2026/01/01 by Rose Marie Beebe, Robert M. Senkewicz
Social Sciences · #Archaeology and Natural History #Latin American and Latino Studies #Politics and Society in Latin America
paper · doi:10.1525/ch.2026.103.3.65
openalex publication_date 2026/01/01 · openalex created_date 2026/07/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
When the United States invaded Alta California in 1846, the region was home to hundreds of ranchos, often owned by the Mexican California elite. This group, many of whom had established good relationships with Yankee traders, originally thought that they would do reasonably well in American California. A number of them were delegates to the 1849 California Constitutional Convention and members of the first California legislature. However, the Gold Rush brought in many Americans who resented the fact that much of the best land in coastal California was in the hands of these “foreigners.” In a short amount of time, squatters and new laws that disadvantaged the existing landholders dispossessed many rancheros and put the Mexican community as a whole into an inferior social and economic position.