Below is a list of the governors of early California (1769–1850), before its admission as the 31stU.S. state. First explored byGaspar de Portolá, with colonies established at San Diego and Monterey,Las Californias was a remote, sparsely settled Spanish province of the viceroyalty ofNew Spain. In 1822, followingMexican independence, California became part of Mexico.

In 1836, a coup led byCaliforniosJuan Bautista Alvarado andJosé Castro eventually resulted in Alvarado becoming governor.^[1] That conflict ended in 1838, when the central government of Mexico recognized Alvarado as California Governor. The territorialdiputación (legislature) approved the appointment.

Another disputed governorship occurred in 1844, settled when another Californio, Pio Pico, became the last Governor of Mexican California. In 1846, the "Bear Flag Revolt" inSonoma declared California an independent republic—the "Bear Flag Republic". No government was formed, however, and the revolt did not have time to spread very far because California came under U.S. military occupation at the outset of theMexican–American War less than a month later. California was ceded to the U.S. in 1848, and was admitted as the 31st U.S. state on September 9, 1850.Peter Burnett, the last governor of the post-war military territory, became its first state governor after admission.

TheSpanish Empire established its rule inthe Californias in 1769. During this time, theprovince of Las Californias encompassed a massive territorial expanse, including bothAlta California (present day U.S. state ofCalifornia) andBaja California (present day Mexican states ofBaja California andBaja California Sur), which were governed under a military administration led by the Governor of Las Californias. In 1804, Las Californias were officially divided into two administrations: Alta California, based inMonterey, and Baja California, based inLoreto.

From 1769 to 1804, Las Californias were governed as one administrative unit within theSpanish Empire, theprovince of Las Californias. Following 1804, Alta California and Baja California each had their own administration.

No.	Portrait	Governor	Took office	Left office	Notes
1st		Gaspar de Portolá (1716–1786)	1767	1770	Led thePortolá expedition FoundedMonterey
2nd		Felipe de Barri (1700s–1784)	1770	1774	While Barri officially served as Governor of Las Californias,Fages maintained effective military control overAlta California, taking advantage of Barri's government being based inBaja California.
Acting		Pedro Fages (1734–1794)	1770	1774	WhileBarri officially served as Governor ofLas Californias, Fages maintained effective military control overAlta California. Fages effectively stepped down as acting governor in 1774, at the request ofJunípero Serra
3rd		Fernando Rivera y Moncada (1725–1781)	1774	1777	FoundedSan Francisco
4th		Felipe de Neve (1724–1784)	1777	1782	FoundedLos Angeles FoundedSan Jose
5th		Pedro Fages (1734–1794)	1782	1791	Fages previously served as the acting military governor ofAlta California from 1770 to 1774, duringBarri's tenure, prior to officially serving as Governor ofLas Californias
6th		José Antonio Roméu (1734–1794)	1791	1792	Roméu died soon after his appointment, prior to officially ending his tenure of office.
Interim		José Joaquín de Arrillaga (1750–1814)	1792	1794	Arrillaga was designated as interim governor following the death ofRoméu in 1792, until the appointment ofBorica in 1794.
7th		Diego de Borica (1742–1800)	1794	1800	FoundedBranciforte
Interim		Pedro de Alberní y Teixidor (1742–1800)	1800	1800	Alberní served as interim governor followingBorica's resignation and prior toArrillaga's appointment.
8th		José Joaquín de Arrillaga (1750–1814)	1800	1804	Arrillaga was served as Governor ofLas Californias until 1804, when Las Californias were administratively divided intoAlta California andBaja California. Arrillaga subsequently served as Governor of Alta California until his death in 1814.

Following the division of theprovince of Las Californias in 1804,Alta California came to have its own administration.José Joaquín de Arrillaga, who had served as Governor of Las Californias until 1804 subsequently served as the first governor of Alta California.

Following theMexican War of Independence from the Spanish, both ofthe Californias became part of the newly independentMexico in 1822. Mexican rule was interrupted from 1836 to 1838 by theCalifornio independence movement led byJuan Bautista Alvarado, who was acclaimed President of Alta California. However, Alvarado entered into negotiations with the Mexican government in 1838, which resulted in the disbandment of the Californio independence movement in favor of greater autonomy and the appointment of Alvarado as governor, thus reestablishing Mexican rule in Alta California, which lasted until 1846.

No.	Portrait	Governor	Took office	Left office	Notes
3rd		Luis Antonio Argüello (1784–1830)	1822	1825	First governor to be born in California
4th		José María de Echeandía (1800s–1871)	1825	1831	Echeandía issued thePrevenciónes de Emancipacion (Proclamation of Emancipation) declaring allNative Californians freed fromCalifornian mission system in 1826.
5th		Manuel Victoria (1700s–1833)	1831	1832	Victoria's tenure as governor was unpopular and short-lived, owing to his anti-democratic reforms. His governorship ended following his defeat at theBattle of Cahuenga Pass in 1831, whenCalifornios overthrew him.
Interim		José María de Echeandía (1800s–1871)	1832	1833	Echeandía served as interim governor followingVictoria's defeat at theBattle of Cahuenga Pass, prior to the appointment ofFigueroa in 1833.
6th		José Figueroa (1792–1835)	1833	1835	Figueroa oversaw thesecularization of theCalifornia missions.
Interim		José Castro (1808–1860)	1835	1836	Castro was nominated as interim governor afterFiguroa resigned due to his worsening health.
Interim		Nicolás Gutiérrez (1700s–1800s)	1836	1836	Gutiérrez served as interim governor until the arrival ofChico.
7th		Mariano Chico (1796–1850)	1836	1836	Chico was exiled after a popular uprising ofCalifornios against his rule.
Interim		Nicolás Gutiérrez (1700s–1800s)	1836	1836	Gutiérrez resumed his role as interim governor afterChico's exile from California. Gutiérrez was soon after deposed by a popular uprising of Californios led byJuan Bautista Alvarado, who declared independence from Mexico and launched a civil war in California.

Following the appointments of unpopular governorsGutiérrez andChico,Juan Bautista Alvarado successfully led a popular uprising ofCalifornios in 1836 which deposed Gutiérrez, proclaimed the independence ofAlta California from Mexico, and named Alvarado as its president. Alvarado maintained effective control over California until he entered into negotiations with the Mexican central government in 1837, which resulted in the disbandment of Alta Californian independence in favor of greater autonomy from the Mexican government and recognition of Alvarado as Governor of Alta California.

No.	Portrait	Governor	Took office	Left office	Notes
1st		Juan Bautista Alvarado (1809–1882)	1836	1837	Alvarado deposed interim governorGutiérrez in an 1836 popular uprising ofCalifornios against the Mexican central government and its appointed governors. Alvarado subsequently issued thedeclaración de la independencia de la Alta California (Declaration of Independence of Alta California), raised a new flag, and was acclaimed as President of Alta California. Alvarado effectively ruled as President of Alta California from 1836 until he entered into negotiations with the Mexican central government in 1837, whereby he accepted to disband his independence movement in favor of recognition as Governor of Alta California by the Mexican central government and greater autonomy for the Californios.

WhileJuan Bautista Alvarado maintained effective control as President of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, the Mexican central government appointed notedCalifornio statesmanCarlos Antonio Carrillo as Governor of California^[2] to lead the nationalist offensive against Alvarado. As Carrillo was unsuccessful, Alvarado and the Mexican central government negotiated an end to the civil war in Alta California, resulting in Alvarado's abandonment of independence in favor of greater autonomy and the governorship, thus reestablishing the continuity of Mexican governance over Alta California.

No.	Portrait	Governor	Took office	Left office	Notes
Nominated		Carlos Antonio Carrillo (1783–1852)	1837	1837	Carrillo was nominated as governor by the Mexican central government in 1837 to lead nationalists forces to subdueAlvarado's government and reestablish Mexican control over Alta California. As Carrillo was unable to establish effective control over Alta California, the Mexican central government entered into negotiations with Alvarado resulting in his Carrillo's dismissal.
8th		Juan Bautista Alvarado (1809–1882)	1837	1842	Following negotiations with the Mexican central government in 1837, Alvarado disbanded his independence movement and was appointed as governor, in exchange for greater autonomy for Californios.
9th		Manuel Micheltorena (1804–1853)	1842	1845	Micheltorena was deposed as governor after his defeat at theBattle of Providencia
10th		Pío Pico (1801–1894)	1845	1846	In the aftermath of theBattle of Providencia, Pico was acclaimed governor. Following the AmericanConquest of California, the administration of Alta California came under control of the U.S. Military Governor of California.
Nominated		José María Flores (1818–1866)	1846	1847	Flores was nominated as governor following the outbreak of theMexican–American War and tasked with reclaiming Alta California for Mexico. Despite victories at theBattle of Chino and theBattle of Rancho Domínguez, Flores was unable to reestablish Mexican rule following his defeat at theBattle of Rio San Gabriel and theBattle of La Mesa.
Nominated		Andrés Pico (1810–1876)	1847	1847	Pico served as Acting Governor for three days before signing theTreaty of Cahuenga, ending theConquest of California

Following the AmericanConquest of California, forces part of thePacific Squadron andCalifornia Battalion established U.S. military rule in California, beginning in 1846. Military governors ruled California until 1849, when efforts led byBennet C. Riley led to the creation of theConstitution of California at theConstitutional Convention of Monterey and the establishment of civilian rule with the election ofPeter Hardeman Burnett as the firstgovernor of California. Soon after,California was admitted as a state.

No.	Portrait	Governor	Took office	Left office	Notes
1st		John D. Sloat (1781–1867)	1846	1846	Sloat was commander of thePacific Squadron, which led theConquest of California. Following his capture of Monterey, capital of Alta California, Sloat was served as the U.S. Military Governor of California for 22 days prior to the arrival ofStockton.
2nd		Robert F. Stockton (1795–1866)	1846	1847	Stockton successfully defeated the Mexican forces attempting to reclaim Alta California at theBattle of Rio San Gabriel andBattle of La Mesa.
3rd		John C. Frémont (1813–1890)	1847	1847	Frémont was appointed byStockton as his successor in 1847. Following Frémont's leadership in the mutiny of theCalifornia Battalion, he was court martialed and removed as military governor.
4th		Stephen W. Kearny (1794–1848)	1847	1847	Kearny succeededFrémont as military governor, following Frémont's conviction for mutiny.
5th		Richard Barnes Mason (1797–1850)	1847	1849	Mason served as military governor during the outbreak of theCalifornia Gold Rush
6th		Persifor Frazer Smith (1798–1858)	February 28, 1849	April 12, 1849[3]	Smith's brief tenure as military governor was marked by his efforts to support settlers travelling across theSierra Nevada.
7th		Bennet C. Riley (1787–1853)	1849	1849	Riley's tenure as military governor was marked by his efforts to establish a civilian government and statehood in California. The 1849Constitutional Convention of Monterey drafted the firstConstitution of California during his term. Riley successfully passed the administration of California to civilian control with the election ofPeter Hardeman Burnett in 1849, who would serve as the 1stGovernor of California

• Governor of California
• List of governors of California, since 1850
• List of Californios people
• The Californias
• Alta California

EnglishWikisource has original text related to this article:

Declaration of Independence of California

• Irvine, Leigh H. (1905)."Vol. I, Chapter III".A History of The New California: Its Resources And People. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company.OCLC 35952214. RetrievedJuly 11, 2007.

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