Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo usually known as Juan Bautista Alvarado, was a Californio politician that served as Governor of Alta California from 1837 to 1842. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independence of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, in which he successfully deposed interim governor Nicolás Gutiérrez, declared independence, and created a new flag and constitution, before negotiating an agreement with the Mexican government resulting in his recognition as governor and the end of the independence movement.
Juan Bautista Alvarado
Governor Alvarado House, a landmark in Monterey, California
Manuel Micheltorena assumed power from Alvarado in 1842, amid tensions with the United States, but was later defeated by Alvarado at the Battle of Providencia in 1845.
Funerary monument at St. Mary's Cemetery for Governor Alvarado and his wife, Martina Castro de Alvarado.
Alta California, also known as Nueva California among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of Las Californias, but was made a separate province in 1804. Following the Mexican War of Independence, it became a territory of Mexico in April 1822 and was renamed Alta California in 1824.
Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó was the first mission established in the Californias (present-day Loreto, Mexico) in 1697.
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, established in 1770, was the headquarters of the Californian mission system from 1797 until 1833.
Mexico in 1838. From Britannica 7th edition.
