Baja California Territory (Territorio de Baja California) was a federal territory of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

that existed from 1824 to 1853, and 1854 to 1931; it encompassed the Baja California peninsula of present-day northwestern part of the country. It replaced the Baja California Province (1773–1824) of the Spanish colonial

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, after Mexican independence. Along with

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

, the two territories were split from the Spanish Californias region. In 1931, Baja California Territory was divided into the " Territory of Baja California Norte" and the " Territory of Baja California Sur". In 1952, the "North Territory" became the 29th

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

. In 1974, the "South Territory" became the 31st state as

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

Province

Baja California's northern border with

was first established to demarcate areas of Franciscan and Dominican missionary authority, precisely set on August 19, 1773, near San Juan Bautista Creek by Fray Francisco Palóu. A marker stands on the line formerly dividing the two countries. The marker is behind the ruins of Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera, in La Misión, Baja California. The Palóu line was adopted as the provincial dividing line in 1804. In 1848, under the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

, this international border was shifted further north to San Diego Bay, adjusting it to the claim of

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (; 1497 – January 3, 1543) was a Portuguese maritime explorer best known for investigations of the west coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the first European to explore presen ...

and the "sea-to-sea" claims of Sir

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

and of the former colony of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

.Craven's report, 1847, in ''The Mexican War in Baja California'', Nunis, D.B., editor, 1977, Los Angeles: Dawson's Book Shop, Translated into English, the inscription on the marker reads:

References

{{coord, 28.0374, N, 113.3240, W, source:wikidata, display=title Colonial Mexico Provinces of the Spanish Empire Territories of Mexico History of Baja California History of Baja California Sur Modern Mexico Former territorial entities in North America 1804 establishments in New Spain 1810s in Mexico 1821 disestablishments in Mexico 1821 disestablishments in New Spain 1824 in Mexico States and territories established in 1804 States and territories disestablished in 1821 States and territories established in 1824 1824 establishments in Mexico States and territories disestablished in 1931 1931 disestablishments in Mexico

Province

See also

References