The United States had been constantly expanding west in the early 1800s at the cost of the Native Americans. By west, I mean about as far as the Mississippi River is being colonized. But in the far west the land was still mostly untouched by American settlers. California was one of the exceptions.
The Bay Area was first "discovered" by the Spaniards in 1579 when Francis Drake sailed into what late became San Francisco. Later in the late 1700s, many Missionaries were established along the coast. Missionaries weren't established in San Francisco until the early 1800s. Around this time, the Indians relationship with the Spaniards had its hiccups but wasn't as bad as the natives from Mexico and other areas of Spanish control.
By 1821 the new country of Mexico had gained its independence from Spain and had access to California. At this point the Missionaries were converting less and less natives. The native population had also started to get hit by diseases. As the Missions started to slow down, the land grants started to increase. The large ranchos that were granted to mostly families of Missionaries were averaging out at 19,000 acres per rancho. Land disputes were very common because nothing was ever marked. They were never surveyed or recorded. There was also no property tax in California under Mexican control because the government relied on tariffs. Most of the settlements were further south with a few north up to the Bay Area and Sacramento.
Up north in Oregon Country. The land was disputed between Great Britain, France, Russia, and Spain. The United States wouldn't enter this dispute until Spain optioned out. The land spread from the bottom of the current state of Oregon to parts of present day Alaska. The US first settled in Oregon country when Lewis and Clark came upon the land in 1805. A few years later, Britain's North West Company settled in the area. Eventually the US and England would dominate the conflict. The dispute continued until 1841 when the Oregon Treaty was signed, giving present day Canada to Great Britain and present day Oregon and Washington to the United States.
California would become a state in 1850 and Oregon in 1859. Washington wouldn't become a state until 1889.
Hi Charles,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog, I'm now aware of all the culture conflicts that could of taken place as you described how there was not only Spanish colonizers in California, but also natives from Mexico and different Indian tribes. Adding on to your point, later as the US gained California territory from the Mexican War, many immigrants and Americans from the East began to settle there during the Gold Rush, further contributing to the cultural tensions. In fact, many white miners organized groups to try and expel foreign miners such as Mexican, Chileans, Chinese, and American Indians from the areas with gold. In addition, some Americans even went to the extent of killing Indians and state officials paid for private militias to launch attacks on the state's Indians. However, today California is home to the largest number of Native Americans as it is one of the most diverse states in the US.