Mexican Rancho Period, 1821-1848

Title

Mexican Rancho Period, 1821-1848

Description

In the early 1800s, Mexicans revolted against Spanish colonial rule and gained independence in 1821. During the Mexican Period of 1821-1848, the Catholic Church lost most of its land holdings in Alta California except for property surrounding church buildings. After secularization in 1833, a wholesale transfer of land grants to the Californios (la gente de razon–the Christianized residents) took place. Ranchos employed between twenty and several hundred laborers. The original plan to grant the land to the converted Indians was never implemented. A social system of seigneurialism took hold in which Californio rancheros, the land owners, and their mestizo and Indio laborers lived in a world of mutual obligation. In this paternal system, rancheros provided housing, food, and clothing to workers in exchange for their labor.

During the combined Spanish and Mexican rancho periods, 500 land grants were issued, with the majority (450) carved from mission land holdings after secularization. Mexico’s 1824 Law of Colonization specified that the maximum land grant could be 48,400 acres, with the average being 22,000 acres. No longer restricted to trading only with Spanish galleons, Mexicans began engaging in “the hide and tallow trade” internationally. Mexican hides, known as “California dollars,” were used to make shoes, leather belts, and other items, helping propel the United States’ early industrial revolution of the 1820s and 1830s.

Scholar Talk

https://vimeo.com/811441701/cd2acca19b

https://vimeo.com/811441775/d48ed757da

https://vimeo.com/811441940/ffee9b6d70

Additional Online Information

Mexican California | Library of Congress

Land Grants in Alta California

Battle of Santa Clara - Clio

Californio Society — Calisphere

Witness to Empire: The Life of Antonio Maria Sunol

Identifier

B4SV Exhibit Topic One: Slide 007