 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Republic of Sonora" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Republic of Baja California and Sonora República de Baja California y Sonora | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1854 | |||||||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||
| Status | Unrecognized state | ||||||||||||
| Capital | La Paz,Baja California | ||||||||||||
| Government | Republic under amilitary dictatorship | ||||||||||||
• President | William Walker | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• Independence | January 21, 1854 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | May 8, 1854 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Today part of | Mexico | ||||||||||||
TheRepublic ofBaja California and Sonora, simply known as theRepublic of Sonora, was a short-lived, unrecognizedfederal republic ruled byfilibusterWilliam Walker in 1854. It was based inBaja California and also claimed (but never controlled)Sonora. Walker's actions generated interest back inSan Francisco, where bonds for the Republic of Sonora were sold, and its flag was even raised in places. However, Walker's enterprise suffered from a lack of supplies and discontent from within, and theMexican government quickly forced Walker toretreat.
In the summer of 1853, an American adventurer andfilibuster namedWilliam Walker traveled toGuaymas seeking a grant from the government of Mexico to create a colony that would serve as a fortified frontier, protecting US soil from raids by Native Americans. Mexico refused, and Walker returned to San Francisco determined to obtain his colony anyway. He began recruiting American supporters ofslavery andManifest Destiny, mostly inhabitants ofKentucky andTennessee. His proposed buffer colony turned into plans to establish the independent Republic of Sonora as a part of the American Union, like the Republic of Texas. He funded his project by "selling scripts which were redeemable in lands ofSonora."[1]
On October 15, 1853, Walker set out with 45 men to invade and conquer the Mexican territories ofBaja California andSonora. He succeeded in capturingLa Paz, the capital of sparsely populated Baja California, and declared theRepublic of Baja California, with himself as president and his partner, Henry P. Watkins, as vice president. He then put the region under the laws of the American state ofLouisiana, whereslavery remained legal in 1854. He declared independence from Mexico on January 10, 1854. Fearful of attacks by Mexico, Walker moved his position twice over the next three months, first toCabo San Lucas, and then further north toEnsenada to maintain a more secure position of operations. He never gained control of Sonora but three months later, he pronounced Baja California part of a larger Republic of Sonora.[2]
Walker's actions generated large amounts of interest back in San Francisco, wherebonds for the Republic of Sonora were sold and its flag was even raised in places. However, Walker was never able to take advantage of his project's popularity. A serious lack of supplies, severe aridity of Baja California, discontent within his party and a swift reaction by the Mexican government quickly forced Walker to retreat.[3]
Back inCalifornia, Walker was put ontrial for conducting an illegal war. The judge indicated that Walker was guilty of violating thepeace treaty agreed upon by theUnited States andMexico after theMexican–American War (1846–48). However, it was the era of Manifest Destiny, and, consequently, his filibustering project was popular in the southern and western United States. Because of this, the jury took only eight minutes toacquit him.[4]
The Republic of Sonora did not use the samecivil code that it had when it was a Mexican state, but rather used that of theRepublic of Baja California, which used that of theState of Louisiana. In November 1853, President Walker said: "From now on and henceforth to this date, the civil code and the code of procedures of the state of Louisiana will be followed for the government and law as long as the courts of the republic are organized."
Louisiana's civil code had been chosen because it had slave legislation, since its true purpose of "the new republic" was to bring it into theAmerican union as anotherslave state. This decree is considered an indicator of the political situation of Walker'sfilibuster project, and probably does not refer to the fact that the concrete objective was to introduce slaves into the new republic from Africa or from some of the formerAntillean colonies.
