Today when you buy beef you might think twice before buying with the skyrocket prices going up. It might be hard to picture a California where beef was so little valued that cattle were left to rot outside in the sun. The first half of the 19th century was just that, the age of the rancheros operating from the early 1820s to the mid-1840s. There was a lot of people who benefited from this, just like in the textbook states. "the prospects of increased revenue from trade in hides and tallow may also have encouraged Arguello to have several large land grants between 1823 and 1824" (Richard . Rice Et al, 114) With such prosper brought wealth and joy for most.
Most Spaniards and Mexicans in California had a chronic shortage of currency. This shortage caused many Californias to conduct business in many different ways of thinking. People got creative and cattle hides came to be known as California banknotes. as well as tallow another form of trade which is beef or mutton fat.
Mexico opened the ports of Monterey and San Diego to foreign ships for the interest of promoting trade. (120) Bringing the hides and tallow on board ship was a particularly difficult task since san Francisco and Monterey were the only convenient harbors. (121) overtime this established Mexican rancheros as firmly established elites. Under Mexican law, individuals grants were limited in size to 11 square leagues or nearly 50,00 acres but since rancheros owned more government set about marketing the boundaries. (124) The san Pedro Rancho was one of the few genuinely Spanish land grants, which belonged to Juan Jose Dominguez. Many grants had very large holdings and this person used the grants to raise cattle for the Hide and Tallow trades.
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This would be an example of how hide trading was boarded and conducted in that era.
The hide and tallow industry was in decline by the mid-1840s mainly to do to the discovery of gold. (123) In that time gold was on the rise and became more precious than anything before. In time many people seeking this discovery poured into southern California and this made beef skyrocket in price. As a result, California became richer in value however nothing lasts forever and in due time The hide and tallow trade collapsed. Floods and droughts overtime destroyed California's cattle industry bringing the end of era of the great rancheros.
Summary: at the time the big bear revolt was going on and war against Mexico happened. America expanded outwards claiming Ca , Texas, NEW MEXICO.
Gold was found in Southern California and people rushed there. This was Mexico land but now claimed by new founded America.
