The Cocopah are Native Americans who live in Baja California, Mexico, and Arizona, United States.
The Baja California peninsula is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. It separates the Gulf of California from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California, in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, in the south.
Baja California, officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California. It has an area of 70,113 km2 (27,071 sq mi) and comprises the northern half of the Baja California Peninsula, north of the 28th parallel, plus oceanic Guadalupe Island. The mainland portion of the state is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean; on the east by Sonora, the U.S. state of Arizona, and the Gulf of California; on the north by the U.S. state of California; and on the south by Baja California Sur.
Baja California Sur, officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur, is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal entities which comprise the 31 States of Mexico. It is also the ninth-largest Mexican state in terms of area.
William Walker was an American physician, lawyer, journalist, and mercenary. In the era of the expansion of the United States, driven by the doctrine of "manifest destiny", Walker organized unauthorized military expeditions into Mexico and Central America with the intention of establishing slave-holding colonies. Such an enterprise was known at the time as "filibustering".
La Paz is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. The city had a 2020 census population of 250,141 inhabitants, making it the most populous city in the state. It is in La Paz Municipality, which is the fourth-largest municipality in Mexico in geographical size and reported a population of 292,241 inhabitants on a land area of 20,275 km2 (7,828 sq mi).
Ensenada is a city in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Located on the Bahía de Todos Santos, the city had a population of 279,765 in 2018, making it the third-largest city in Baja California. The city is an important international trade center and home to the Port of Ensenada, the second-busiest port in Mexico. Ensenada is a major tourist destination, owing to its warm climate and proximity to the Pacific Ocean, and is commonly known as La Cenicienta del Pacífico.
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local ports of call in the Hawaiian Islands and towns on the Pacific Coast. Throughout the history of the Pacific Squadron, American ships fought against several enemies. Over one-half of the United States Navy would be sent to join the Pacific Squadron during the Mexican–American War. During the American Civil War, the squadron was reduced in size when its vessels were reassigned to Atlantic duty. When the Civil War was over, the squadron was reinforced again until being disbanded just after the turn of the 20th century.
A filibuster, also known as a freebooter, is someone who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country or territory to foster or support a political revolution or secession. The term is usually applied to United States citizens who incited insurrections across Latin America, particularly in the mid-19th century, usually with the goal of establishing an American-loyal regime that could later be annexed into the United States. Probably the most notable example is the Filibuster War initiated by William Walker in Nicaragua in the 1850s.
The Filibuster War or Walker affair was a military conflict between filibustering multinational troops stationed in Nicaragua and a coalition of Central American armies. An American mercenary, William Walker, invaded Nicaragua in 1855 with a small private army. He seized control of the country by 1856, but was ousted the following year.
General José María Yáñez Carrillo was a Mexican hero of the war of independence from Spain and the invasions by France and the United States.
San Antonio is a small town in La Paz Municipality in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, located near El Triunfo on Federal Highway 1. It had a population of 463 inhabitants in the 2010 census, and is situated 400 meters (1,312 ft.) above sea level.
Mexico has experienced many changes in territorial organization during its history as an independent state. The territorial boundaries of Mexico were affected by presidential and imperial decrees. One such decree was the Law of Bases for the Convocation of the Constituent Congress to the Constitutive Act of the Mexican Federation, which determined the national land area as the result of integration of the jurisdictions that corresponded to New Spain, the Captaincy General of Yucatán, the Captaincy General of Guatemala and the autonomous Kingdoms of East and West. The decree resulted in the independence from Spain.
The Republic of Baja California and Sonora or more simply known as the Republic of Sonora was a short-lived, unrecognized federal republic ruled by filibuster William Walker in 1854. It was based in Baja California and also claimed Sonora. Walker's exploits generated interest back in San Francisco, where bonds for the Republic of Sonora were sold, and its flag was even raised in places. His enterprise, however, suffered from a lack of supplies and discontent from within; resistance by the Mexican government quickly forced Walker to retreat.
Charles René Gaston Gustave de Raousset-Boulbon was a French adventurer, filibuster and entrepreneur and, by some accounts a pirate, and a theoretician of colonialism.
The Second Battle of Tijuana was fought during the Mexican Revolution in June 1911. The opposing sides were rebel Magonistas and federal Mexican troops of President Francisco León de la Barra with American militia volunteers from Los Angeles, California. Tijuana was retaken by federal forces after a short battle just south of the town.
Between 1665 and 1857, Caribbean pirates and filibusters operated in Lake Nicaragua and the surrounding shores. The Spanish city of Granada, located on the lake, was an important trading centre for much of its early history so it was a prime target for pirates such as Welshman Henry Morgan and freebooters like William Walker.
The Crabb Massacre was the culmination of the eight-day Battle of Caborca. It was fought between Mexico and their O'odham allies against irregular forces from the United States in April 1857. Due to the outbreak of the Reform War in Mexico between conservatives and liberals (1858-60), the rebel Ignacio Pesqueira invited the U.S. politician Henry A. Crabb to colonize the northern frontier region in the state of Sonora. The colonists could help Pesqueira fight in the civil war and against the Apache.
The Magonista rebellion of 1911 was an early uprising of the Mexican Revolution organized by the Liberal Party of Mexico, which was only successful in northern Baja California. It is named after Ricardo Flores Magón, one of the leaders of the PLM. The Magonistas controlled Tijuana and Mexicali for about six months, beginning with the liberation of Mexicali on January 29, 1911. The rebellion was launched against the rule of Porfirio Díaz but was put down by forces loyal to Francisco I. Madero. Acting on a tip from Madero's agents, leaders of the Magonista movement were arrested in the United States.
The William Walker Filibuster Expedition to Baja California and Sonora occurred in the year of 1853, after a failed attempt by Walker himself to invade Sonora from the Arizona border. William Walker sought to appropriate Sonora, and in his claims he had the support of magnates and the complacency of the United States government. In November 1853 he embarked with two hundred men towards La Paz, where he was able to capture the political chief and proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Baja California, a state that never had recognition nor did it exist in the facts, since Walker never had total control of the peninsula or had the support of the population. Rather, he faced resistance from the army and Mexican civilians, among which the group commanded by Antonio Meléndrez stands out. In spite of being folded in Ensenada and suffering the mutiny of his troops from the United States, Walker proclaimed himself president of the Republic of Sonora, which also included Baja California and that, like its successor, did not have existence in fact nor any recognition. In fact, Walker only reached the territory of Sonora in 1854 when pressured by the navy of the United States and Mexico, he had to flee Ensenada. Before the harassment of Meléndrez and the desertion of another part of his troops, Walker and the remnant of his filibuistero army surrendered in San Diego to the American army. Taken to trial, the judge said he was guilty of violating the Neutrality Law signed between Mexico and the United States after the US invasion of Mexico in 1847. However, Walker was acquitted by the jury.
