The first group to really profit from California's abundant agricultural resources were the affluent Spanish Californian families known as Californios. Spain granted land gifts to a lot of people. Other families were granted land titles by the newly established Mexico after 1821 in order to promote settling in what was known as Alta California. Californios prosperity was largely based on their property holdings, which also served as credit in the neighborhood markets. Californios raised crops and orchards, large-scale cattle ranching on expansive ranchos. Californios attempted to adapt to these changes by using social networks to preserve their identities as elites as they lost land and power in the late 19th century.
“From the 1830s to the 1880s, the elite Californios families, who had received substantial land grants from Spain and Mexico, prospered, but when they lost land and power in the late 19th century, they tried to adapt by using social networks to maintain their identities as elites. "
Californios relied on the labor of Mexican and Native American workers. They would give them food and shelter in return, further tying laborers to the land and strengthening patriarchal structures.
What happened to the Californios?
California was experiencing an influx of immigrants at the end of the 19th century from all over the world. In order to protect their land and social status, many Californios wed American and European settlers. Californios discovered that their political influence had significantly decreased by the end of the 19th century and that their history was already being mythologized.
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