The Californias
Region of western North America
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Through Region, North America and Department (administrative division)
Originally a single, vast entity within the Spanish Empire, administration was split into Baja California (Lower California) and Alta California (Upper California) following the Mexican War of Independence. As a part of the Mexican–American War (1846–48), the Conquest of California saw the vast Alta California territory ceded from Mexico to the United States. The populated coastal region of the territory was admitted into the Union in 1850 as the State of California, while the vast, sparsely populated interior region would only later gain statehood as Nevada, Utah, and parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, and Colorado.
Today, "the Californias" is a collective term to refer to the American and Mexican states bearing the name California, which share geography, history, cultures, and strong economic ties. The Commission of the Californias is a tri-lateral forum for cooperation between the three Californian state governments.
Etymology
There has been understandable confusion about use of the plural Californias by Spanish colonial authorities. California historian Theodore Hittell offered the following explanation:
In very early times, while the country was supposed to be an island or rather several islands, it was commonly known by the plural appellation of "Las Californias" (The Californias). Afterwards, when its peninsular character was ascertained, it was called simply California; but the territory so designated was unlimited in extent. When the expeditions for the settlement of San Diego and Monterey marched, it was understood that they were going, not out of California, but into a new part of it. The peninsula then began to be generally spoken of as Antigua or Old California and the unlimited remainder as Nueva or New California, subsequently more commonly called Alta or Upper California. At the same time the old plural name of The Californias was revived, but with a more definite signification than before.
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History
The first attempted Spanish occupation of California was by the Jesuit missionary Eusebio Kino, in 1683. His Misión San Bruno failed, however, and it was not until 1697 that Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó was successfully established by another Jesuit, Juan María de Salvatierra. The mission became the nucleus of Loreto, first permanent settlement and first administrative center of the province. The Jesuits went on to found a total of 18 missions in the lower two-thirds of the Baja California Peninsula.
Province of New Spain
In 1767, the Jesuits were expelled from the missions, and Franciscans were brought in to take over. Gaspar de Portolá was appointed governor to supervise the transition. At the same time, a new visitador, José de Gálvez, was dispatched from Spain with authority to organize and expand the fledgling province.
The more ambitious province name, Las Californias, was established by a joint dispatch to the King from Viceroy de Croix and visitador José de Gálvez, dated January 28, 1768. Gálvez sought to make a distinction between the Antigua ('old') area of established settlement and the Nueva ('new') unexplored areas to the north. At that time, almost the only explored and settled areas of the province were around the former Jesuit missions but, once exploration and settlement of the northern frontier began in earnest, the geographical designations Alta ('upper') and Baja ('lower') gained favor.
The single province was divided in 1804, into Alta California province and Baja California province. By the time of the 1804 split, the Alta province had expanded to include coastal areas as far north as what is now the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. Expansion came through exploration and colonization expeditions led by Portolá (1769), his successor Pedro Fages (1770), Juan Bautista de Anza (1774–76), the Franciscan missionaries and others. The capital of Alta California was Monterey. Independent Mexico retained the division but demoted the former provinces to territories, due to populations too small for statehood.
Department of Mexico
In 1836, the designation Las Californias was revived, reuniting Alta and Baja California into a single departamento (department) as part of the conservative government reforms codified in the Siete Leyes (Seven Laws). The Seven Laws were repealed in 1847, during the Mexican–American War, and the split of the two Californias was restored.
The Californias after 1848
Following Mexico's defeat in the war, most of the former Alta California territory was ceded on 2 February 1848 to the United States, under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The new Mexico–United States border was established slightly to the north of the previous Alta-Baja border, and the terms Las Californias and Alta California were no longer formally used. The areas acquired by the U.S. remained under military authority, pending creation of civilian government through territorial designation and/or statehood.
Baja California in Mexico was established as the Baja California Territory after the War. It was split by the Congress into Northern and Southern territories. Seven new U.S. states were created entirely or partly from land formerly included in the Californias.
- 1850. California became the 31st of the United States.
- 1853. The Gadsden Purchase transferred additional territory from Mexico to the United States.
- 1853. William Walker led a force that attempted to capture the Baja California Territory and Sonora to create an independent Republic of Sonora. Walker was defeated by Mexican forces led by Antonio Meléndrez.
- 1864. Nevada became the 36th of the United States.
- 1876. Colorado became the 38th of the United States.
- 1890. Wyoming became the 44th of the United States.
- 1896. Utah became the 45th of the United States.
- 1912. New Mexico became the 47th of the United States.
- 1912. Arizona became the 48th of the United States.
- 1931. Baja California Territory was divided into the Territory of Baja California Norte and the Territory of Baja California Sur.
- 1952. The Territory of Baja California Norte became the 29th State of Mexico as Baja California.
- 1974. The Territory of Baja California Sur became the 31st State of Mexico as Baja California Sur.
Geography
The Baja California Peninsula is bordered on three sides by water, the Pacific Ocean (south and west) and Gulf of California (east); while Alta California had the Pacific Ocean on the west and deserts on the east. A northern boundary was established by the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819. That boundary line remains the northern boundary of the U.S. states of California, Nevada, and the western part of Utah.
Largest cities
Territorial evolution
Inland regions were mostly unexplored by the Spanish, leaving them generally outside the control of the colonial authorities. Mountain ranges of the Peninsular Ranges, eastern Transverse Ranges, and the Sierra Nevada, along with the arid Colorado Desert, Mojave Desert, and Great Basin Desert in their eastern rain shadows, served as natural barriers to Spanish settlement. The eastern border of upper Las Californias was never officially defined under either Spanish or subsequent Mexican rule. The 1781 Instrucciones and government correspondence described Alta California ("Upper California") as the areas to the west of the Sierra Nevada and the lower part of the Colorado River in the Lower Colorado River Valley (the river forms the present-day border between the states of California and Arizona).