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Photo: Pio de Jesus Pico, c. 1800s, the last governor of Alta California, Mexico. |
The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict which ended the rule of Spain in 1821. During the period that Los Angeles was part of Mexico (1821-1840), Blacks were an active part of Mexican society. Africans had been instrumental in the nation's successful war against Spanish colonization.
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Portrait of Vicente Guerrero (1782-1831), 19th c. snuffbox. |
By 1850, the U.S. had won the Mexican-American War. This meant that Blacks residing in the California region could be subject to legal slavery again under U.S. colonial rule. The question of slavery extension under the United State's annexation of California became a central question. Based on the abolition of slavery in 1829 throughout Mexico, introducing slavery into California -- where African Americans in California had governed in key administrative roles under Mexico's governance -- would be difficult.
The editor of the Alta California, February 22, 1849, stated the case against introducing African slavery into California:
“The majority—four-fifths, we believe—of the inhabitants of California are opposed to slavery. They believe it to be an evil and a wrong * * and while they would rigidly and faithfully protect the vested rights of the South, they deem it a high moral duty to prevent its extension and aid its extinction by every honorable means.”In a vote of 150 to 56 approving entry of California into the union of states, the California bill was passed in the U.S. House on September 7, 1850. Two days later, the Senate concurred and the U.S. President provided his approval. California would enter the union of states as a non-slave state.
This is interesting, especially when the history is compared to that of Florida where black people were free, then slaves, then free again. http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-gift-america-didnt-know-it-wanted-florida?utm_content=buffer7d4aa&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
ReplyDeleteExcellent information
ReplyDeleteThe same ones talking about prohibiting Black slavery, were righting laws making it okay to in salve the Natives and offering bounties for the scalps of indians and aiding in their genocide. There were no blacks in California and if they did, they would of enslaved them too!
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