Last modified: 2004-12-22 by rick wyatt
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Sutter's republic existed mostly in his own mind. Mexico was infirmly in the saddle but in the saddle nevertheless.
At the time all this was going on the population in California was overwhelmingly Mexican and Native American. The Native Americans probably were unaware of any overlordship and certainly didn't acknowledge any loyalty to any nation. The Russian influence in Northern California was confined to one location, Ft. Ross, a commercial establishment. Spain's and Mexico's administration reached little farther north than San Francisco along the coast. Russia's influence along the coast was confined to trading with Native American's for furs and such with the base at Fort Ross a tiny place that was more agricultural/commercial than anything else. The UK and the U.S. jointly occupied Oregon and what is now British Columbia but civil administration was very weak, nonexistent really, and confined to the settled area around Ft. Vancouver (near present day Portland, Oregon) and south into the Willamette Valley.
On the whole between 1790s and 1840s, the Northwest coast between Alaska and San Francisco was generally unadministered, peopled mostly by Native Americans, claimed by Russia, UK, USA, and Mexico/Spain. Inland, away from the coast, there was no government, no people in residence except Native Americans and a very few traders employed by fur companies.
Yes. The flag of Spain, Russia, UK, USA, and Mexico flew but the influence was weak.
Phil Abbey, 12 October 1998
The red star on a white field was the proposed first flag for the 1836 bid for Independence of California from Mexico. This small revolt included many Mexican nationals (headed by Juan Bautista Alvarado) as well as Americans and British (lead by Isaac Graham), in an effort to free California from a disinterested Mexican government, already too corrupted and decimated by internal factions and miscellaneous wars to govern most of the area.
On June 14th 1846 a William Todd, nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln, volunteered to make the first Bear Flag. Using unbleached muslin, a donated red petticoat, and his own rough hewn talents, Todd quickly sewed a red star on the upper left-hand corner and a red stripe along the bottom. He hand-printed "California Republic" and he drew a crude grizzly bear just above it.
This "Bear Flag Revolt" made Californios unhappy. To be a separate country was folly as they wanted to belong to the United States. On July 9th 1846, before the British or the French could take over California the Bear Flag was down and Old Glory was in place. The war with Mexico would seal the fate of Alta California forever. California became a state in 1850.
It wasn't until 1861 however, when the Bear Flag made another appearance by secessionist hoping to break California out of the Union. In 1911, the Bear Flag was officially adopted as the California State flag.
Floyd D.P. Øydegaard, 1 November 1998