Squatters' Riot
| Squatters' riot | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Government of Sacramento | Squatters | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Mayor Hardin Bigelow Sheriff Joseph McKinney † |
Dr. Charles L. Robinson Joseph Maloney † |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3 dead At least 1 wounded |
2 dead | ||||||
| 2 civilians in crossfire | |||||||
| A total of six were wounded. | |||||||
The Squatters' riot was an uprising and conflict that took place between squatting settlers and the government of Sacramento, California (then an unorganized territory annexed after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo) in August 1850 concerning the lands that John Sutter controlled in the region and the extremely high prices that speculators set for land that they had acquired from Sutter. The influx of squatters was a consequence of the 1848 California Gold Rush; when courts began to take legal action against squatters in the area, the squatters mobilized under Dr. Charles L. Robinson and Joseph Maloney and challenged mayor Hardin Bigelow and sheriff Joseph McKinney; the conflict was ultimately resolved, and the speculation in Sacramento ended as a result.
The California Gold Rush, which began in 1848, attracted thousands of gold seekers to the Sacramento Valley region after flakes of gold were discovered at a sawmill owned by John Sutter, Sr. in Coloma. Founding an embarcadero on the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers to facilitate trade, the Gold Rush made Sutter disillusioned and he replaced himself with his son as tender of business affairs in Sutter's New Helvetia. Sutter's temporary succession by his son gave Sutter, Jr. the power and opportunity to develop the embarcadero into a settlement that he dubbed "Sacramento City" with his partner, Samuel Brannan from San Francisco in the south. However, even after the hype that accompanied the Gold Rush began to settle down, settlers continued to move into Sacramento City, attracted by the trade that continued to bustle along its location on the Sacramento and American.
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