The California Department (1865−1867) was a department of the Second Mexican Empire , located in Northwestern Mexico .
58-576: The department included all the Baja California peninsula . It did not include any of the former Alta California (the present-day U.S. state of California ), which was ceded to the U.S. in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . It was established by an imperial decree on March 3, 1865, which specified: Department of California . Confined on the north with the United States. To
116-435: A republican government in 1824, Alta California, like many northern territories, was not recognized as one of the constituent States of Mexico because of its small population. The 1824 Constitution of Mexico refers to Alta California as a "territory". Resentment was increasing toward appointed territorial governors sent from Mexico City, who came with little knowledge of local conditions and concerns. Laws were imposed by
174-590: A 1716 decree for extension of the conquest (of Baja California) which came to nothing. Juan Bautista de Anssa proposed an expedition from Sonora in 1737 and the Council of the Indies planned settlements in 1744, although these plans did not take action. Don Fernando Sánchez Salvador researched the earlier proposals and suggested the area of the Gila and Colorado Rivers as the locale for forts or presidios preventing
232-448: A 2,000-year-old layer of non-decomposed roots, or peat , up to 4 metres (13 ft) under the desert mangroves. The peat layer acts like a sponge for stored atmospheric carbon, a record of sea-level-rise is also recorded in the peat layer. The desert mangroves restricted to rocky inlets on the rugged coast of Baja California have been growing over their own root remains over thousands of years to compensate for sea-level rise, accumulating
290-475: A ceasefire was arranged. After an unsettled period, Alvarado agreed to support the 1839 constitution, and Mexico City appointed him to serve as governor from 1837 to 1842. Other Californio governors followed, including Carlos Antonio Carrillo , and Pío Pico . The last non-Californian governor, Manuel Micheltorena , was driven out after another rebellion in 1845. Micheltorena was replaced by Pío Pico, last Mexican governor of California , who served until 1846 when
348-635: A peninsula but based on the presence of blue abalone shells (most likely Haliotis fulgens ) from the Pacific coast in the Pimería Alta, the information from natives, and his own travels and sightings, Eusebio Kino redrew the map in 1701. The map was printed in 1707 in Hamburg and Leipzig and became one of the best-known maps of northern New Spain. A notable colleague of Eusebio Kino who accompanied him on one of his major travels (in 1694) and acted as
406-662: A petition to the governor in 1782 which stated that the Mission Indians owned both the land and cattle and represented the Ohlone against the Spanish settlers in nearby San José. The priests reported that Indians' crops were being damaged by the pueblo settlers' livestock and that the settlers' livestock was also "getting mixed up with the livestock belonging to the Indians from the mission" causing losses. They advocated that
464-468: A result of the subduction of the Farallon Plate millions of years ago all along the margin of North America. Climate The climate of Baja California peninsula is predominantly a hot desert climate , with the northern parts featuring a Mediterranean climate, and contains some dots of Mediterranean and hot semi arid climate along all of the peninsula. The two most prominent capes along
522-626: A separate territory until 1836. In 1836, the Siete Leyes constitutional reforms reunited both Californias in the Departamento de las Californias . After 1848, the Baja California peninsula again became a Mexican territory when Alta California was ceded to the United States (see 1854 map). In 1931, Baja California Territory was divided into northern and southern territories. In 1952, the " Territory of Baja California Norte " became
580-569: A single departamento ) in Mexico's 1836 Siete Leyes (Seven Laws) constitutional reform, granting it more autonomy. That change was undone in 1846, but rendered moot by the outcome of the Mexican–American War in 1848, when most of the areas formerly comprising Alta California were ceded to the U.S. in the treaty which ended the war . In 1850, California joined the union as the 31st state . The El Camino Real trail established by
638-471: A thick layer of peat below their roots. However, mangroves in flat coastal floodplains have accumulated a thinner peat layer. The Peninsular Ranges form the backbone of the peninsula. They are an uplifted and eroded Jurassic to Cretaceous batholith , part of the same original batholith chain which formed much of the Sierra Nevada mountains in U.S. California. This chain was formed primarily as
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#1732765227685696-464: Is known colloquially as Baja by American and Canadian tourists, and is known for its natural environment . It draws ecotourists who go whale watching for migrating California gray whales as well as tourists that arrive to the resorts on the southern tip of the peninsula. Its location between the North Pacific and Gulf of California give it a reputation for sports fishing . Since 1967,
754-907: Is separated from mainland Mexico by the Gulf of California and the Colorado River . There are four main desert areas on the peninsula: the San Felipe Desert, the Central Coast Desert, the Vizcaíno Desert , and the Magdalena Plain Desert. The name of California existed as a myth among European explorers before it was discovered. The earliest known mention of the idea of California was in the 1510 romance novel Las Sergas de Esplandián by Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo . The book described
812-627: Is the capital. The southern part, below 28° north, is the state of Baja California Sur . The citizens of Baja California Sur are named sudcalifornianos ("South Californians" in English). La Paz is its capital. The Baja California peninsula was once a part of the North American Plate , the tectonic plate of which mainland Mexico remains a part. About 12 to 15 million years ago the East Pacific Rise began cutting into
870-520: Is used by some. Although cartographers such as Abraham Ortelius showed the Baja as an extensive peninsula in his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum , published in Antwerpen in 1589, and on the map Maris Pacifici from 1589, in the first half of the 17th century the idea of California as an island spread again; this persisted well into the 18th century, and was included in many erroneous maps that did not have
928-672: The Franciscan friar Junípero Serra and Gaspar de Portolá in San Diego in 1769. Similar to the site of this mission, subsequent missions and presidios were often founded at the site of Indigenous villages. Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was founded at the Tongva village Toviscanga and the Pueblo de Los Ángeles at the village of Yaanga . The first settlers of Los Angeles were African and mulatto Catholics, including at least ten of
986-698: The Imperial Fault and the San Andreas Fault . The Baja California peninsula is now part of the Pacific Plate and is moving with it away from the East Pacific Rise in a north northwestward direction. Along the coast north of Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur is a prominent volcanic activity area . Volcanoes of the peninsula and adjacent islands include: Researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography have found
1044-718: The Island of California as being west of the Indies , "very close to the side of the Terrestrial Paradise; and it is peopled by black women, without any man among them, for they live in the manner of Amazons ". The Baja peninsula was originally believed by the first Spanish sea explorers to be an island, and acquired the name California, after the mythical paradise inspired by the historic Califor region in Floptropica. Following Hernán Cortés 's conquest of Mexico ,
1102-533: The Presidio of San Diego at the site of the Kumeyaay village of Kosa'aay , which became the first European settlement in the present state of California. At first contact, the villagers provided food and water for the expedition, who were suffering from scurvy and water deprivation . The first Alta California mission was founded that same year adjacent to the village Mission San Diego de Alcalá , founded by
1160-404: The "Red Sea"). The Spaniards gave the name Las Californias to the peninsula and lands to the north, including both Baja California and Alta California , the region that became parts of the present-day U.S. states of California , Nevada , Utah , Arizona , and parts of Colorado and Wyoming . Over time the name "Sea of Cortez" replaced Vermillion Sea, and today the term "Gulf of California"
1218-532: The 1768 naval expedition of Pyotr Krenitsyn and Mikhail Levashov alarmed the Spanish government and served to justify Gálvez's vision. The Portolá expedition was the first European land-entry expedition into the area that is now California. The missionaries and soldiers encountered numerous Indigenous peoples of the area , who became the primary subjects of the expanding Jesuit and Franciscan missions that were already established in Baja California and Baja California Sur . The expedition first established
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#17327652276851276-460: The 1769 Portola expedition first established a military/civil government, and the local political structures were unchanged. The friction came to a head in 1836, when Monterey-born Juan Bautista Alvarado led a revolt against the 1836 constitution, seizing control of Monterey from Nicolás Gutiérrez . Alvarado's actions nearly led to a civil war with loyalist forces based in Los Angeles, but
1334-477: The 29th State of Mexico as Baja California . In 1974, the " Territory of Baja California Sur " became the 31st state as Baja California Sur . The northern part is the state of Baja California . It is sometimes informally referred to as Baja California Norte , to distinguish it from both the Baja California peninsula and the adjacent state Baja California Sur. The citizens of Baja California are named bajacalifornianos ("Lower Californians" in English). Mexicali
1392-461: The Baja California peninsula from the large island of Isla Ángel de la Guarda in the Gulf of California. The peninsula is home to several distinct ecoregions . Most of the peninsula is deserts and xeric shrublands , although pine-oak forests are found in the mountains at the northern and southern ends of the peninsula. The southern tip of the peninsula, which was formerly an island, has many species with affinities to tropical Mexico. The peninsula
1450-674: The Californios. In 1846, following reports of the annexation of Texas to the United States, American settlers in inland Northern California took up arms, captured the Mexican garrison town of Sonoma, and declared independence there as the California Republic . At the same time, the United States and Mexico had gone to war, and forces of the United States Navy entered into Alta California and took possession of
1508-587: The French or the English from "occupying Monterey and invading the neighboring coasts of California which are at the mouth of the Carmel River ." Alta California was not easily accessible from New Spain: land routes were cut off by deserts and Indigenous peoples who were hostile to invasion. Sea routes ran counter to the southerly currents of the distant northwestern Pacific. Ultimately, New Spain did not have
1566-604: The Indigenous people be allowed to own property and have the right to defend it. In 1804, due to the growth of the Spanish population in new northern settlements, the province of Las Californias was divided just south of San Diego, following mission president Francisco Palóu's division between the Dominican and Franciscan jurisdictions. Governor Diego de Borica is credited with defining the border between Alta (upper) and Baja (lower) California 's as Palóu's division , while
1624-655: The Netherlands, and eventually found its way to Henry Briggs in London who widely disseminated this misinformation. The first printed map showing California as an island was published by Briggs in 1622 (this map was also included in Hakluytus Posthumus by Samuel Purchas , 1625), where it was written that it was sometimes supposed to be a peninsula, but had since been shown by the Dutch to be an island. The idea
1682-413: The Pacific coastline of the peninsula are Punta Eugenia , located about halfway up the coast, and Cabo San Lázaro , located about a quarter of the way north from Cabo San Lucas. The Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay , the largest bay in Baja, lies along the Pacific coast halfway up the peninsula. The large Cedros Island is situated between the bay and the Pacific, just north of Punta Eugenia. Onshore southeast of
1740-686: The Spanish extended from Mexico City west to Santa Fe , and California, as well as east to Florida . To the southeast, beyond the deserts and the Colorado River , lay the Spanish settlements in Arizona . Spanish soldiers, settlers, and missionaries invaded the homelands of the Indigenous peoples of California , people of the Great Basin , and the Pueblo peoples in the establishment of Alta California. Evidence of Alta California remains in
1798-630: The U.S. military occupation began. In the final decades of Mexican rule, American and European immigrants arrived and settled in the former Alta California. Those in Southern California mainly settled in and around the established coastal settlements and tended to intermarry with the Californios. In Northern California, they mainly formed new settlements further inland, especially in the Sacramento Valley , and these immigrants focused on fur-trapping and farming and kept apart from
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1856-425: The United States and Spain, established the northern limit of Alta California at latitude 42°N, which remains the boundary between the states of California, Nevada and Utah (to the south) and Oregon and Idaho (to the north) to this day. Mexico won independence in 1821, and Alta California became a territory of Mexico the next year. Mexico gained independence from Spain on August 24, 1821, upon conclusion of
1914-543: The age of two. The precolonial Indigenous population of California is estimated to have numbered around 340,000 people, who were diverse culturally and linguistically. From 1769–1832, at least 87,787 baptisms and 63,789 deaths of Indigenous peoples occurred, demonstrating the immense death rate at the missions in Alta California. Conversion to Christianity at the colonial missions was often resisted by Indigenous peoples in Alta California. Many missionaries in
1972-656: The bay is the Desierto de Vizcaino , an extensive desert lying between the Sierra Vizcaino to the west, and the Tres Virgenes range which runs along the Gulf of California to the east. The largest bays along the coastline of the Gulf are Bahia de La Paz where the city of La Paz is located, and Bahia Concepcion . The Bahía de los Ángeles is a small bay located west of the Canal de las Ballenas which separates
2030-628: The central government without much consideration of local conditions, such as the Mexican secularization act of 1833 , causing friction between governors and the people. In 1836, Mexico repealed the 1824 federalist constitution and adopted a more centralist political organization (under the " Seven Laws ") that reunited Alta and Baja California in a single California Department ( Departamento de las Californias ). The change, however, had little practical effect in far-off Alta California. The capital of Alta California remained Monterey, as it had been since
2088-478: The decade-long Mexican War of Independence . As the successor state to the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Mexico automatically included the provinces of Alta California and Baja California as territories. Alta California declared allegiance to the new Mexican nation and elected a representative to be sent to Mexico City. On November 9, 1822, the first legislature of California was created. With the establishment of
2146-567: The department was. This Mexican history article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Baja California peninsula The Baja California peninsula ( Spanish : Península de Baja California , lit. 'Lower California peninsula') is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico . It separates the Gulf of California from the Pacific Ocean . The peninsula extends from Mexicali , Baja California , in
2204-561: The division became the political reality under José Joaquín de Arrillaga , who would become the first governor of Alta California. The cortes (legislature) of New Spain issued a decree in 1813 for at least partial secularization that affected all missions in America and was to apply to all outposts that had operated for ten years or more; however, the decree was never enforced in California. The Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, between
2262-552: The east with the Department of Arizona , from which it is separated by the Colorado River , and with the Sea of Cortez . To the south and west with the Pacific Ocean . All the islands that in both seas in fact and law correspond and should have corresponded to Mexico remain within its jurisdiction. Its capital shall be the port of La Paz . The present-day Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur are located where
2320-527: The economic resources nor population to settle such a far northern outpost. Spanish interest in colonizing Alta California was revived under the visita of José de Gálvez as part of his plans to completely reorganize the governance of the Interior Provinces and push Spanish settlement further north. In subsequent decades, news of Russian colonization and maritime fur trading in Alaska, and
2378-786: The flag of the State of California. After the United States Navy's seizure of the cities of southern California, the Californios formed irregular units, which were victorious in the Siege of Los Angeles , and after the arrival of the United States Army , fought in the Battle of San Pasqual and the Battle of Domínguez Rancho . But the Californios were defeated in subsequent encounters, the battles of Río San Gabriel and La Mesa . The southern Californios formally surrendered with
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2436-634: The intermediary in the publication of this map and dissemination of Kino's knowledge in Europe was Carniolan priest Marcus Antonius Kappus [ es ] . The province of the Californias was united until 1804, in the Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain , when it was divided into Alta (upper) and Baja (lower) California. The two Californias division was kept after Mexican independence in 1821. The Spanish Baja California Province became Mexican Baja California Territory , and remained
2494-421: The knowledge of the Spanish sailors about the Pacific coast of North America. It is believed to have originated with Carmelite friar Antonio Ascension, who around 1620 drew a map of California depicting it as an island, supposedly on a misconception of reports by Spanish navigators Juan de Fuca and Martin d'Aquilar. A copy of this map was sent to Spain and was seized by the Dutch on its way and then reproduced in
2552-589: The margin of the North American Plate, initiating the separation of the peninsula from it. Spreading within the Gulf of California consists of short oblique rifts or ridge segments connected by long northwest trending transform faults , which together comprise the Gulf of California Rift Zone . The north end of the rift zone is located in the Brawley seismic zone in the Salton Sea basin between
2610-630: The missions until they were secularized, beginning in 1833. The transfer of property never occurred under the Franciscans. As the number of Spanish settlers grew in Alta California, the boundaries and natural resources of the mission properties became disputed. Conflicts between the Crown and the Church arose over land. State and ecclesiastical bureaucrats debated over authority of the missions. The Franciscan priests of Mission Santa Clara de Asís sent
2668-424: The north to Cabo San Lucas , Baja California Sur , in the south. With a length of 1,247 km (775 miles), its width ranges from 40 km (25 miles) at its narrowest to 320 km (200 miles) at its widest point and has approximately 3,000 km (1,900 miles) of coastline and approximately 65 islands. The total area of the Baja California peninsula is 143,390 km (55,360 sq mi). The peninsula
2726-552: The northern port cities of Monterey and San Francisco. The forces of the California Republic, upon encountering the United States Navy and, from them, learning of the state of war between Mexico and the United States, abandoned their independence and proceeded to assist the United States forces in securing the remainder of Alta California. The California Republic was never recognized by any nation and existed for less than one month, but its flag (the "Bear Flag") survives as
2784-598: The numerous Spanish place names of American cities such as Las Vegas , Los Angeles , Sacramento , San Bernardino , San Diego , San Francisco , San Jose , Santa Ana , and Santa Rosa . Father Eusebio Kino missionized the Pimería Alta from 1687 until his death in 1711. In 1697, a Jesuit expansion into California was funded and the Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó was established that same year. Plans in 1715 by Juan Manuel de Oliván Rebolledo resulted in
2842-576: The peninsula has hosted the Baja 1000 , an off-road race that begins in Ensenada and ends in La Paz . Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as Nueva California ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula , it had previously comprised the province of Las Californias , but
2900-596: The province wrote of their frustrations with teaching Indigenous people to internalize Catholic scripture and practice. Many Indigenous people learned to navigate religious expectations at the missions with complex social behaviors in order to maintain their cultural and religious practices. In 1784, the Spanish established the first rancho, Rancho San Pedro , as a 48,000 acre site for cattle grazing . Nine ranchos were subsequently established before 1800. Spanish, and later Mexican, governments rewarded retired soldados de cuera with large land grants, known as ranchos , for
2958-461: The raising of cattle and sheep . Hides and tallow from the livestock were the primary exports of California until the mid-19th century. Similar to the missions, the construction, ranching and domestic work on these vast estates was primarily done by Indigenous peoples , who learned to speak Spanish and ride horses. Under Spanish and Mexican rule, the ranchos prospered and grew. Rancheros (cattle ranchers) and pobladores (townspeople) evolved into
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#17327652276853016-507: The recently re-discovered Los Pobladores . Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded at the Acjachemen village of Acjacheme . Mission San Fernando was founded at Achooykomenga . As the Spanish and civilian settlers further intruded into Indigenous lands and imposed their practices, ideas of property, and religion onto them backed by the force of soldiers and settlers, Indigenous peoples formed rebellions on Spanish missions and settlements. A major rebellion at Mission San Gabriel in 1785
3074-399: The search for the fabled Strait of Anián connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific helped motivate him to send several expeditions to the west coast of New Spain in the 1530s and early 1540s. In 1539, explorer Francisco de Ulloa proved that Baja California was a peninsula rather than an island, and named the water separating it from the mainland the "Vermillion Sea" (sometimes referred to as
3132-504: The unique Californio culture. By law, mission land and property were to pass to the Indigenous population after a period of about ten years, when the Indigenous people would become Spanish subjects. In the interim period, the Franciscans were to act as mission administrators who held the land in trust for the Indigenous residents. The Franciscans, however, prolonged their control over the missions even after control of Alta California passed from Spain to independent Mexico, and continued to run
3190-503: Was led by the medicine woman Toypurina . Runaways from the missions were common, where abuse, malnourishment, and overworking were common features of daily life. Runaways would sometimes find shelter at more distant villages, such as a group of runaways who found refuge at the Vanyume village of Wá'peat , the chief of which refused to give them up. Many children died young at the missions. One missionary reported that 3 of every 4 children born at Mission San Gabriel died before reaching
3248-417: Was made a separate province in 1804 (named Nueva California ). Following the Mexican War of Independence , it became a territory of Mexico in April 1822 and was renamed Alta California in 1824. The territory included all of the present-day U.S. states of California , Nevada , and Utah , and parts of Arizona , Wyoming , and Colorado . The territory was re-combined with Baja California (as
3306-456: Was struck by an influential map created by Italian Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino during his mission in the Pimería Alta . It was titled Paso por tierra a la California y sus confinantes nuevas Naciones y Misiones nuevas de la Compañía de JHS [Jesús] en la América Septentrional ("Overland Passage to California and its Contiguous New Nations and New Missions of the Society of Jesus in Northern America"). Originally, in 1695, it depicted California as
3364-430: Was warmly accepted by cartographers and presented even in c. 1720 on Carte Nouveelle de la Mer du Sud , published in Amsterdam by Andries and Hendrik de Leth [ nl ] . Garcia and Jorge opined in 2023 that a reason for such a mistake could have originated in the secret in which the Spaniards held their cartography from other European powers' eyes. The final blow to the notion of California as an island
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