The Californias . Name that at different times has been given to the region that currently includes the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur in Mexico and the state of California in the United States . The initial name for this region was Californio .
Summary
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- 1 History
- 2 Geography and political organization of Las Californias
- 1 First expeditions
- 2 Colonization
- 3 Alta California
- 4 Baja California
- 5 See also
- 6 References
- 7 Bibliography
History
Originally the name of California was given to the region discovered by the navigator pilot Fortún Jiménez , who sighted and visited the peninsula in 1534 , which he thought was an island.
It is said that a mocking enemy of Hernán Cortés whom a writer of the time quotes as Alarcón (possibly Fernando de Alarcón ), in clear allusion to Las sergas de Esplandián , a novel of chivalry in vogue in those days, named in a burlesque tone to the inhospitable lands like California to wound Cortés for having failed in the third exploration trip, when he tried unsuccessfully to establish a colony in the bay that he named Cortés de La Santa Cruz , (currently the city of La Paz ), newly discovered California peninsula lands that belonged to him by Royal Decree.
Administratively, the province was part of the General Command of the Internal Provinces . In 1804, Alta California was created .
Geography and political organization of Las Californias
The interior part of Las Californias was not clearly defined, despite the efforts of the colonial authorities. They were bordered to the east by the provinces of Sonora and Sinaloa , Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Louisiana , and to the north by the Oregon Territory . [1]
The area was mainly colonized by Jesuit missionaries , who were in charge of evangelizing, and politically and socially reorganizing the native communities of the region. The efforts of the Jesuits were backed by the presence of Spanish soldiers, settled through a system of presidios , although control of the civil government was maintained by the Jesuits until their expulsion in 1767 . Hispanic settlements in Baja California began in the 17th century and in the 18th century in the area that is today the state of California. The Californias were originally under the judicial jurisdiction of theRoyal Court of Guadalajara .
The 22 of August of 1776 , Las Californias were organized as part of the General Command of the Internal Provinces . In 1804 the crown established two governorates in the region, one in Baja California or Antigua California and the other in the remaining areas of the continental north, which was called Alta California or Nueva California.
First expeditions
File: Island of California.jpg
The “Island” of California.
Hernán Cortés is currently considered the discoverer of the peninsula, even though the first European to disembark in what is now the California peninsula was the Spanish pilot and navigator Fortún Jiménez who commanded the ship Concepción , whose patron was Hernán Cortés , he sighted and visited the peninsula in 1534 , which he thought was an island.
The first European to set foot in what is now the state of Baja California was the navigator Francisco de Ulloa , who traveled both coasts of the California peninsula between 1539 and 1540 , as well as the coast of the current state of Sonora .
Hernán Cortés, who had already sponsored three exploration trips in the South Sea ( Pacific Ocean ) and which had ended in failures, decided to send a fourth exploration trip under Francisco de Ulloa in 1539 .
They entered the Gulf of California and visited the abandoned town of Santa Cruz, currently known as La Paz , on the way back and forth , they arrived at the northern end of the Gulf on September 28, at what is currently known as the mouth of the river. Colorado and called the mouth of the river “Ancón de San Andrés”. [2]
In 1542 , Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed in the Pacific Ocean following the coast of the California peninsula beyond 40 ° north latitude and named the discovered lands New California as opposed to Old California , already explored.
The 5 of April of 1683 , Isidro de Atondo and Antillon, I reaffirm the Spanish dominion over the peninsula and changed the name to the Port of Santa Cruz by the Port of Our Lady of Peace , but subsequently the July 4th of that same year, he withdrew from the region.
Colonization
The period of colonization in Las Californias began during the seventeenth century, and ended with the Independence of Mexico . At the beginning, colonization was the exclusive task of the Society of Jesus , concentrated exclusively in Baja California. The first mission in Baja California was the short-lived Mission of San Bruno . The first successful mission was the Mission of Loreto Concho , founded in 1697 in Loreto .
The second half of the 18th century brought changes in politics for various reasons. First by the incursions of foreign powers, especially Russia, and to a lesser extent, the British, in search of the fur trade . At the same time, the administration of the area was revitalized due to the Bourbon Reforms , carried out by José de Gálvez , who was first, visitor to the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later, the Minister of the Indies.
Finally, another drastic change occurred when the crown ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Spanish territories in 1767. The Dominicans were selected to take over the missions in Baja California. At the same time, a plan was created to strengthen Spanish rule in the area. The Franciscans were chosen by the authorities to carry out this plan in 1769.
The first border between the two Californias was located in Punta El Descanso , which today occupies the Calafia Historical and Cultural Center . The exact border between the territories of the missionary orders in the Californias was established in 1773 by Francisco Palou . The border of the southern part of the territory, known as “Vieja California” or Baja California, was located in the Rosarito Beaches , about 25 km south of the current international border. The northern part known as “New California” and later Alta California, reached as far as the Oregon Territory . [3]
Alta California
File: Limits of the Californias.png
Political limits of the Californias.
Template: Color painting of the Palau Line (1773)
Template: Color painting of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
Template: Color painting of the Mesilla Treaty (1853)
Template: Color painting of the Gila River ( border of Alta California until 1853 )
Template: Color painting Limit of Baja California Sur (1930)
Alta California was separated from Baja California after the expulsion of the Jesuits, for the missions, but it was not administratively separated. The existing missions in Baja California were granted to the Dominicans and the Franciscans were in charge of developing missions in Alta California. The first mission in Alta California was the San Diego de Alcalá Mission , founded in 1769.
The Laws of the Indies , which regulated the social, political, and economic life of the American part of the Hispanic Monarchy, included plans to establish secular populations in Alta California. As in Baja California, presidios were founded to protect missionaries. The first population in Alta California was San José de Guadalupe , founded the 29 of November of 1777 , followed by Our Lady, Queen of Angels , founded 4 of September of 1781 .
In 1804, the Californias were administratively separated and each province had its own governor.
After becoming independent from Spain in 1821 , the Mexican Empire united the territories under the name of the Province of the Californias . After the dissolution of the Empire, the federal Republic of the United Mexican States was created and due to their low population the Californias were not admitted as states, but they were separated again, becoming Federal Territories . [4]
In 1835, with the establishment of the Centralist Republic , Las Californias were again united to form the Department of the Californias . [5]
In 1848, as a result of the war between Mexico and the United States , Mexico lost Alta California. Due to the negotiations of Manuel de la Peña and Peña , I keep Baja California and the strait of land that connects it with Sonora . The border was moved approximately 25 km to the north, and that same border located by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the one that is currently preserved as an international border. [6] [7]
Alta California was finally admitted as a federal state of the United States of America on September 9 , 1850 , as the state of California .
Baja California
After losing Alta California, the territory of the peninsula continued to be administered as a federal Territory, depending directly on the federal government.
In 1853 , the United States government appointed James Gadsden as minister in Mexico and ordered him to try to buy the entire Mexican territory above parallel 25 ° North in exchange for a sum of 50 million dollars, as a second option, the purchase of the territory. above parallel 30 ° North plus the Baja California peninsula , the Mexican government refused to sell territory, so the US government chose to negotiate a border line in the Mesilla Valleythat it was favorable, using as a pretext the lack of an adequate topographic determination of the border, which had already been carried out. The negotiations began when the Mexican government anticipated that the US would take any means to remake the borders, so it preferred to negotiate only the sale of the Mesilla . [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Mexico once again managed to keep Baja California as part of its territory.
The 30 of December of 1930 , the Congress and state legislatures passed amendments to the Constitution by which the created Northern Territory of Baja California and South Territory of Baja California , the starting point would be the 28th parallel, They were published in the Official Gazette on February 7 , 1931 . [14]
The 16 of January of 1952 , the Northern Territory of Baja California was admitted as the 28th state number of the Mexican Union . [fifteen]
The 8 of October of 1974 , after remaining as federal territory for more than 150 years, Southern Baja California Territory was admitted as the state 30 (31 was Quintana Roo), giving Mexico its current configuration
