- Term
Spanish and Mexican land grants
- Broader Term
ranch
- Remarks
During the 18th and early 19th century the Spanish government granted large sections of land to missions, groups and individuals to encourage conversion and settlement of its northern territories in what is now the southwestern United States. Many of the best lands were given to Roman Catholic missionaries, who sought to convert local North American Indian populations to Christianity. Community land grants were given to groups of people, who would be granted individual parcels of land once they met the government's residency requirements. These land grants encouraged the creation of Spanish settlements in present-day Texas, New Mexico, and California. A small number of soldiers were rewarded for their service with large individual land grants, which they turned into vast ranchos, or ranches. After Mexican independence in 1821, California's mission lands were given to Californios rather than the North American Indian converts for whom they were intended. The 700 or so resulting large ranchos provided great wealth to prominent families such as the Picos and Sepúlvedas. The laborers on these ranchos developed a distinctive vaquero culture that would influence American cowboys later in the 19th century.
- See Also