Contrary to the provisions of the treaty, the “burden of proof” was now placed on the shoulders of the grantees. Every grantee was required to affirmatively present evidence supporting title within two years, a requirement that necessitated participation in extended litigation. Those failing to do so would have their property pass to the public domain. Californios Lose Their Land Many of the Californios did not speak English, and were taken advantage of by a biased judicial system. Many eventually were forced to sell or mortgage their property at below-market values to pay lawyers hired to prove their land ownership, defend their property from squatters, pay property taxes, and pay for other legal expenses, such as hiring translators. One of the land grant cases challenged in the courts was by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton who owned Rancho Jamul. She defended her property against white U.S. citizens and immigrant squatters for more than two decades. In 1885, she published the first novel written in English by a woman of Mexican origin in the U.S. Based on her experiences, The Squatter and the Don was an indictment of the racist and discriminatory practices toward Mexican landowners in the San Diego area.
Broken Promises In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo’s promises proved to be hollow. Article X was defeated by the U.S. Senate Constitutional Committee and the treaty was ratified on March 10, 1848. It would have guaranteed all land grants previously bestowed by Spain and Mexico to the Californios, whether or not they chose to become U.S. citizens.
Perhaps the most infamous case was the loss of Rancho Santa Margarita y las Flores owned by Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California. Pico, who had grown up in San Diego, held the largest rancho in California—208 square miles. Today it is known as Camp Pendleton. The non-En- glish speaking Pico lost his prop- erty to his brother-in-law, John Forster, believing he had signed a loan to pay a $44,000 family debt. Instead, he had signed over the property. He tried to regain it, but lost the case in court.
(Photo courtesy Homestead Museum)
California Land Act In 1851, Congress passed the California Land Act, which set up a Board of Land Commissioners whose job would be to adjudicate the validity of Mexican land grants in California, according to the treaty, the law of nations, Spanish and Mexican laws and previous decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Pio Pico (Photo courtesy The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 1 – The Treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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