The decline of the Californios is an event for which it is hard to find blame, although on the surface it may seem easy. Perhaps the Californios were too old fashioned and clung to their culture too hard, or perhaps they really were lazy and immoral as some whites said. What about the Yankees though? Were they to blame? The Yankees were greedy, racist, and arrogant.

Whose fault was it? That is actually an easy question to answer: nobody. The decline of the Californios was simply inevitable as these two radically different peoples wee bound to clash eventually. It was merely a matter of time.

The Californios had a culture that seemed fairly static in contrast to that of the Yankees. The Americans, with their Manifest Destiny and Protestant work ethic, seemed to have this immense energy behind their culture that seemed to be pushing out in all directions. It was as if the legendary "shot that was heard around the world" were actually the Big Bang. Everything the Americans did seemed to be for the purpose of strengthening and proliferating their way of life for future generations.

The Californios, on the other hand, lived in a very traditional and hierarchical culture. They, for the most part, seemed to have very little desire to modify their traditional Rancho lifestyle. Not because they were lazy, but because there just didn't seem to be any reason to. As they say, "if it ain't broke, why fix it."

This contrast in cultures created some very interesting dynamics when the Yankees and Californios began to really start butting heads during and after the gold rush of 1849. It is these Dynamics that really seem to illustrate the inevitability of the rapid demise of Rancho culture. Before we explore this, however, we must first take a more in depth look at Californio culture so that we can better understand why things happened exactly as they did.

The Californio culture, as it existed in the early and mid 19th century developed as the power of the Mexican Governors and the Franciscan Missionaries waned. In this growing political vacuum a small group of ranchero families began to push their way into power with hopes of taking over the land and cattle that belonged to the Missions. When the Mexican government began the process of secularizing the Missions in 1831 the rancheros finally got the land, cattle, and power that they sought.

At this time there were over 500 private ranchos in California, most of which were located on or around the rich coastal lands previously controlled by the Missions. Most of these ranchos covered thousands upon thousands of acres of pastureland with very vague boundaries.

On most ranchos were anywhere from twenty to a couple thousand Indian workers who received the bare necessities of life in exchange for their labors. These workers were technically free, yet for all practical purposes they were bound to the ranch lands as peons for as long as the head of the ranch desired to keep them on.

Aside from the Indian laborers was the large family that owned the rancho. The Family was one of the most important institutions of Californio life and included not just the immediate family, but in laws, assorted relatives, orphans, the servants, and even the people in the nearest town. The Ranchero "provided a home for a host of poor relations, entertained strangers, as well as friends…and begat as many sons and daughters as the Hebrew patriarchs of old."

The Ranchero was the king of his castle, so to speak. He had the power to beat his children even when they were grown and with their own children. In most households all the children would kneel and kiss their father's hand before retiring for the night. Also, no son would ever dare to sit, smoke, or wear a hat in his father's presence with out his consent, regardless of their own age.

This may sound like a horribly rigid and entirely humorless way of life. That, however, was ver far from the case. The Californios lived for the pursuit of pleasure. In fact, in this pursuit they would often exceed their standard of living. They would entertain countless guests, relations and strangers alike. Also they would have grand fiestas whenever the opportunity arose. Frequently these fiestas would consist of several days of feasting, and dancing, and singing, or whatever else the revelers wished for.

This much-romanticized hallmark of Californio culture created a frame of mind that would later cause problems though. There was an emphasis on the now in Californio culture. The rancheros did not prepare for the future. They were content to enjoy what they had today, and would worry about tomorrow when it was tomorrow.

Now that we have some idea of who the Californios were we need to look at what happened when these cultures finally clashed.

America seemed to have an interest in California since the 18th century when it was discovered that otters were in abundance all along the West Coast. Towards the end of the Spanish period otters were disappearing, but that was no longer the chief economic interest in California. The hide and tallow trade with England and the Eastern United States had become the lifeblood of the extravagant life style that the Californios loved to live.

The hide and tallow trade was very important in that it not only greatly impacted the economies of America and California, it also stimulated the interest of Yankees in the distant land of California. During the 1830's many Yankee merchants migrated to California. Once there they were required to become Catholic, learn Spanish, and become citizens of Mexico. These men were soon accepted into Californio society and even became prominent citizens. Among these men were William Dana, Abel Stearns, and Thomas O. Larkin?

Around 1841 regular settlers began to slowly filter into California in covered wagons as Manifest Destiny seemed to be pushing them further and further west.. These pioneers included the infamous Donner Party.

The US had been entertaining ideas about acquiring California from Mexico since the 1830's, but had quickly become rather serious as they began to suspect the Great Britain had her eye on California as well. In fact James Polk ran for president on the promise that he would acquire California, Texas, and Oregon.

Polk had taken Texas, but could not seem to get a hold of California. Polk was determined to get California at any cost so he instigated a war as an excuse to take California. There were constant over the border between Texas and Mexico. The US sent troops to defend the disputed territory from the Rio Grande north. Several solders were killed in skirmishes with Mexico and so Polk asked Congress for war. In May of 1846 he got it.

This same year James C. Fremont initiated the Bear Flag Rebellion with the hope of becoming either the leader of an independent Bear Flag Republic, or else the Governor of California. He had taken several towns in the North and captured several important Rancheros. He also treated the Nativos so badly the he created long lasting bad feelings between Yankees and Californios.

When the Mexican war finally reached the Californios California was taken easily as there was no real military force present to fight for it. Rebel activity, however was sparked because of the fact that the Californios were not used to living under the oppressive rule that the occupying military forces put into effect.

In the town of Los Angeles some of the rowdier elements began react in typical fashion and the occupying forces began to treat them as real rebels. Well, a real rebellion eventually ensued. Rebel forces proved to be a match for the US forces as they put up a spirited fight. Los Angeles and other southern California towns were taken back by the Californios. Unfortunately they lack the supplies to keep up an effective fight and the Yankees took back Los Angeles in 1847.

In February 2, 1848 the war was over as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. Mexico had ceded California as well as other southwestern territories. Nine days earlier gold was discovered in the North and this proved to be more of a threat to Californio culture than the war ever was.

The discovery of gold started what could be called a quickening. Things began to happen at an ever increasing pace until it was finally all over for the Californios, just like the whirlpool you get when you unplug the drain in your bathtub.

There was a year of military rule during which things went pretty much as usual for the Rancheros. The treaty had pretty much guaranteed that this would be the case. As gold fever spread, however, the good times would soon be over. The gold rush came in 1849, bringing in a flood of settlers eager to make a quick fortune in the gold fields of the Sierras. This was the beginning of the end.

This is where we actually get to see what happened when Californio and Yankee culture really began to clash. The Americans were very typical in their beliefs and attitudes. These attitudes "involved elements such as the Protestants condescension toward Catholicism; the Puritan's dedication to work…;the republican's loathing of aristocracy; the Yankee belief in Manifest destiny; and the Anglo-Saxon's fear of racial mixture."

Looking back, this makes the Americans sound like horrible people, but these attitudes were very typical of their culture so they could no more be blamed than could the Californios.

The gold rush brought about the first real problems between the two. It is also where we first see evidence that the decline of Californio culture was not due to their refusal to adapt to the Yankee ways. It was rather the opposite. For all their talk about America being the land of opportunity, the Yankees were (and still are to some extent) very resentful and even hostile to non whites who try rise above adversity and compete on an equal level. The Californio situation was no different.

Many Californios had been doing rather well in the Gold fields by the time the miners from the East began showing up in large numbers. As mining is a very difficult and tedious profession the Yankee miners were angry at the relative ease and skill with which the Californios and Sonorans extracted their fortune from the Earth.

This resentment had many results, most notably violence against all brown skinned miners. One Californio miner who had recurring problems with xenophobic Yankees was Don Antonio Coronel from Los Angeles. He had a run in with a violent group of former Bear Flaggers during which a good friend of his was nearly beat to death during a barroom brawl.

Coronel returned to the Sierras and fell in among other foreign miners who seemed to be doing pretty well until confronted by more Yankees who were accusing foreigners of stealing gold. It was during this episode that California saw it's first lynching when a Frenchman and a Chilean were strung up.

Don Antonio and his group got out of town as quick as possible and tried for better luck in more remote mines in the North. There, more angry Americans confronted them, claiming that foreigners had no right to mine on American soil. Don Antonio gave up and went back home.

Don Antonio's experience was pretty much the norm for Californio miners. In fact he was actually pretty lucky because he escaped with his life. Many were not so lucky

Pretty soon, as the gold supply dwindled, many Americans gave up on mining. This created even more problems for the Californios. The American miners had no resources to return home so they had to stay in California and do the only thing many of them knew how to do: farm.

All around they saw the pastureland of the Ranchos, which they felt could be put to better use by farming. They felt that the pastureland should become public land as the spoils of war. This was perhaps the biggest problem the Californios faced.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had promised that all land grants would remain intact, but the desire of Yankees to move in on the Ranchlands, as well as the problem of illegal squatting prompted the Land Law of 1851. This law put the government to fine tooth combing all the land grants of the Californios in order to determine whether they were valid or not.

This created many fold problems for the Rancheros. Since most of the original land grants were very vague about the boundaries of the individual plots. This forced the Californios to hire expensive land lawyer in order to keep their way of life.

Most of the grants were declared valid, but the Californios lost their land anyway. The Rancheros were considered wealthy and put up a good front, but their real wealth was measure in their land so they had nothing to pay the lawyers with but the land. Also, once their claims were declared valid they were assessed property taxes that they couldn't pay so they had to sell off even more land.

This problem was further aggravated by the Californios aristocratic lifestyle that they refused to give up even in the worst of times. With no real cash assets they quickly fell into debt and so had to sell even more land to pay bills. Pretty soon many had no land left.

Another huge problem was the two tiered law system where whites usually received lenient punishments for most crimes while Californios and Mexicans were usually lynched for most offences.

This prompted many Californios to try and help themselves from within the system by running for public office. Many prominent ranchos were successful. Most towns had many Spanish named people on the city council, and many were even in the state assembly. California even had a Governor Pacheko.

Unfortunately the success of Californio politicians had little impact upon their lot in life as white politicians with typical Yankee attitudes quickly outnumbered them. There was just nothing that could be done to truly preserve Californio life.

Even in the south, especially in Los Angeles, where the gold rush had little impact Rancho life disappeared as the Yankees moved in. Californios soon became a minority and there was nothing hat could be done. Within a generation traditional Californio culture had disappeared as Californio sons either became "gringo-ized" or turned to crime.

As you can see the Californios tried to adapt to the Yankee culture and it only made things worse if it made any difference at all. There was really nothing the Californios could do to hold off the flood of Yankees. Also, while the Yankees may look like the bad guys here, one shouldn't just put the blame upon them. Ask your self if there was anything that the Yankees could have done considering who they were and what their culture was? No they couldn't.

Once things were set into motion there was no turning back. The decline of Californios was the fault of no one but the Fates.