Ranchos of California

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In Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California, ranchos were concessions and land grants made by the Spanish and Mexican governments from 1775^[1] to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for them to settle in the frontier. These Concessions reverted to the Spanish crown upon the death of the recipient.

After independence, the Mexican government encouraged settlement in these areas by issuing much larger land grants to both native-born and naturalized Mexican citizens. The grants were usually two or more square leagues, or 35 square kilometres (14 sq mi) in size. Unlike Spanish Concessions, Mexican land grants provided permanent, unencumbered ownership rights. Most ranchos granted by Mexico were located along the California coast around San Francisco Bay, inland along the Sacramento River, and within the San Joaquin Valley.

When the government secularized the Mission churches in 1833, it required that land be set aside from their holdings for each Neophyte^{[clarification needed]} (or converted) Indian family who had been living at the missions. But the Native Americans were quickly brushed aside by Californios who, with the help of those in power, acquired the church lands as grants. The Indigenous peoples of the Americas ("Indians"), landless, became virtual slaves of the rancheros.

Spain made about 30 concessions between 1784 and 1821. Mexico issued about 270 land grants between 1833 and 1846. The ranchos established permanent land-use patterns. The rancho boundaries became the basis for California's land survey system, and are found on modern maps and land titles. The "rancheros" (rancho owners) patterned themselves after the landed gentry of New Spain, and were primarily devoted to raising cattle and sheep. Their workers included Native Americans who had learned Spanish while living and working at one of the former missions.

The ranchos were often based on access to resources necessary for raising cattle, such as water and adequate grazing lands and water. Land development from that time forward has often followed the boundaries of the ranchos, and many of their names are still in use. For example, Rancho San Diego is now an unincorporated "rural-burb" east of San Diego, and Rancho Bernardo is a suburb in San Diego.