Earliest California Titles Jorge Vera Estanol

8/14/2019 Earliest California Titles Jorge Vera Estanol

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

Spanish and CirantsHOWLANDS N CALI!-ORNIAWERE AWARDEDAND PATENTTITLES THERDTO GRANTED PRIOR TO ITSINCORPORATION ITH THEI]NITED STATES

,1I1lSENOIT JORGE VDRA ESTANOI,

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

EOPLE noll (oll|elsaut \rith thc old Sp:u1ish lld Xllexican atrsn]r]' be irterested irl betoming better acqunirrted$';th the marrlfeatules of the gencr':rls] sten under $hich ldnded propertypassealron public to Drivate o\l rrership dur rg the Sp^nish and Mexican domirlatio| in Califol'nia.

THE ]] TLL OF POPI] ALEXANDDR VI.A.{teI Spaill and Poltugal had achieled the discovery and con-ouest 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 bytheir arnies was to be distributed, and they agrecd to submit thisvital questionto the albitlation of Pope Alexander, then endowedwith

great tempolal power, arrd of iDdisputable spiritual influeDce ovcr thewhole Chdstian world.This pope issued his famous bull in 1493, awalding to the kingsof Poftugal all of th disco\.ered ellitory east of a meridian passingth'_ough he Azores Isl:nds, whereby they acquird 1lhat is now knownas the Republic of Blazil, rnd the kiDgs of Castilla and Aragon $'eregiven all of the te$itoly west of that melidian.In this way the Spanish kings became he Dolitical sove)'eilrs oftheir colonics n Anler'icr, bv rcnson of conquesl,suptene tiUe of sov-eleignty among lratiorls, and as holdels of the Crown ol Spain, they:rlrtonatically becAnle hc plopr.ieto].s n 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 oncalth, and as such Lhe iltual depositart ol the divil). Do\\'el enlpow-ered o give and to take \yor' ldl-vosscssiors ith fe\r ' to djsputesuchauthorit\'.


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Thc Red.l,t! il .e Rot* al C(lift)tlur 19Tirerceforth, the l(iDgsof Spain had t{-o aims in mird. The fil.stonewas to encourage he colonization b,v Spani:uds of the conqreredlaDds;thesecondoDe vas o reduce he natives o :r sedental l l i fe,

and ncideDtally con\.crt theD to the Ronan Catholic f:1ith.To attain these fundamental pulposes a systen was adoptedwhelebi'1heSparish kings \vcle to make of theil nelrlr-acquiled l:rndsa plivai{j rnolloDoli'. ln eiTect tho s}'stem was orgarlized after ihefol loi/ ingplnn: IN]]IANS AND INDIAN COIIIIUNITIESFilstiy, the Spanish cro$n recognized he title oi the nrtivcs toihe land thcy hcld ir conulunit)' prior to the conqLrest,and jssuedspecific o1'ders o its agents a d ofnce$ to plotect the aforesridpossessions,yithout denrandi] lg he e\hi l) i l io lr ol t i i l r or othefs n , i l h f r - l | L t r s j r s \ i , l ' r ' - o i 1 ' 5 r . 5 i . ' .Besids this. the Spanish kings turned thei| rll.entioD io thccreationof ne\r Indian towrs. called "reducciones," { telm cqui!alentin a ccltain degrec o 'rrescr ' \r :Lt ior ls, i 'becrLrse,s belor 'enl inr:rted, henatives yere ledlrced to a scdeDtnrl.life and to the Chlistian pl'acticesof Catholicisn, instead of livii)g a rvild life iD the mounhjn fastnesses.To cstablish these "r'educciones,"graDls ol laDds vith vaters,pastures, imbcr'lands anrl easy communication thereto wele gjve - 'Theseglants comp sed hr.o pnlts, to-\r'it: An ale:, conrmonly 01two hurdled ard lifti'acres, ]l-hich {"as allotted to lhe townsite (ranled"fundo legal"), in whose center a public square and a church wetelocated. he balance being devoted to Lhe stlects and d$.cllfug space

for the inhabiiants,and a ar 'e:tdeloted t(r ' 'commorrs"("cj idos").which usuallv consisted of a litU more than four' lhous^ndthree hundred and llfty acres, fot. cornnon us^ges by the drvellers,suchas wateri)rg piaces or 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 acleagewas graltcd to the tovn, as com on l:rrd, the products whereof weledevoted to meet lhe expenditures of comrnorr scrvices, such as lheteaching of the doctlirle, schools, etc., |hese ploperties bcing desig-natedas "comunidades" r ' ' l rarcial idades."MISSIONS

Ncighbc,r ' inshese coninunit ies of Indlars, the Spuish Clori 'ngranted 1'ely often to the missionalies of Sprnish nationality con-sider-ablelacts of land for theil r'eligious establishmcrlts,expecting inthis '!ay to accoml]lish he chlisiianiz:ltioIr of the tamed natives.Such is the oligin of the t*-cnty-one nlissions of Jcsuits. Fr:in-ciscans,xnd DominicaDs, $ho in Califolnir \r-ele leallr the pioncrsof the Europear (jviliz:rtion, nttaining mole pleponder:rnce andinfluence han arry of the "lat'" settlen1ents.I'hc fiI'st of these missionsrvas he onc r San D:eso. oLrDded| thc t c.rr l?69.1'OWNS ,{NfJ aITIES OIi SPINIAnDS Ah\D l llDlli DDSCIIND,\NTS

The est:rblishnlent of ri ties and to1\'Is wfis also encouragedby theSpanishkings. bt ' rneans o{ l ibe!?l gruts ol l :1 ds to the setUers.


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20 Ihe Rea,lt! BLueBook af Cal,i,f miaeithe! at the lattet's initiative or by spontaneousaeuot of the govet!-or8 of the paovi[ces. The royal orders recommendealhat these ownsor citie should be at places non-contiguous to tlle Indian ,,!educ-cio[es," to avoid boundary disputes, &nd that sanitary arear, fit forcultivation, with a benign climatq clear sky and an abu[dance of'water to drink atrd for irrigation purposesbe chosen.The chartels for these towns and cities coveredextensioDsof notIess thsn seventeen housand acres,-sometimes a much larger acreag. This acreage was devotedto the townsite. to the commons.andto the lots tiat were individually deeded n fee simple to the settlers,reith the latter's obligation to furnish agricultural implernelh, breed-ing cattle and other anirnals. It was with charteE of this kild thatthe citiee Monterey, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San f'raocisco, LosAngele, amdotherplaces, f lesser mportance,were founded.

GNANTS OF I.ANDS ro SPANIARDSThe Spanish kings, to compensate or the war exploits that hadwon fo! them such big territories, made Eifts of latrds to ure con-querors elnbracing thousands and sometimeshundreds of thousandso1 acres,Also the Spanish kings authorized the life concessionof vast ex-teDsionsof lands to tleir subjects, under the condition that tftey wereto extend their protection to the native rural population and toinstruct them in the Catholic aith and its doctrine. It was a kind of

fiel named "encomienda" (trust), that with the passingof yearsbecame eryetual andedowneNhip. It seems, owever, h;t noneoltheserusts everdid c\isl in Californi l .Furilermore, the Spani.sh ings madesnlall granls of iand !otheir soldiers. ThesJ g"anls were called "peonias" (infantr},rnan-homestead) or "caballerias" (cavalry-homestead), according towhether the grantee was an infantry or cavalry soldier. The"peolias" compriseda place for the house,a small lot for an orchardand aboutonehundredand fifty acres o be devoied o the growinqofcereals. The "caballerias" er'ereusually five times targei than-tlre"peonias."- Finally, pressed y the need of money to maintain the royalhousehold,and to meet the expenalituresof the many wars iu whichSpain war involved, her kings ordereal he alietation of lanalsfor acomparatively sma,ll consideration to those of their subjects whowished o sel,tleon and cultivate hem.. A"..1! the previously inentioned gaants vere rnade iD vaguetems, indicating only approximate directions and distances. tlirearosegteat discrepanciesbetweenthe measureof the titls and thoreof the actual possessions,and to correct this evil, the systern of te-measulementnd resurveys{as nstituled.herebv lakinsuncertainthe boundarie


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fhe RL Itu DlueBotk ol Cali lotniLCAI,IFORNIA UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE REPUIJLIC OF MDXICOIn 1821,when the colony became an independent Mexican nation,she adopted he Spanish laws regarding the g]antirg of lands, andCalifomia.as n palt of the re\l. nation, colltinued to l)e ]uled bI saidSpanishaws, as modificd by Mexico.Up to 1848,whcn Califorrria cexsed o be a parL of llexico andbecame palt of the Anerican nation, the laws concemiDg he aliena-tion of public properties suffered b|lt s]ight changes and all grantingscontinuedo be made the same as urder the colonial regime, the onlychange ejDg hAt, insteAd of the viceroy, or the Audience, oI thc ln-tendents,he president of the rpublic, or the govelnor, or ' chief execu,tive of the Califolnias issuedthe litles. However'. somesDecialdisDo-si l ions rF r^ be po'r t"d out.Anxious to populate her vast areas of ten'itolv. as well as toattain to their inprovement and cultiration, the re*' Mcxican rationprofferedands to Joreigrte|s:rnd natir.cs, r.hethel i dividuals or Iam-i l ies, r to colonizing ntelprises. (Au$rst 18th, 182.1.)Later on, a neiv lalv authorized the chief executive of the terri-tories, including the Cali{ornias, to deed the lands, subject to theapprovalof the so-called"Trritorial Deputations," or of the nationalgovernment. These grants were made lvith the provision that thesettlersor colonists should cultivate and maintaiD the lands populatedfor a ce{air lengl.h of time, as set fo1'th in the title, under.Denalty offodeitule. After DroDer e\'idelcc 1\,ils e deled thai said conditions

$er.e idfilled, the lands bcca e a ille\,ocable priv:rte propeltr. Thearcas nchded irr thesc glaDts lar.ied in size, but coukl not bc less hanoneand thlee four'lhs actes IoI the house ot. sever a(r'cs of ilfisabiel a n d , . r ' u . d r p d1 1 , J . \ ' ' e : . , " u i . l ' i - l l : , r rs , , r r , l s u t . . r : , l r r ' Af i f ty aclesol glazirg lards (Novenber 21st,1828).As the missions had acquired great iDfluencaand -the lands theyownedwere of too large sizes, the National Governrnent deened itnecessaryo seculArizeor nationalize their holdings; that is, to retur'rltheir vast land aleas to tbe nation, making in tulr possible he grant-ing of these ands to private individuals; and the Government carriedout this secularization through, reser-ving o the missions, however,the land necessary or' the p:uish, the living qualters of the priest andhis 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 coloniza-tion, empowered the chief executives of the Califonias to grant tobona-fide olonists the secularizedproperties takeD back i'on1 the mis-sioDs, this being thr, ol'igirl ol rnanv ol the cstnles lnror,| rs theproperties of the old Spanish families in Califonlia. (Nov. 26th,1833.)On March 29th, 1843, at the city o{ Ins Angeles, Governortr{icheltolen^ ssuad a declec, recognizing the legal existcnce of themissions of San Diego, San Luis Rey, San Juan Capistrano, SanCabriel. San fer_nando, Sall Buen: 'eirtur'a, Santa ISarbala, SantaInez,La PLrrisimr.S:u Antonio, S:urtaClala:ud Sno Jose.coDlir 'nl-ing, oncennd Ior al l , the glants of lA ds to pli |ate indir iduAls oI


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22 The Redta BIM Book of Catriforn tenterprises, which had formerly belongd to the missioDs and wererecoverd by the government, and finally reserving to the recognizedmissionswhat little land they still held, for their own support and theupkeepof 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 exist-jng "reducciones" r resel ationsof Indians, he missionswhose egalexistencewas expressly ecognizedand t}le estatesgtanted to civiland military Spaniards and Mexicans. respectively, duriDg thColordal regime, and the Mexlcan administratiof that succeededt]By the GuadalupeHidalgo treaty, refomed ir1 La Mesilla, where-by Cslifonia becamepalt of the United Statesof America, the Amer-ican govemment ag.eed to recogrize all titles issued by the MexicaDgovernment and by the Spanish Crown, and inhedted the civil ownel-ship in fee simple of all ihe lands which thereiofore had not beengrantedto individualsoI corporations.


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Earliest California Titles Jorge Vera Estanol

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