Estado de Occidente (; also known as Sonora y Sinaloa) was a Mexican state established in 1824. The constitution was drafted in that year and the government was initially established with its capital at

El Fuerte, Sinaloa El Fuerte () is a city and El Fuerte Municipality its surrounding municipality in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city population reported in the 2010 census was 12,566 people. El Fuerte, meaning "The Fort", was given a Pueblo ...

. The first governor was Juan Miguel Riesgo. The state consisted of modern

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

and

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

, and also modern

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

more or less south of the

Gila River The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of ...

(although in much of this area the

Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are an Indigenous people of Mexico and Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, who speak the Yaqui language, a Uto-Aztecan language. Their primary homelands are in Río Yaqui valley in the no ...

, Pima,

Apaches The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

, and other native inhabitants at certain times did not recognize the rule of the state). The constitution was established in 1825 with one of its principles being the making of all inhabitants of the state citizens. This was resented by the Yaqui since they now had to pay taxes, which they had been exempt from before. The Yaqui also considered themselves possessed of sovereignty and territorial rights which were threatened by the state's new constitution. This led to a new outbreak of war between the Mexicans and the Yaquis (see

Yaqui Wars The Yaqui Wars were a series of armed conflicts between New Spain, and its successor state, the Mexico, Mexican Republic, against the Yaqui people, Yaqui Native Americans in the United States, Natives. The period began in 1533 and lasted until 19 ...

) with

Juan Banderas Juan Banderas (executed 1833 at Arizpe) was the leader of the Yaqui during part of the Yaqui Wars The Yaqui Wars were a series of armed conflicts between New Spain, and its successor state, the Mexico, Mexican Republic, against the Yaqui people, ...

as the leader of the Yaqui forces. As a result of this war the capital of Occidente was moved to Cosalá and then in 1828 to

Álamos Álamos () is a town in Álamos Municipality in the States of Mexico, Mexican state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. Historically an important center of silver mining, the town's economy is now dominated by the tourist sector. Designated a ...

. Sonora and Sinaloa were again split into two separate states in 1830.

One state: Sonora y Sinaloa

Under its

Constitution of 1824 A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, Sonora y Sinaloa was a single state of the Mexican Republic. The federal constitution used the name "Sonora y Sinaloa." However the state constitution adopted on 31 October 1825 used the name Estado de Occidente. The Sonora y Sinaloa state capital was located at

. The first Governor of Sonora y Sinaloa was the Sonoran Juan Miguel Riesgo.

Two states: Sonora and Sinaloa

On 30 September 1830, due to constant internal disputes, the state was divided into two states: Sonora and Sinaloa. The territory of Sinaloa corresponds to that of the modern-day state of the same name. The territory of Sonora includes all of the modern state of the same name with the exception of the areas that were ceded to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

during the

Mexican Cession The Mexican Cession () is the region in the modern-day Western United States that 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 S ...

and the

Gadsden Purchase The Gadsden Purchase ( "La Mesilla sale") is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effect on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lan ...

in 1848 and 1854 respectively.

Mexican-American War and territory

Sonora of the 1820s extended north beyond the present-day

United States–Mexico border United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. Settlements existed only in the extreme south of the current state of Arizona and the northern frontier was not defined. Maps from the period show the northern border above today's international border, as far as either the

or the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

in the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

. The Mexican-American War, the 1848

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 ...

, and especially the

established the present border.

Sources

*Spicer, Edward H. ''Cycles of Conquest''. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1962. {{coord missing, Mexico History of Sinaloa History of Sonora 1824 establishments in Mexico Historical geography of Mexico States and territories established in 1824 States and territories disestablished in 1830 Pre-statehood history of Arizona Former states of Mexico