Back Republiek van Kalifornië Afrikaans جمهورية كاليفورنيا Arabic Kaliforniya Respublikası Azerbaijani Каліфарнійская Рэспубліка BE-X-OLD Република Калифорния Bulgarian República de California Catalan Republik Kalifornien German Respubliko Kalifornio Esperanto República de California Spanish جمهوری کالیفرنیا Persian

California Republic

This article is about the 19th-century unrecognized nation. For the modern state of California, see California.
"California Secession" redirects here. For movements since the U.S. statehood of California, see Partition and secession in California.
For other uses, see California Republic (disambiguation).

California Republic
República de California (Spanish)
June 14 – July 9, 1846
Flag of California
Mexico's Department of Alta California, of which a small area north of San Francisco was controlled by the Bear Flag rebels
Mexico's Department of Alta California, of which a small area north of San Francisco was controlled by the Bear Flag rebels
StatusUnrecognized state
CapitalN/A
Common languagesSpanish, indigenous languages, and English
Commander 
• 1846
William B. Ide
History 
• Independence from Mexico declared
June 14, 1846
• Occupation of Sonoma by the U.S. military
July 9, 1846
Population
• 1846
15,000
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Centralist Republic of Mexico
Department of the Californias
United States
Interim government of California
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The California Republic (Spanish: República de California), or Bear Flag Republic, was an unrecognized breakaway state from Mexico, that for 25 days in 1846 militarily controlled an area north of San Francisco, in and around what is now Sonoma County in California.[1]

In June 1846, thirty-three American immigrants in Alta California who had entered without official permission[2] rebelled against the Mexican department's[notes 1] government.[3] Among their grievances were that they had not been allowed to buy or rent land and had been threatened with expulsion.[2][4] Mexican officials had been concerned about a coming war with the United States and the growing influx of Americans into California. The rebellion was covertly encouraged by U.S. Army Brevet Captain John C. Frémont,[5] and added to the troubles of the recent outbreak of the Mexican–American War.

The name "California Republic" appeared only on the flag the insurgents raised in Sonoma.[6] It indicated their aspiration of forming a republican government under their control. The rebels elected military officers but no civil structure was ever established.[7] Their flag, featuring a silhouette of a California grizzly bear, became known as the "Bear Flag" and was later the basis for the official state flag of California.

Three weeks later, on July 5, 1846, the Republic's military of 100 to 200 men was subsumed into the California Battalion commanded by Brevet Captain John C. Frémont. The Bear Flag Revolt and what remained of the California Republic ceased to exist on July 9 when U.S. Navy Lieutenant Joseph Revere raised the United States flag in front of the Sonoma Barracks and sent a second flag to be raised at Sutter's Fort.[8]

  1. ^ Bancroft V: 131–144
  2. ^ a b Bancroft; IV: 598–608
  3. ^ Richman p 261
  4. ^ Richman p 308
  5. ^ "Bear Flag Revolt". Encyclopedia.com. 2008. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  6. ^ Bancroft V:146
  7. ^ Harlow p. 103
  8. ^ Bancroft V: 185–86


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