Pio de Jesus Pico (1801-1894)

February 12, 2007 
/ Contributed By: Alicia Rivera

Pio Pico Wife and Daughters (Public Domain)||

Pio Pico Wife and Daughters (Public Domain)

Pio Pico was the last governor of Mexican California. He was of African, Indian, and Spanish ancestry. He was born in San Gabriel in 1801 and resided there until his father’s death in 1819; he then moved to San Diego. It is not clear how he became California’s governor in 1845. Some accounts state that he took over Governor Manuel Micheltorena’s position in 1845 “following a revolt that ended with a bloodless artillery duel near Cahuenga Pass that forced out Governor Manuel Micheltorena.” As governor, Pico participated in the final process of the secularization of the California missions. There are different interpretations of this measure by the Mexican government: one asserts that it was part of the liberal discourse of the post-independence movement in Mexico; another asserts that it was a desperate measure intended to obtain revenue by selling the missions for the impending conflict with the United States over California.

In any event, Pio Pico finalized the sale of the missions on October 28, 1845. Pico was said to have taken the final steps of the sale to obtain revenues to pay for maintaining order in Baja California, forestalling the United States imperialistic advance. Upon the loss of Mexico’s Southwestern territories to the United States, Pico escaped to Mexico, only to return to California two years later. He spent the last years of his life as an American citizen; his citizenship was granted by the provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which gave the right of citizenship to the inhabitants of the regions taken by the United States as a result of the Mexican American War.

Pio de Jesus Pico
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His performance as the last governor of California has been judged as incompetent by some accounts. However, historian Hubert Howe Bancroft asserts that the vilifying of Pico is shortsighted because the complex context during his position – the time of the imperialistic ambitions of the United States toward Mexico’s borderlands – must be taken into consideration. Pico’s assessment of the situation informs of his love for his Mexican California: “I am full of grief and greatly moved by the painful evils which the Territory of California is suffering today in the intense war with the United States of America who has proposed to dominate it at the cost of any sacrifice.”

Pico was unable to change the fate of Mexican California before his death in Los Angeles in 1894. Historian Jessie E. Bromilow asserts: “[Pico] was caught in the swirl of the American conquest.” He did the best that he could in unusually trying times for Mexican California.

About the Author

Author Profile

Alicia J. Rivera is currently an Assistant Professor in history at California State University, Fresno in Fresno, California. She is a registered nurse who in her latter years became interested in American history, particularly in issues of labor and race. Ms. Rivera has received many awards for her work, among them California State, Fresno Social Science’s Dean’s Medal and a Ronald E. McNair Scholarship while attending California State University–Fresno. She holds a BSN from the University of Costa Rica and a BSA and a MA in history from California State University, Fresno. Ms. Rivera’s work has been published in numerous encyclopedias such as Encyclopedia of African American Biography. Her work on the San Diego Superior Court Case, Lemon Grove v. Roberto Alvarez was published in The Journal of Latin/Latino American Studies, (JOLLAS).

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Rivera, A. (2007, February 12). Pio de Jesus Pico (1801-1894). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/pico-pio-de-jesus-1801-1894/

Source of the Author's Information:

Jessie Elizabeth Bromilow, “Don Pio de Jesus Pico: His Biography and Place in History,” Master of Arts Thesis, University of Southern California, August, 1931. Pio de Jesus Pico (1808-1894), San Diego Historical Society; https://sandiegohistory.org/archives/biographysubject/piopico/.

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