Californios during the Gold Rush
When the Gold Rush began, thousands of people rushed to California in hopes of striking it rich, and gaining a better life. In fact, by 1852, California was home to 250,000 miners from various areas of the world. However, as the fight to find gold escalated, resentment of the Californios escalated as well. Although the Californios had settled in California before it had even been owned by the United Sates, and had controlled certain areas of land for decades, they were considered foreigners and were treated extremely poorly.
Dissatisfied gold miners caused great trouble for the Californios. Once many gold miners realized that finding gold was not as easy as they expected it to be, they took their anger out on the Californios, and invaded their land. Often, they simply began living on the Californios' land without their permission. Others, however, were more violent, and did things such as destroying the Californios' crops and cattle. Some even chased Californios out of their homes, or made unfair claims in the courts in an attempt to make the Californios lose their land.
Multiple laws created in California during the Gold Rush illustrate the poor treatment of Californios, as well. For example, The Foreign Miners Tax Law was introduced in 1850. This was a new law imposed by California that stated foreigners were required to pay twenty dollars a month if they wanted to mine. Since the Californios were viewed as foreigners, despite the fact that they had settled first, they had no choice but to follow this law. Yet another unjust law was the Land Law of 1851, which made it legal for new settlers to claim rights to a Californios' land. If this occurred, the Californio had to decide between defending their property rights in court, or simply losing their land. If they chose the former, they spent a huge amount of money in an attempt to save their land. Typically, though, they were not successful, and had no choice but to lose their land.
Multiple laws created in California during the Gold Rush illustrate the poor treatment of Californios, as well. For example, The Foreign Miners Tax Law was introduced in 1850. This was a new law imposed by California that stated foreigners were required to pay twenty dollars a month if they wanted to mine. Since the Californios were viewed as foreigners, despite the fact that they had settled first, they had no choice but to follow this law. Yet another unjust law was the Land Law of 1851, which made it legal for new settlers to claim rights to a Californios' land. If this occurred, the Californio had to decide between defending their property rights in court, or simply losing their land. If they chose the former, they spent a huge amount of money in an attempt to save their land. Typically, though, they were not successful, and had no choice but to lose their land.