Mexican Settlement and Rule

The mission heads were sent away, and new governors worked with wealthy ranching families to rewrite the laws. California Indians, who had been forced onto missions, found themselves with new problems. They were granted very little of the land they had been promised, and they didn't have the resources to farm the land they did have. In fact, California Indians had very few rights at all.

After Mexico’s independence from Spain, kids explore the golden age of the ranchos, which favored the rich and well connected through land grants that became the way to build wealth. To apply for a land grant required a letter explaining why the applicant wanted a certain piece of land and a diseño, or hand-drawn map. History buffs will be fascinated by the diseños included in the visuals. Kids in and around Sacramento will be interested to know that their city was originally the property of John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, who owned the land where the Gold Rush of 1848 began. History aficionados will enjoy the many quotations and excerpts from historical documents that bring this period to life. They’ll also want to scrutinize historical maps to see the locations of the old missions and ranchos.