Diputación de Alta California

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.^[3] 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.^[3]

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.^[1]

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[2] 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.^[2]

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.^[1]

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.^[6]

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: ^[7]

• 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.^[4] Substitutes (suplentes) were chosen as alternate members, to serve in the diputación when a member was otherwise unable.