Earliest California Titles Jorge Vera Estanol

The Reaba Btue Boo:Lol CaUfol"nio"

T h t R e ! 1 l I I t L u cL , a A o f C n l i f a n n

SpanishLand Cirants HOW LANDS IN CALI!-ORNIAWERE AWARDED AND PATENT TITLES THERDTO GRANTED PRIOR TO ITS WITH THE INCORPORATION I]NITED STATES ,1I1lSENOIT JORGE VDRA ESTANOI,

B,usi' ol TitL(s-The Bull ol Poye AIex& der VIIn(Iitltls on(], l11(Iiut Colnnnnities TalNlrs (n(l Cities ol SDtntiet(k unrl Thcir D?scer(lanl.s-Gt,,)tts oJ I'a))ds to Sbaninrds Ctltitornia Unlel the Control of the Reutbli. ol

EOPLE noll (oll|elsaut \rith thc old Sp:u1ish:lld Xllexican latrs n]r]' be irterested irl betoming better acqunirrted $';th the marrl featules of the gencr':rl s] sten under $hich ldnded property passealfron public to Drivate o\l rrership dur irg the Sp^nish and Mex ican domirlatio| in Califol'nia. THE ]] TLL OF POPI] ALEXANDDR VI

.A.{teI Spaill and Poltugal had achieled the discovery and conouest of the larser DaIt of the AmelicaD continent, a gleat dispute ;r'ose as to the q-uesiionof horv that ter]'itory, that had been von by their arnies was to be distributed, and they agrecd to submit this vital question to the albitlation of Pope Alexander, then endowed with great tempolal power, arrd of iDdisputable spiritual influeDce ovcr the whole Chdstian world. This pope issued his famous bull in 1493, awalding to the kings of Poftugal all of th€ disco\.ered tellitory east of a meridian passing th'_oughthe Azores Isl:nds, whereby they acquir€d 1lhat is now known as the Republic of Blazil, rnd the kiDgs of Castilla and Aragon $'ere given all of the te$itoly west of that melidian. In this way the Spanish kings became the Dolitical sove)'eilrs of their colonics in Anler'icr, bv rcnson of conquesl, suptene tiUe of soveleignty among lratiorls, and as holdels of the Crown ol Spain, they :rlrtonatically becAnlethc plopr.ieto].s in fee sinrplc of these lands by \.iliue of don:ttion from thc pope. h1 lhat period to ,.lnruch gleatel de_ gl'ce, no doubt, the DoDewas |egalded as Cod's leplesentative on calth, and as such Lhe liltual depositart ol the divil). Do\\'el enlpowposscssiorsNith fe\r'to djspute such ered to give and to take \yor'ldl-v authorit\'.

Thc Red.l,t!Iil .e Rot* al C(lift)tlur

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Tirerceforth, the l(iDgs of Spain had t{-o aims in mird. The fil.st one was to encouragethe colonization b,v Spani:uds of the conqrered laDds;the secondoDe rvas to reduce the natives to :r sedentall life, and incideDtally con\.crt theD to the Ronan Catholic f:1ith. To attain these fundamental pulposes a systen was adopted whelebi'1he Sparish kings \vcle to make of theil nelrlr-acquiled l:rnds a plivai{j rnolloDoli'. ln eiTect tho s}'stem was orgarlized after ihe folloi/ing plnn: IN]]IANS AND INDIAN COIIIIUNITIES

Filstiy, the Spanish cro$n recognized lhe title oi the nrtivcs to ihe land thcy hcld ir conulunit)' prior to the conqLrest,and jssued specific o1'ders to its agents a d ofnce$ to plotect the aforesrid possessions, \yithout denrandi]lglhe e\hil)iliolr ol tiilr or othef s n,ilhf r- l|L t r's jrs \ i,l'r' - oi 1'5r .5i .'.

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Besid€s this. the Spanish kings turned thei| rll.entioD io thc creationof ne\r Indian towrs. called "reducciones," { telm cqui!alent in a ccltain degrecto 'rrescr'\r:Ltiorls,i' becrLrse, as belor'einlinr:rted,the natives lyere ledlrced to a scdeDtnrl.life and to the Chlistian pl'actices of Catholicisn, instead of livii)g a rvild life iD the mounhjn fastnesses. To cstablish these "r'educciones," graDls ol laDds vith vaters, ' pastures, timbcr'lands anrl easy communication thereto wele gjve These glants comp sed hr.o pnlts, to-\r'it: An ale:, conrmonly 01 two hurdled ard lifti'acres, ]l-hich {"as allotted to lhe townsite (ranled "fundo legal"), in whose center a public square and a church wete located.the balance being devoted to Lhe stlects and d$.cllfug space for the inhabiiants, and a ar'e:tdeloted t(r ''commorrs" ("cjidos"). which usuallv consisted of a litU€ more than four' lhous^nd three hundred and llfty acres, fot. cornnon us^ges by the drvellers, such as wateri)rg piaces for their'live stock, aDd forcsts for fuel. It wzrs also comnoD to give the {anily chiels of the nativcs, for' their personal cultivation, lilUe tracts of lands that were called 'l epar.tilnientos" or irdi\'idual lots. In some (ases, r certain acleage was graltcd to the tovn, as com on l:rrd, the products whereof wele devoted to meet lhe expenditures of comrnorr scrvices, such as lhe teaching of the doctlirle, schools, etc., |hese ploperties bcing designated as "comunidades"or''lrarcialidades." MISSIONS

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Ncighbc,r'insthese coninunities of Indlars, the Spuish Clori'n granted 1'ely often to the missionalies of Sprnish nationality consider-abletlacts of land for theil r'eligious establishmcrlts,expecting in this '!ay to accoml]lish the chlisiianiz:ltioIr of the tamed natives. Such is the oligin of the t*-cnty-one nlissions of Jcsuits. Fr:inciscans, xnd DominicaDs, $ho in Califolnir \r-ele leallr the pion€crs of the Europear (jviliz:rtion, nttaining mole pleponder:rnce and influence than arry of the "lat'" settlen1ents.'I'hc fiI'st of these missions i| thc t c.rr l?69. rvasthe onc ir San D:eso. loLrDded 1'OWNS ,{NfJ aITIES OIi SPINIAnDS

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Ah\D l llDlli

DDSCIIND,\NTS

The est:rblishnlent of rities and to1\'Is wfis also encouraged by the Spanish kings. bt'rneans o{ libe!?l gruts ol l:1 ds to the setUers.

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Ihe Rea,lt! BLueBook af Cal,i,femia

eithe! at the lattet's initiative or by spontaneousaeuot of the govet!or8 of the paovi[ces. The royal orders recommendealthat these towns or citi€e should be at places non-contiguous to tlle Indian ,,!educcio[es," to avoid boundary disputes, &nd that sanitary arear, fit for cultivation, with a benign climatq clear sky and an abu[dance of 'water to drink atrd for irrigation purposes be chosen. The chartels for these towns and cities covered extensioDsof not Iess thsn seventeenthousand acres,-sometimes a much larger acre ag€. This acreage was devoted to the townsite. to the commons.and to the lots tiat were individually deededin fee simple to the settlers, reith the latter's obligation to furnish agricultural implernelh, breeding cattle and other anirnals. It was with charteE of this kild that the citiee Monterey, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San f'raocisco, Los Angele, amdother places,of lesserimportance,were founded. GNANTS OF I.ANDS ro SPANIARDS

The Spanish kings, to compensatefor the war exploits that had won fo! them such big territories, made Eifts of latrds to ure conquerors elnbracing thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands o1 acres, Also the Spanish kings authorized the life concessionof vast exteDsionsof lands to tleir subjects, under the condition that tftey were to extend their protection to the native rural population and to instruct them in the Catholicfaith and its doctrine. It was a kind of fiel named "encomienda" (trust), that with the passing of years becameperyetuallandedowneNhip. It seems,however,th;t noneol theselrusts everdid c\isl in Californil. Furilermore, the Spani.shkings madesnlall granls of iand !o their soldiers. ThesJ g"anls were called "peonias" (infantr},rnanhomestead) or "caballerias" (cavalry-homestead), according to whether the grantee was an infantry or cavalry soldier. The "peolias" comprised a place for the house, a small lot for an orchard and aboutonehundred and fifty acresto be devoiedto the growinq of -tlre cereals. The "caballerias" er'ereusually five times targei than "peonias." Finally, pressedby the need of money to maintain the royal household, and to meet the expenalitures of the many wars iu which Spain war involved, her kings ordereal the alietation of lanals for a comparatively sma,ll consideration to those of their subjects who wishedto sel,tleon and cultivate them. A"..1! the previously inentioned gaants vere rnade iD vague . tems, indicating only approximate directions and distances. tlire arose gteat discrepancies between the measure of the titl€s and thore of the actual possessions,and to correct this evil, the systern of temeasulement and resurveys \{as instituled.iherebvnlakinsuncertain the boundarie< of rhe landcdpropertyin SpanishAmelifu. In {his way. a goorlpo ion of thp landsnow lorming rhe Srateof Califomia, and at the sametime a part of the colonynamedNew Spair, was made the propedy of thq to\ms of natives,the religiousmissions,the towns of Spaniardsor their descendants, and the ofispring of Spanishconquerors,soldiersand civilian setUels.

fhe RL Itu Dlue Botk ol CalilotniL CAI,IFORNIA UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE REPUIJLIC OF MDXICO

In 1821,when the colony became an independent Mexican nation, she adoptedthe Spanish laws regarding the g]antirg of lands, and Califomia. as n palt of the re\l. nation, colltinued to l)e ]uled bI said Spanishiaws, as modificd by Mexico. Up to 1848, whcn Califorrria cexsed to be a parL of llexico and becamea palt of the Anerican nation, the laws concemiDg the alienation of public properties suffered b|lt s]ight changes and all grantings continuedto be made the same as urder the colonial regime, the only changebejDglhAt, insteAd of the viceroy, or the Audience, oI thc lntendents,the president of the r€public, or the govelnor, or' chief execu, tive of the Califolnias issued the litles. However'. some sDecialdisDosilionsarF r^ be po'r t"d out. Anxious to populate her vast areas of ten'itolv. as well as to attain to their inprovement and cultiration, the re*' Mcxican ration profferedlands to Joreigrte|s:rnd natir.cs, r.hethel i dividuals or Iamilies,or to colonizingentelprises. (Au$rst 18th, 182.1.) Later on, a neiv lalv authorized the chief executive of the territories, including the Cali{ornias, to deed the lands, subject to the approvalof the so-called "T€rritorial Deputations," or of the national government. These grants were made lvith the provision that the settlersor colonists should cultivate and maintaiD the lands populated for a ce{air lengl.h of time, as set fo1'th in the title, under. Denalty of fodeitule. After DroDer e\'idelcc 1\,ilsre deled thai said conditions $er.efidfilled, the lands bcca e a ille\,ocable priv:rte propeltr. The arcasinchded irr thesc glaDts lar.ied in size, but coukl not bc less than oneand thlee four'lhs actes IoI the house lot. sever a(r'cs of ilfisabie l a n d , . rF ' u . d r p d 1 1 , J . \ ' ' e : . ,- u i . l ' i - l l : , r rl s , . , r r , lr s u t . . r : , l r r ' A " fifty aclesol glazirg lards (Novenber 21st, 1828). As the missions had acquired great iDfluenca and -the lands they owned were of too large sizes, the National Governrnent deened it necessaryto seculArizeor nationalize their holdings; that is, to retur'rl their vast land aleas to tbe nation, making in tulr possible the granting of these lands to private individuals; and the Government carried out this secularization through, reser-ving to the missions, however, the land necessaryfor' the p:uish, the living qualters of the priest and his assistants, and the schools and othcr establishments, ztnd shops, and so folth. (Ausust '17th, 18J::1.) Then the National Govemment, in older lo enhance the colonization, empowered the chief executives of the Califonias to grant to bona-fidecolonists the secularized properties takeD back i'on1 the missioDs, this being thr, ol'igirl ol rnanv ol the cstnles lnror,| rs the properties of the old Spanish families in Califonlia. (Nov. 26th, 1833.) On March 29th, 1843, at the city o{ Ins Angeles, Governor tr{icheltolen^ issuad a declec, recognizing the legal existcnce of the missions of San Diego, San Luis Rey, San Juan Capistrano, San Cabriel. San fer_nando, Sall Buen: 'eirtur'a, Santa ISarbala, Santa Inez,La PLrrisimr.S:u Antonio, S:urtaClala:ud Sno Jose.coDlir'nling, oncennd Ior all, the glants of lA ds to pli|ate indiriduAls oI

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The Redta BIM Book of Catriforn t

enterprises, which had formerly belong€d to the missioDs and were recoverd by the government, and finally reserving to the recognized missions what little land they still held, for their own support and the upkeep of the natives of the missions. In this wey the lands of what is today California were dis_ tributed among the cities and tovns of Spaniartls, the very few existjng "reducciones"or reselvationsof Indians,lhe missionswhoselegal existencewas expresslyrecognizedand t}le estatesgtanted to civil and military Spaniards and Mexicans. respectively, duriDg th€ Colordal regime, and the Mexlcan administratiof that succeededit] By the Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty, refomed ir1 La Mesilla, whereby Cslifonia becamepalt of the United States of America, the American govemment ag.eed to recogrize all titles issued by the MexicaD government and by the Spanish Crown, and inhedted the civil ownelship in fee simple of all ihe lands which thereiofore had not been granted to individualsoI corporations.