Hispanic Heritage

Events in Hispanic American History, 1851 – 1875

1492-1600 | 1601-1700 | 1701-1800 | 1801-1825 | 1826-1850 | 1851-1875 | 1876-1900 | 1901-1940
1941-1970 | 1971-

1851

After the United States took over California in 1846, the biggest issue for Californios (Hispanic Californians) is land ownership. These former Mexican citizens have to prove what land they owned before the takeover, especially because newly arriving Anglos want the land. Therefore Congress passes the Calfornia Land Act to help Californios prove their claims. Many Californios, however, lose their land.

1853

General Santa Anna returns to power as president of Mexico and, through the Gadsden Treaty, sells to the United States the region from Yuma (Arizona) along the Gila River to the Mesilla Valley (New Mexico).

1855

Vagrancy laws and so-called "greaser laws" prohibiting bear-baiting, bullfights, and cockfights are passed, clearly aimed at prohibiting the presence and customs of Californios. ("Greaser" was a negative term Anglos used for their Hispanic neighbors.)

Anglo businessmen attempt to run Mexican teamsters (wagon-drivers) out of south Texas, violating the guarantees offered by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

1859

Cigar factories are built in Florida, Louisiana, and New York to make genuine Cuban cigars. Many working-class Cubans follow the industry to jobs in the United States.

1862

The Homestead Act is passed in Congress, allowing squatters in the West to settle and claim vacant lands, often those owned by Mexicans.

April 27. Spanish troops stationed in Puerto Rico mutiny, and are executed by the colonial governor.

1868

Cubans leave for Europe and the United States in sizable numbers during Cuba's first major attempt at independence from Spain.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is adopted, declaring all people of Hispanic origin born in the United States to be U.S. citizens.

September 17. A decree in Puerto Rico frees all children born of slaves after this date. In 1870, all slaves who are state property are freed, as are various other classes of slaves.

September 23. El Grito de Lares, the shout for Puerto Rican independence, takes place, but disorganized insurrectionists are easily defeated by the Spanish.

October. Cuban rebels led by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes declare independence at Yara, in the eastern portion of the island.

1870

The Spanish government frees the slaves it owns in Cuba and Puerto Rico.

1872

Puerto Rican representatives in Spain win equal civil rights for the colony.

1873

Slavery is finally abolished in Puerto Rico.

1875

The U.S. Supreme Court in Henderson v. Mayor of New York rules that power to regulate immigration is held solely by the federal government.

The Ten Years' War, a series of unsuccessful Spanish attempts to evict rebels from the eastern half of Cuba, comes to an end with the signing of the Pact of El Zajón. The document promises amnesty for the insurgents and home rule, and provides freedom for the slaves that fought on the side of the rebels.

Source: Hispanic-American Almanac, Gale, 1997.