The Excelentísima Diputación de Alta California (Spanish for "Most Excellent Deputation of Upper California) was the unicameral legislature of Alta California, during its period as a Mexican territory. It was the first legislature of what is now California.
History Alta California was supposed to have formed a provincial diputación while still part of the Spanish Empire, when the 1812 Constitution of Cádiz was officially received and enacted in Alta California in 1820. However, Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá believed that Alta California was not sufficiently developed or ready to govern itself, and thus a diputación was never formed during Spanish rule in California.
The Diputación de Alta California was finally created in the aftermath of the War of Mexican Independence and California's separation from the Spanish Empire in 1822.
In 1827, the diputación voted to change the name of Alta California to "Moctezuma", to honor the famed Aztec Emperor and the nascent Mexican independence, but this decision was overturned by the Mexican Congress of the Union. At the same time, vocal Juan Bandini proposed the renaming of the Los Ángeles to "Victoria de Los Ángeles", which similarly was approved by the diputación but rejected by the Mexican Congress.
Disbandment Following the death of Governor José Figueroa in 1835, Carlos Antonio Carrillo, who served representing Alta California in the Congress of the Union in Mexico City, announced that the diputación would move its location from Monterey to Los Angeles. However, the diputación ignored Carrillo's announcement and did not move itself from Monterey and awaited the arrival of the newly-appointed governor, Mariano Chico.
Governor Chico's tenure was short lived, owing to the Californio resistance to Mexico City's appointed governor and the subsequent rebellion led by Juan Bautista Alvarado, a member of the diputación representing Monterey, who convinced the diputación to issue the Declaration of Independence of Alta California from Mexico on November 3, 1836.
With the reunification of Alta California and Baja California into a single territory known as the Department of the Californias on 10 December 1836, the diputación was dissolved with the creation of the Junta Departamental, more commonly known as the Diputación de las Californias.Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía - Evolución histórica de los municipios de México de 1810 a 2020
Composition The diputación was made up of 7 members (vocales), as well as a secretary in charge of calling votes and recording legislative logs. Each member represented one of the 4 presidio military districts or the 3 civilian pueblos:
Presidio of San Francisco (San Francisco) Presidio of Monterey (Monterey) Presidio of Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara) Presidio of San Diego (San Diego) Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles (Los Angeles) Pueblo de Branciforte (Santa Cruz) Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe (San Jose)
Members of the diputación were elected by the local ayuntamiento (municipal government) of the civilian pueblos or appointed by the presiding Commandant of the presidios. Substitutes (suplentes) were chosen as alternate members, to serve in the diputación when a member was otherwise unable.
Members Members (Vocales) of the Diputación de Alta CaliforniaNameConstituencyTenureNotesReferencesPío PicoLos Angeles1828-18341845Senior Vocal of the diputación in 1831-1832.California Under Spain and Mexico (1535-1847) - Irving Berdine RichmanJosé CastroMonterey1824-18251833-1836Senior Vocal of the diputación in 1835. Suplente in 1822.Juan Bautista Alvarado1834-1836Senior Vocal of the diputación in 1836.Mariano Guadalupe VallejoSan Francisco1830-1832 SF Genealogy - The Beginnings of San FranciscoJosé Tiburcio CastroMonterey1828-1831 Antonio María Osio 1830-1832 José Joaquín OrtegaSan Diego1830-1834 Juan BandiniSan Diego1827-18281845-1846 Manuel Jimeno Casarín 1834-18351839-1842 José Ramón Estrada 1837 Tiburcio Tapía 18271833 Francisco María Ortega 1822-1824 Carlos Antonio Carrillo 18281833-1835 Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society - First Families of CaliforniaJuan Bautista Alvarado 1839Cousin of similarly-named Juan Bautista Alvarado.Carlos Antonio Castro 1822-18251830Substituted by Ignacio López in 1822. Suplente in 1822 and 1839.Francisco María Castro 1822-1825 José Aruz 1822 Ignacio López 1822 José Antonio CarrilloLos Angeles1822-182418281833-1834 José PalomaresLos Angeles1822 José Mariano Estrada 1827 Ygnacio Martínez 1827 Antonio María Ortega 1827 Antonio Buelna 1827-18301834-1835 Anastasio Carrillo 1827-1828 Vicente Sánchez 1828 Salvio Pacheco 1830Suplente in 1834-1835.Santiago Argüello 1832 Tomás Yorba 1832 Francisco de Haro 1833-1834 José Antonio Estudillo 1833-1835 Rafael Gómez 1836 David Spence 1836 Manuel Crespo 1836 Joaquín Gómez 1836 José de la Guerra y Noriega 1836
Secretaries Secretaries of the Diputación de Alta CaliforniaNameTenureNotesReferencesFrancisco de Haro1822-1823 José Joaquín de la Torre1824-1825 Juan Bautista Alvarado1827-1834 Agustín V. Zamorano1834 José M. Maldonado1834-1835
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