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California Republic República de California | |||||||||||
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| 1848–1858 | |||||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||||
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Motto: "Forever free and independent" | |||||||||||
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Anthem: None | |||||||||||
 Territory seized by the Bear Flaggers after the war in the borders of the Centralist Mexican Republic. | |||||||||||
| Capital | San Francisco City | ||||||||||
| Common languages | English, Spanish | ||||||||||
| Government | Federal constitutional republic | ||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||
• 1848 - 1856 | William B. Ide | ||||||||||
• 1856 - 1858 | John D. Sloat | ||||||||||
| Vice President | |||||||||||
• 1848 - 1856 | John D. Sloat | ||||||||||
• 1856 - 1858 | Robert F. Stockton | ||||||||||
| Legislature | Congress | ||||||||||
• Upper House | Senate | ||||||||||
• Lower House | House of Representatives | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Late modern - Industrialization | ||||||||||
• Established | 1848 | ||||||||||
• Bear Flag Revolt | June 14, 1846 | ||||||||||
| February 2, 1848 | |||||||||||
| November 27, 1858 | |||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1858 | ||||||||||
| Currency | California dollar ($) | ||||||||||
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The Republic was declared on June 14, 1846 during the outbreak of the Mexican-American War when several American and Californio citizens seized government property in Sonoma and established the Sonoma Barracks as its headquarters. With the assistance of the Americans and Texans, California gained its independence officially through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848 after Mexico formally surrendered. The Republic lasted for a mere decade, riddled with corruption, debt, and lack of enforcement, coupled with poor resources, infrastructure, and organization. The Californian Congress established a constitutional convention in 1857, responding to public demand for a stronger, more competent government. In 1858, the Constitution of 1858 was drafted, ratified, and promulgated, thereby establishing the Kingdom of Sierra and ending the Republic.
Attempts to reestablish the Republic were nearly realized during the Sierran Civil War as the Second California Republic, but were ultimately defeated. In contemporary times, the Republic has been viewed as an experimental and critical stage in Sierran history as its people enjoyed independence and freedom, and managed to avoid becoming absorbed into the United States.
Etymology
The name California is commonly attributed to the fictional peoples of black Amazons depicted in The Adventures of Esplandián by Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The name became so popular, Spaniards began to refer all lands west of the Americas known at the time to be California. The name would later be applied to the southern tip of Baja California by Spanish explorer Diego de Becerra in 1533 who believed the peninsula was in fact, an island. In a 1540 expedition, Hernando de Alarcón explored the peninsular inland and referred to the inhospitable lands as California.
When the Spaniards established their presence in present-day Sierra, they referred to all the lands spanning from the Pacific to as far east into the Great Basin as "California". The territory would later become known as "Las Californias", and this name would continued to be used under Mexican rule with a distinction between "Alta California" (Upper California) and "Baja California" (Lower California).
History
Mexican–American War
The California Republic first began during the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846 when from June–July of that year, rebels rose up against Mexico with the support of the United States during the Mexican–American War. The rebels were lead by William B. Ide and continued to fight alongside the United States Army during the California campaign. On August 16, 1846, the Provisional Republic of California was established with William Ide as its head and was recognized by the United States as a sovereign independent state. The California Army would be formed and continued fighting alongside the American forces, though following the end of the California campaign, they largely served in support and auxiliary positions.
When the war had ended on February 3, 1848, all of Atla California was handed over to the California Republic and it was recognized as an independent state and gained foreign recognition from other countries such as Canada and later the Russian Empire. The provisional government would eventually plan and hold a nationwide presidential election in order to transition into a proper sovereign state with a functioning national government and held the country's first presidential election on September 18, 1848, with Ide being the only candidate and winning in a landslide vicotry as the candidate for the newly formed California National Party.