Page 9 - Exploration10LLR

Ranchos of California

The Spanish and later Mexican governments encouraged settlement of Alta California (now known as
California) by giving prominent men large land grants called ranchos, usually two or more square leagues.
Land-grant titles (concessions) were government-issued, permanent, unencumbered property-ownership
rights to land called ranchos.
Notes:
Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves after the ________________________
landed gentry of Spain. Their workers included Californian Native Americans who had learned to speak
Spanish, many of them former Mission residents. ________________________

Spain made about 30 grants between 1784 and 1821, and Mexico granted about 270 more between 1833 ________________________
and 1846. The ranchos established land-use patterns and place names that are still in use in California today.
Rancho boundaries became the basis for California's land survey system, and can still be found on modern ________________________
maps and land titles.
________________________
Ranchos were partially based on geography, such as access to river water. Land development in the 20th
and 21st century often follow the boundaries of the ranchos, and often retain the original name. For ________________________
example, "Rancho San Diego," an unincorporated "rural-burb" east of San Diego, or "Rancho Bernardo", a ________________________
masterplan suburb in the city of San Diego.
________________________
Spanish Era ________________________
During Spanish rule (1769–1821), the ranchos were concessions from the Spanish crown, permitting
settlement and granting grazing rights on specific tracts of land, while the crown retained the title. The ________________________
ranchos, that is, the settlement by individuals of tracts of land outside presidio, mission, and pueblo
boundaries, began in 1784, when Juan José Domínguez got permission from Spanish Governor Pedro Fages ________________________
to put his cattle on the 48,000-acre (190 km2) Rancho San Pedro. The land concessions were usually ________________________
measured in leagues. A league of land would encompass a square that is one Spanish league on each side –
approximately 4,428 acres (1,792 ha). The Spanish and Mexican governments made a large number of
grants from 1785 to 1846.

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