentially to survive on their own. Many of the Native Americans reverted to their former tribal existence and left the missions, while others found they could get room and board and some clothing by working for

3201-465: The 20th century. These settlements grew into modern California cities, including Santa Ana , San Diego , San Fernando , San Jose , Monterey , Los Alamitos , San Juan Capistrano , San Bernardino , Santa Barbara , Arvin , Mariposa , Hemet and Indio . From the 1850s until the 1960s, the Hispanics (of Spanish, Mexican and regional Native American origins) lived in relative autonomy. They practiced

3298-451: The 84,000-acre (340 km ) Rancho Suscol and other properties by Governor José Figueroa in 1834 and later. Vallejo's younger brother, Jose Manuel Salvador Vallejo (1813–1876), was granted the 22,718-acre (91.94 km ) Rancho Napa and other additional grants known as Salvador's Ranch. Over the hills of Mariano Vallejo's estate of Petaluma roamed ten thousand cattle, four to six thousand horses, and many thousands of sheep. He occupied

3395-698: The Americans in their quarters at the Government House. Gillespie and his men withdrew from their headquarters in town to Fort Hill which, unfortunately, had no water. Gillespie was caught in a trap, badly outnumbered by the besiegers. John Brown, an American, called by the Californios Juan Flaco , meaning "Lean John", succeeded in breaking through the Californio lines and riding by horseback to San Francisco Bay (a distance of almost 400 miles (640 km)) in an amazing 52 hours where he delivered to Stockton

3492-484: The Foreign Miners' Tax discussed below forced between five thousand and fifteen thousand foreigners out of work in just a few months. According to Antonio F. Coronel's accounts, there was systematic race-influenced violence conducted by Americans to force out Californios and other Latinos. One account tells of a Frenchman and "un español" being lynched for supposed theft in 1848. Despite offers by Californios to replace

3589-523: The Hispanic towns. California's Governor Pío Pico was criticized for his alleged descent from mestizo and mulato ( mulatto ) settlers. In the 1830s, the newly formed Mexican government was experiencing difficulties, having gone through several revolts, wars, and internal conflicts and a seemingly never-ending string of Mexican Presidents . One of the problems in Mexico was the large amount of land controlled by

3686-625: The Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Niguel was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant was patented to Juan Avila in 1873. Juan Avila retained ownership of Rancho Niguel until 1865, when after the droughts of 1863-64, he sold the property to John Forster. Soledad Yorba de Avila died of smallpox in 1867. Rancho Niguel passed from John Forster to Marco Forster to Lewis Moulton and his partner, Jean Pierre Daguerre, who obtained it in 1895. Lewis Fenno Moulton (1854–1938),

3783-616: The Pacific Coast in the early months of the Mexican–American War. The Royal Navy Pacific Station ships in the Pacific had more men and were more heavily armed than the U.S. Navy's Pacific Squadron, but did not have orders to help or hinder the occupation of California. New orders would have taken almost two years to get back to the British ships. The Marines were stationed aboard each ship to assist in ship-to-ship combat, as snipers in

3880-515: The Spanish Army in 1769. His father died a few months after his birth and his mother remarried three years later, leaving Juan Bautista in the care of his grandparents on the Vallejo side, where he and Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo grew up together. They were both taught by William Edward Petty Hartnell , an English merchant living in Monterey. In 1827, eighteen-year-old Alvarado was hired as secretary to

3977-710: The Spanish and Mexican eras of California. The term "Californio" has different meanings depending on the author or source. According to the Real Academia Española , a Californio is a person native to California. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a Californio as both a native or resident of this state and a specific ethnic group: the Spanish settlers and their descendants in California. Authors such as Douglas Monroy, Damian Bacich or Covadonga Lamar Prieto, among others, define Californios as exclusively applying to Alta California residents and their descendants.   Historians Hunt Janin and Ursula Carlson consider

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4074-587: The US. All hands would be required for the task. This turned out to backfire on him, as on November 14, 1844, a group of Californios led by Manuel Castro revolted against Mexican authority. José Castro and Alvarado commanded the troops. Castro's drummer Juan 'Tambor' Higuera was killed during the capture of the barracks in Los Angeles, possibly the only Californio killed. A truce was negotiated and Micheltorena agreed to dismiss his convict troops. Micheltorena later reneged on

4171-508: The United States had annexed the territory, were prospecting for gold in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada . Although the territory they were in had up until recently been Mexican land, Californios and other Mexicans very quickly became the minorities and were seen as the foreigners. Once the Gold Rush had truly started in 1849, the campsites were segregated by nationality, further establishing

4268-501: The adjacent Rancho Trabuco and Rancho Misión Vieja . Juan Avila was granted the three square league Rancho Niguel in 1842. He was a "judge of the plains" at Los Angeles in 1844, and justice of the peace at San Juan Capistrano in 1846. With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War , the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by

4365-456: The beginning of 1846. Afraid of foreign aggression, Castro assembled his militia, with Alvarado second in command, but Frémont went north to Oregon instead. An unstable political situation in Mexico strained relations among the Californios and it seemed that civil war would break out between north and south. On July 7, Commodore John D. Sloat occupied Monterey, declaring to the citizenry that

4462-419: The brief Mexican–American War conflicts in California. Some of the Californios and California Native Americans fought on the side of the U.S. settlers during the conflict, with some joining John Frémont's California Battalion . Before the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848, the Californios forced the Mexican appointed governor, Manuel Micheltorena , to flee back to Mexico with most of his troops. Pío Pico ,

4559-470: The cattle and horse industry in California. About 600 horses and mules and 300 cattle survived the trip. In 1776 about 200 leather-jacketed soldiers, Friars, and colonists with their families moved to what was called Yerba Buena (now San Francisco) to start building a mission and a presidio there. The leather jackets the soldiers wore consisted of several layers of hardened leather and were strong enough body armor to usually stop an Indian arrow. In California

4656-530: The cattle and horses had few enemies and plentiful grass in all but drought years and essentially grew and multiplied as feral animals—doubling roughly every two years. They partially displaced the Tule Elk and pronghorn antelope who had lived there in large herds previously. Anza selected the sites of the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asís in what is now San Francisco; on his way back to Monterey, he sited Mission Santa Clara de Asís and

4753-555: The children of the early Spanish military expeditions into northern reaches of the Californias. They established the presidios of California and subsequently enabled the foundation of the California mission system . Later, the primary cultural focus of the Californio population became the Vaquero tradition practiced by the landed gentry , who received large land grants and created

4850-423: The commodore to Micheltorena. Micheltorena eventually made it to Monterey, but was unable to control his troops, a number of which were convicts. This fomented rumors of a revolt, and by 1844, Alvarado became associated with the malcontents and an order was made by Micheltorena for his arrest. His detention was short-lived, as Micheltorena was under orders to organize a large contingent in preparation for war against

4947-483: The conflict (U.S. and Mexico). The battlefield memorials attest to the heroic fight and loss on both sides. Most towns in California surrendered without a shot being fired on either side. What little fighting that did occur usually involved small groups of disaffected Californios and small groups of soldiers, marines or militia . In late December, 1846, while Fremont was in Santa Barbara, Bernarda Ruíz de Rodriguez ,

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5044-747: The deal and fighting broke out this time. The rebels won the Battle of Providencia in February 1845 at the Los Angeles River and Micheltorena and his troops left California. Pío Pico was installed as governor in Los Angeles and José Castro became commandant general. Later, Alvarado was elected to the Mexican Congress. He prepared to move to Mexico City, but Pico declined funding for the transfer, and relations between northern and southern California deteriorated further. John C. Frémont arrived in Monterey at

5141-626: The early 1860s and they could not pay back the high cost mortgages (poorly understood by the mostly illiterate ranchers) they had taken out to improve their lifestyle and subsequently lost much or all of their property when they could not be repaid. Californios did not disappear. Some people in the area still have strong identities as Californios. Thousands of people who are descended from the Californios have well-documented genealogies of their families. The developing agricultural economy of California allowed many Californios to continue living in pueblos alongside Native peoples and other Mexicans well into

5238-529: The fact that "Americans" had taken the title as the majority ethnicity in Northern California. Because the Californio "foreigners" so quickly became a minority, their claims to land protected under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo were ignored when miners overran their land and squatted. Any protests by Californios were quickly put down by hastily formed Euro-American militias, so any legal protection provided by

5335-507: The future state of Oregon 's border with about 30 soldiers and 30 scouts and hunters and took command of the "Republic" in the name of the United States. Frémont began to recruit a militia from among the new settlers living around Sutter's Fort to join with his forces. Many of these settlers had just arrived over the California Trail and many more would continue to arrive after July 1846 when they got to California. The Donner Party were

5432-480: The governorship, but like the Mexican governors before him, the Californios forced him to flee. As senior members of the legislature, Alvarado and Castro, with political support from Vallejo and backing from a group of Tennesseans led by Capt. Isaac Graham , staged a revolt in November 1836 and forced Gutierrez out of the country. Alvarado's Californio coup wrote a constitution and adopted a new flag —a single red star on

5529-408: The large ranches that took over the former mission lands and livestock. Many natives who had learned to ride horses and knew a smattering of Spanish were recruited to become vaqueros ( cowboys or cattle herders) that worked the cattle and horses on the large ranchos and did other work. Some of these rancho owners and their hired hands would make up the bulk of the few hundred Californios fighting in

5626-606: The last settlers to use the Anza trail as the Quechans (Yumas) closed the trail for the next 40 years shortly after they had passed over it. Almost none of the settlers was españoles (Spanish); the rest had casta (caste) designations such as mestizo , indio , and negro . Some classifications were changed in the California Census of 1790, as often happened in colonial Spanish America. The settlers and escort soldiers who founded

5723-637: The last travelers on the trail in late 1846 when they were caught by early snow while they were trying to get across the Sierra Nevada . Under orders from John D. Sloat , Commodore of the Pacific Squadron , the U.S. Marines and some of the bluejacket sailors from the U.S. Navy sailing ships USS  Savannah with the Cyane and Levant captured the Alta California capital city of Monterey, California on July 7, 1846. The only shots fired were salutes by

5820-430: The missions, presidios , and pueblo (town) dwellers. The mission lands and herds formerly controlled by the missions were usually distributed to the settlers around each mission. Since most had almost no money, the land was distributed or granted free or at very little cost to friends and families of the government officials (or those who paid the highest bribes). The Californio Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo , for example,

5917-781: The new California legislature was ineffective when the threat of violence and lynchings loomed. Even if Californios were able to win their land back in court, often lawyer's fees cost large sums of land that left them with a fraction of their former wealth. Many Latino miners were experienced due to learning a "dry-digging" technique in the Mexican mining state of Sonora . Their early success drew praise and respect from Euro-American miners, they eventually became jealous and used threats and violence to force Mexican workers out of their plots and into less lucrative ones. In addition to these informal forms of discrimination, Anglo miners also worked to establish Jim Crow -like laws to prevent Latinos from mining altogether. In 1851, mob violence as well as

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6014-440: The park to its current size. 33°33′36″N 117°42′36″W  /  33.560°N 117.710°W  / 33.560; -117.710 Juan B. Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) usually known as Juan Bautista Alvarado , was a Californio politician that served as governor of Alta California from 1837 to 1842. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led

6111-475: The peace agreement she and Fremont had forged. Fremont and two of Pico's officers agreed to the terms for a surrender, and Jose Antonio Carrillo penned Articles of Capitulation in both English and Spanish. The first seven articles were almost entirely from Ruiz's suggestions. The story of Bernarda Ruiz is based largely on two short paragraphs and a footnote in Fremont's memoirs, first published in 1887. Many aspects of

6208-448: The peace. In Pueblo de Los Angeles , the largest city in California with about 3,000 residents, things might have remained peaceful, except that Major Gillespie placed the town under martial law, greatly angering some of the Californios. On September 23, 1846, about 200 Californios under Californio General José María Flores staged a revolt, the Siege of Los Angeles , and exchanged shots with

6305-462: The ports in Mexican California and elsewhere along the Pacific Coast. The only other United States military force in California at the time was a small exploratory expedition led by Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont , made up of 30 topographical, surveying, etc. army troops and about 25 men hired as guides and hunters. The Frémont expedition had been dispatched to California, in 1845, from

6402-550: The pueblo San Jose in the Santa Clara Valley but did not initially leave settlers to settle them. Mission San Francisco de Asís (or Mission Dolores), the sixth Spanish mission, was founded on June 29, 1776, by Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga and Father Francisco Palóu (a companion of Junípero Serra). On November 29, 1777, El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe (The Town of Saint Joseph of Guadalupe now called simply San Jose)

6499-495: The reported amount of gold stolen, they were still hanged. In addition, later in the Gold Rush, Coronel and his group found a rich vein of gold on the American River. When Euro-Americans caught wind of this, they invaded the claim armed and insisted it was their plot, forcing out Coronel and ending his mining career. Accounts like these show the harsh and violent living and working conditions that Californios were faced with during

6596-435: The rigging, and to defend against boarders. They could also be detached for use as armed infantry . In addition, there were some "bluejacket" sailors on each ship that could be detached for shore duty as artillery crews and infantry, leaving the ship functional though short handed. The artillery used were often small naval cannon converted to land use. The Pacific Squadron had orders, in the event of war with Mexico, to seize

6693-523: The same American flag originally flown over Los Angeles . Los Angeles was retaken without a fight on January 10, 1847. Following their defeat at the Battle of La Mesa , the Californio government signed the Treaty of Cahuenga , which ended the war in California on January 13, 1847. The main Californio military force, known as the Californio lancers , was disbanded. On January 16, 1847, Commodore Stockton appointed Frémont military governor of U.S. territorial California. Some Californios fought on both sides of

6790-563: The same boat as Daguerre. After dissolving the partnership with Marco Forster, Daguerre formed a partnership with Lewis Moulton, and owned a one-third interest in Rancho Niguel. Over the years, portions of the ranch were sold and became Leisure World , Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel . In 1976, the Mission Viejo Company purchased the remaining 6,600 acres to create a new planned community – Aliso Viejo . Aliso Canyon

6887-433: The same day—June 1, 1863. In some cases particular mission land and livestock were split into parcels and then distributed by drawing lots. In nearly all cases the Indians got very little of the mission land or livestock. Whether any of the proceeds of these sales made their way back to Mexico City is unknown. These lands had been worked by settlers and the much larger settlements of local Native American Kumeyaay peoples on

6984-456: The son of J. Tilden Moulton and Charlotte Harding Fenno, was born in Chicago , and after his father's death, the family moved to Boston . In 1874 Moulton came to California via Panama . He worked on Rancho San Joaquin , and subsequently went into the sheep raising business for several years. After his first purchase in 1895 of Rancho Niguel (which adjoined Rancho San Joaquin), additional property

7081-535: The state government in December, 1851. It was named Benicia for the General's wife, Francisca Benicia Carillo de Vallejo. The General intended that the prospective city be named "Francisca" after his wife, but this name was dropped when the city of Yerba Buena changed its name to "San Francisco" on January 30, 1847. Benicia was the third site selected to serve as the California state capital, and its newly constructed city hall

7178-459: The story cannot be verified in primary source materials. On January 13, at a deserted rancho at the north end of Cahuenga Pass (modern-day North Hollywood), John Fremont, Andres Pico and six others signed the Articles of Capitulation, which became known as the Treaty of Cahuenga. Fighting ceased, thus ending the war in California. In 1848, Congress set up a Board of Land Commissioners to determine

7275-468: The terms "Spanish", "Mexican", and sometimes, "colored"; some Californios even intermarried with Mexican Americans (those whose ancestors were refugees escaping the Mexican Revolution in 1910). Alexander V. King has estimated that there were between 300,000 and 500,000 descendants of Californios in 2004. In 1848, gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill , near Coloma , California. This discovery

7372-709: The territorial legislature. In 1829 he was briefly arrested along with Vallejo and José Castro by soldiers involved in the military revolt led by Joaquín Solis . In 1831 he built a house in Monterey for his mistress, Juliana Francisca Ramona y Castillo, whom he called "Raymunda", to live in. It's possible the home was for her sister, Maria Reymunda Castillo. Over the years, the pair had at least two illegitimate daughters whom he recognized (Estefana del Rosario (born 1834), and Maria Francisca de la Asencion (born 1836). They may have had several more that he did not recognize, but they never married. During this period Alvarado began drinking heavily. Alvarado supported secularization of

7469-550: The town without firing a shot. Leaving about 40 men to garrison San Diego, Fremont continued on to Los Angeles where on August 13, with the Navy band playing and colors flying, the combined forces of Stockton and Frémont entered Pueblo de Los Angeles, without a man killed nor shot fired. U.S. Marine Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie , Frémont's second in command, was appointed military commander of Los Angeles with an inadequate force from 30 to 50 California Battalion troops stationed there to keep

7566-474: The towns of San José de Guadalupe , Yerba Buena (San Francisco), Monterey, San Diego and La Reina de Los Ángeles were primarily mestizo and of mixed Negro and Native American ancestry from the province of Sonora y Sinaloa in Mexico. Recruiters in Mexico of the Fernando Rivera y Moncada expedition and other expeditions later, who were charged with founding an agricultural community in Alta California, had

7663-579: The validity of Mexican land grants in California. California Senator William M. Gwin presented a bill that, when approved by the Senate and the House on March 3, 1851, became the California Land Act of 1851 . It stated that unless grantees presented evidence supporting their title within two years, the property would automatically pass back into the public domain . Rancho owners cited the articles VIII and X of

7760-503: Was 3 miles (5 km) from the original San Jose pueblo site in neighboring Santa Clara . Mission San José was not founded until 1797, about 20 miles (30 km) north of San Jose in what is now Fremont . The Los Angeles Pobladores ("villagers") is the name given to the 44 original Sonorans—22 adults and 22 children—who settled the Pueblo of Los Angeles in 1781. The pobladores were agricultural families from Sonora , Mexico. They were

7857-458: Was California's capitol from February 11, 1853, to February 25, 1854. Vallejo gave the Rancho Suscol to his oldest daughter, Epifania Guadalupe Vallejo, on April 3, 1851, as a wedding present when she married U.S. Army General John H. Frisbie. It is unknown what he gave as a wedding present when his two daughters Natalia and Jovita married the brothers, Attila Haraszthy and Agoston Haraszthy , on

7954-513: Was acquired and eventually the ranch consisted of 22,000 acres (89 km). Jean Pierre Daguerre (1856–1911), a native of Hasparren , France , came to Los Angeles in 1874 with the French Basque Amestoy family and worked on the Amestoy's ranch near Gardena . In 1882, Daguerre formed a partnership with Marco Forster. In 1886, Daguerre married Maria Eugenia Duguet, who came from France on

8051-485: Was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there since 1683 and is made up of varying Spanish and Mexican origins, including criollos , Mestizos , Indigenous Californian peoples, and small numbers of Mulatos. Alongside the Tejanos of Texas and Neomexicanos of New Mexico and Colorado, Californios are part of the larger Spanish-American / Mexican-American /Hispano community of

8148-453: Was appointed as interim governor in January 1836. He was replaced by Mariano Chico in April, but Chico was unpopular. His intelligence agents told him that another Californio revolt was brewing, hence he fled to Mexico , claiming he planned to gather troops against the independent Californios. Instead, Mexico reprimanded him for abandoning his post. Gutierrez, the military commandant , re-assumed

8245-608: Was first published in Monterey on August 15, 1846, after the city's occupation by the U.S. Navy's Pacific Squadron on July 7, 1846. Late in 1775, Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza led an overland expedition over the Gila River trail he had discovered in 1774 to bring colonists from Sonora New Spain (Mexico) to California to settle two missions , one presidio , and one pueblo (town). Anza led 240 friars, soldiers and colonists with their families. They started out with 695 horses and mules and 385 Texas Longhorn bulls and cows—starting

8342-479: Was founded by José Joaquín Moraga on the first pueblo -town not associated with a mission or a military post ( presidio ) in Alta California. The original San Jose settlers were part of the original group of 200 settlers and soldiers that had originally settled in Yerba Buena (San Francisco). Mission Santa Clara , founded in 1777, was the eighth mission founded and closest mission to San Jose. Mission Santa Clara

8439-805: Was involved and there were rumors that the Mexican Army was ready to step in. Alvarado was able to negotiate another compromise to keep the peace. Mexico reneged on the agreement, however, and appointed Carlos Antonio Carrillo , who was very popular among the southerners, governor on December 6, 1837. This time, civil war broke out and after several battles, Carrillo was forced out. Mexico finally relented and recognized Alvarado as governor. Alvarado married Doña Martina Castro on August 24, 1839, in Santa Clara , but did not attend his own wedding having his half-brother, Jose Antonio Estrada, stand in for him. Though he claimed to be detained in Monterey on official business, it

8536-401: Was made only nine days before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, which turned over California to the United States as a result of the Mexican–American War. From the end of 1849 to the end of 1852, the population in California increased from 107,000 to 264,000 due to the California Gold Rush . In early 1849, approximately 6,000 Mexicans, many of whom were Californios who remained after

8633-423: Was reputed to be the richest man in California before the California Gold Rush . Vallejo oversaw the secularization of Mission San Francisco Solano and the distributions of its roughly 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km ). He founded the towns of Sonoma and Petaluma, California , owned Mare Island and the future town site of Benicia, California , and was granted the 66,622-acre (269.61 km ) Rancho Petaluma ,

8730-663: Was rumored he was actually drunk and unable to function. After the wedding, Alvarado lived with his bride in Monterey, but continued on with mistress, Raymunda, who lived nearby. The process of secularization of the missions was in its final stages, and it was at this time that Alvarado parceled out much of their land to prominent Californios via land grants. Though he took no land for himself, he did however, trade his Rancho El Sur to John B.R. Cooper in exchange for Rancho Bolsa del Potrero which he subsequently sold back to Cooper. He purchased Rancho El Alisal near Salinas in 1841 from his former tutor William Hartnell . In April 1840

8827-549: Was settled with two friars and about 40 men and served as the capital of California from 1777 to 1849. The nearby Carmel Mission , in Carmel, California was moved there after a year in Monterey to keep the mission and its Mission Indians away from the Monterey Presidio soldiers. It was the headquarters of the original Alta California province missions headed by Father-President Junípero Serra from 1770 until his death in 1784—he

8924-480: Was spared from development when about 40 land parcels were acquired by the county for use as a park, the largest in 1979 when the Mission Viejo Company donated 3,400 acres (1,400 ha). The park officially opened on March 31, 1990 as Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park ; it was later designated a Wilderness Park to better preserve native habitat. Continued land acquisitions and donations since then brought

9021-478: Was the gente de razón , a term literally meaning "people of reason". It designated peoples who were culturally Hispanic (that is, they were not living in traditional Native American communities) and had adopted Christianity . This served to distinguish the Mexican Indio settlers and converted Californian Indios from the barbaro (barbarian) Californian Native Americans, who had not converted or become part of

9118-536: Was the largest and richest landowner in Mexico and its provinces. In California the situation was even more pronounced, as the Franciscan friars held over 90% of all settled property, supposedly in trust for the mission Indians . In 1834, secularization laws that voided the mission control of lands in the northern settlements under Mexican rule were enacted. The missions directed thousands of Indians in herding livestock, growing crops and orchards, weaving cloth, etc. for

9215-435: Was the son of Antonio Ygnacio Avila, grantee of Rancho Sausal Redondo . In 1832, Juan Avila married Maria Soledad Thomasa Capistrano Yorba (–1867). He and Soledad Yorba de Avila had three children who survived to adulthood: Rosa Modesta, who married Pablo Pryor; Guadalupe who married Marco Forster; and Manuel Donanciano who married Delfina Rodriguez. Marco Forster (1839–1904) was the son of John (Don Juan) Forster , owner of

9312-587: Was to assume the governorship and the position of commandant general . In October, before Micheltorena reached Monterey, American Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones mistakenly thought that war had broken out between the US and Mexico. He sailed into Monterey Bay and demanded the surrender of the Presidio of Monterey . Micheltorena's force was still in the south and the Monterey presidio was undermanned. Alvarado reluctantly surrendered, and retired to Rancho El Alisal. The next day Commodore Jones learned of his mistake, but Alvarado declined to return and instead referred

9409-550: Was unpopular and Echeandía overthrew his rule and replaced him with Pío de Jesús Pico near the end of 1831. Secularization of the missions resumed in 1833. In 1834 Alvarado was elected to the legislature as a delegate and appointed customs inspector in Monterey. Governor José Figueroa granted Rancho El Sur , two square leagues of land, or about 9,000 acres (3,600 ha), south of Monterey, to Alvarado on October 30, 1834. After Figueroa's death in September 1835, Nicolás Gutiérrez

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