Sonoma (city)

Origin

The territory of the city of Sonoma was inhabited until the appearance of Europeans here. Not far from the northeastern edge of its territory there were lands that were considered coastal Mivoki ^[1] , the northwestern part of the territory of the modern city was the Pomo people , the northeastern one was Wappo , the eastern one was suisuns and patvins ^{[2] [3]} .

Age of Missions

The San Francisco Solano mission was the forerunner of the Sonoma population. Founded in 1823 by the father of Jose Altimira of the Franciscan Order , the mission was the twenty-first, last and most northern mission of Upper California . It was the only mission built in Upper California after Mexico became independent from the Spanish Empire ^[4] . In 1833, the Mexican Congress decided to close all Upper California missions. Spanish missionaries were replaced by parish priests ^[5] . The head of the company of the national fort of San Francisco ( Compania de Presidio Nacional de San Francisco ), Lieutenant Mariano Gudalupe Vallejo, was appointed manager ( comisionado ) of the liquidation of the mission of San Francisco Solano ^[6] . The appointment of Lieutenant Vallejo as Governor José Figueiro to manage the liquidation of the 1833 Secularization Act was part of a large-scale plan.

War and Ranch Period

Governor Figueiro received instructions from the national government to establish a reliable presence in the region north of the Gulf of San Francisco to protect the region from attacks by foreigners. ^[7] Of particular concern was the further eastward expansion of the Russian American Company from Fort Ross settlements and Bodega Bay on the California coast ^[8] .

Figueiro's next step in following the instructions was to appoint Lieutenant Vallejo as Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Border, and to relocate soldiers, weapons, and supplies from Fort San Francisco to the site of the recently secularized San Francisco Solano mission. Sonoma barracks were built to house the soldiers. Before the building was completed, the soldiers lodged in the premises of the old mission ^[9] . In 1834, George S. Yant, the first English-speaking permanent settler in the Napa Valley , was hired as a carpenter by General Vallejo.

The governor bestowed on Lieutenant Vallejo land (approximately 178km2) Petalum ranch directly to the west of Sonoma. Vallejo was also appointed Director of Colonization, which gave him the right to independently grant "empty" land to the colonists (the governor approved these gifts) and the issuance of Upper California laws, diputación ^[10] .

Vallejo also received instructions from Governor Figueiro to establish a fort on the site of an old mission. In 1835, together with William A. Richardson, he placed, in accordance with the Spanish laws of India, streets, land, the central square - Plaza, and the wide main boulevard of the new Fort Sonoma ^[11] .

Although Sonoma was founded as a fort in 1835, it remained under military control because there were no political structures for municipal government such as in other forts of Upper California. In 1843, Lieutenant Colonel Vallejo sent recommendations to the governor on the establishment of a civil government in Sonoma. The City Council ( ayuntamiento ) was founded in 1844 and Jacob Lise was appointed the main alkald, and Caitano Juarez the second alkald ^[12] .

Bear Flag Revolution

Before dawn on Sunday, June 14, 1846, thirty-three Americans participating in the uprising against the Upper California government appeared in Sonoma. Some of the group followed from the camp of brigade captain John Freemont, who entered California at the end of 1845 with a research and cartographic expedition. Others joined along the road. As the number of immigrants appearing in California increased, the Mexican government prohibited them from buying or renting land and threatened with expulsion because they arrived without official permission ^{[13] [14]} . Mexican officials were preparing for the impending war with the United States due to the sharp increase in American immigration to California ^[15] .

A group of American rebels advanced from Fremont camp on June 10 and seized a herd of 170 horses owned by the government of Mexico, which California soldiers had distilled from San Rafael and Sonoma to Upper California Commander General Jose Castro in Santa Clara. Then the militants decided to seize the weapons and supplies stored in Sonoma's barracks and take Sonoma from the Californians as the strategic center of North Bay ^[16] . Encountering no resistance, they went to Comandante Vallejo’s house and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, Vallejo, dressed in the uniform of the Mexican army, opened the door ^[17] . Vallejo invited the pirate leaders to the house to discuss the conditions. However, when the agreement was submitted to those remaining outside, they refused to approve it. The departed Mexican officers were taken hostage. William B. Ide gave a fiery speech, urging the rebels to stay in Sonoma and establish a new republic ^[18] . Referring to the theft of horses, Ide ended his speech with the words “This day will decide who you will become! We will become thieves, or we must become conquerors! ” ^[19] . At the same time, Vallejo and his three assistants were mounted on horses and sent to Fremont under the escort of 8-9 militants who did not want to create a new republic in these circumstances ^[20] .

Sonoma's barracks became the headquarters for the remaining twenty-four rebels, who in a few days created a flag with a bear. After raising the flag, Californians called the militants Los Osos (bears) both because of the flag and in mockery of their dirty look. The rebels picked up this name, and their rebellion became known as the rebellion of the flag with the bear ^[21] .

There were separate skirmishes between bears and Californians, but there were no serious clashes. After receiving reports that Mexican General Jose Castro was preparing for the offensive, Fremont left Fort Sutter and left for Sonoma on June 23. There were nineteen people with him - his own detachment plus several hunters and settlers ^{[22] [23]} .

On July 5, Fremont convened a popular assembly and invited the Bears to unite with his detachment and form a single army group. He said he would take command if they were obedient, would continue to serve with honor, and would not encroach on the chastity of women. The California Battalion Agreement was signed by each of the volunteers personally ^[24] . The next day Fremont, leaving fifty men of Detachment B in the barracks to protect Sonoma, left with the rest of the battalions at Fort Sutter. They took with them two of the captured field guns, muskets, provisions, blankets, horses and cattle ^[25] .

War against Mexico was already declared by the United States Congress on May 13, 1846. ^[26] But due to the difficulties in transcontinental communications, no one on the west coast knew this for sure. Commodore John D. Sloat, heading the US Navy Pacific Squadron, found out that Fremont supported Bears' performance in Sonoma. In the end, on July 6, Sloat decided on the need to act, “changing the blame and if I act too little, and if too much, so I prefer the latter” ^[27] . On the morning of July 7, the US Navy captured Monterrey (California), and raised the flag of the United States there. Sloat’s proclamation was read and published in English and Spanish: “... from now on, California will be part of the United States” ^[28] .

The Bear Flag Revolution and all the remnants of the California Republic ceased to exist on July 9, when US Fleet Lieutenant Joseph Revere raised the US flag in front of the Sonoma barracks and sent a second flag to be hoisted at Fort Sutters. ^[29]

Early American Period

Until May 26, 1848, when Mexico and the United States ratified the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty , Upper California was officially occupied by the enemy territory. Prior to the establishment of the civil administration, the military decided to preserve the Mexican administrative and legal system of district prefects and municipal alcalds ^[30] . And this has survived even after California became part of the United States. Congress never established the same structures in California as in the United States . California remained a military district , so the old Mexican laws, backed up by orders from military governors, were largely preserved. In the end, California gained state status on September 9, 1850, as part of the 1850 Compromise , focusing primarily on slavery.

State status and transfer of the county center to another city

California chose a civilian government (albeit military-style) ^[31] to organize the state before it was officially formed by the US Congress in 1850. Sonoma was approved by the Sonoma County Center. By this time, the influx of miners had declined and the US Army had left Sonoma. Business in Sonoma fell into recession in 1851 ^[32] . Surrounding cities such as Petaluma and Santa Rosa developed and grew faster than Sonoma. In 1854, elections were held that moved the district center and related economic processes to Santa Rosa.

Plaza

Fort Sonoma grew by the standards of the Mexican city, with a center around the largest Plaza in California, 32,000 m2 in area. The Plaza is surrounded by many historic buildings, including the Mission of San Francisco Solano, Caza Grande, Captain Salvador Vallejo, Fort Sonoma, Hotel Blue Wing, Teatro Sebasteani, and Hotel Toscano. In the center is the Plaza - built at the beginning of the 20th century. The city hall of Sonoma, still fulfilling its function, was designed and built with four completely identical facades on all sides of the world, mainly so as not to offend the companies on each side of the plaza. The Plaza is endowed with the status of the National Historic Monument of the USA and to this day serves as the city center of attraction, many public festivals and tourist gatherings take place here in any season. There are approximately 30 restaurants in the Plaza area, including Italian, Mexican, Irish, Portuguese, Basque, Mediterranean, Himalayan and French. It serves as a center of attraction for tourists. There is also a farmer's market, open every Tuesday in the evenings, from April to October. In 2015, the city received the status of a community of American heritage ^[33] .

XX century

The Navy operated a hospital at the Mission Hotel during World War II ^[34] .

Winemaking

Sonoma is California's recognized homeland of winemaking, dating back to the vineyards of the Mission of San Francisco Solano, and modernized by Agoston Harajah, the father of California winemaking known for the variety vine Zinfandel . The Moonlit Valley retro festival in the Sonoma Valley kicks off every September, this is the oldest holiday celebrating California's winemaking heritage. Many residents of Sonoma are the third and fourth generation of Italo-Americans, Portuguese-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Franco-Americans, descendants of those immigrants who came to these areas for the sake of winemaking.

• Bancroft, Hubert H. History of California Vol. II-V. - The History Company, San Francisco, CA, 1886. - ISBN 1178115275 .
• Harlow, Neal. California Conquered: The Annexation of a Mexican Province 1846-1850. - 1982. - ISBN 0-520-06605-7 .
• Smilie, Robert A. The Sonoma Mission, San Francisco Solano de Sonoma: The Founding, Ruin and Restoration of California's 21st Mission. - Valley Publishers, Fresno, CA, 1975 .-- ISBN 0-913548-24-3 .
• Walker, Dale L. Bear Flag Rising: The Conquest of California, 1846 .-- New York: Macmillan, 1999 .-- ISBN 0312866852 .