Pulling Things Together, Part 2

The Law and Women

The Catholic Church and the Spanish Crown were tightly intertwined for hundreds of years. The views of the Church filtered through to the Crown. Recently, I spoke to you about the effect of the Real Pragmatica of 1779 had on women and marriage. Changes in the Real Pragmatica was the Crown's way of maintaining power over the Church and the people. It set the standards or rules by which Spain's subjects, in the old and new world, would live. In regards to women, marriage and New Spain, "marriage policies allowed parents to control their children, husbands to control their wives, and mission priests to control the Indians." (Bouvier, 114) With these policies in place, the Crown could maintain some control over who its subjects married and assure that the blood line would remain pure. Being far removed from the headquarters of New Spain, presented the citizens of Alta Califronia with difficulties enforcing the policies.

Mexico's independence from Spain brought very little change to those in Alta California, in fact, they had become self-sufficient from Mexico and were of low priority to the government. The real power was with the large Spanish families and the alcaldes of the towns. Who as we know was like a jack of all trades: a highly respected man, "mayor, justice of the peace, and godfather." He "heard all the compliants and passed judgement according to the traditional local social and religious mores." (Bastian,313) Those of pure blood were considered the elite. For this reason, intermarrying among the elite families was necessary, in addition, having large families ensured that the family blood line would continue. The Californios were proud of their large families. It's important to mention that although the Californio women had a dozen of more children, in most cases the children did not live to maurity, as in the case with the Peralta family.

Okay two love stories then I'll move on to marianismo. So hang in there!

Josefa Carrillo-Fitch: 1810 -1893

The story of Josefa Carrillo is fun. She is the maternal grand-daughter of the famous Maria Feliciana Arballo, who came on the 1775 Anza expedition with Father Font. Being a widow it was discouraged for her to travel alone, but she did it anyway and brought her two daughters with her. She was criticized by the Father Font for participating in a fandango one night around the campfire. The man she traveled with with upset when she stood up and sang a few verses which were "discordant" (that's what Father Font calls it) and he struck her. Father Font defended this man's actions but Captain Anza stood in her defense. Josefa inherited this fiesty character from her great-grandmother.

They met in 1826 when she was only 16 and he was 27. Henry Delano Fitch was a American merchant seaman who came into San Diego on the Maria Ester. They became attracted to each, so when he proposed marriage, she accepted. It was becoming an acceptable practice for the elite Californio women to marry Anglo-American businessmen. Her father gave his approval and as expected Fitch was baptized Catholic the day before the wedding. The following day the ceremony was interrupted by a messenger who said that Governor Echeandia had forbidden them to get married. The priest immediately stopped and, he and all guests quickly left the wedding. Carrillo says they quick departure was consistent with "people, who by character and upbringing, were used to blindly obeying all governmental orders." Needless to say, the ceremony did not take place. According to Carrillo, the governor stopped the wedding because he claimed that Fitch had not completed the requirments for becoming a Mexican citizen but she says it was because he was a "disappointed suitor for her hand."

Fitch turned to Pio Pico, a relative of Carrillo, who helped Fitch come up with a plan. Pico went to Carrillo's home and convinved to go with him to meet Fitch. He took her by horseback to meet Fitch and that night they sailed away on the Buitre to Valparaiso, Chile, where they were married. Fitch faithfully, Carrillo testifies, kept his promise to Pico that he as "long as he(Fitch) was alive, his wife would be happy." (Beebe and Senkewicz, 69-81).

Their romanitc story became popular and was known by many. Painted by Charles Nahl in 1875

Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton: 1831 - 1895

The life of Maria Amparo is full of many historical stories of her day. She was a binational who was caught in the middle of a changing world. Frustrated by a country, religion and culture that held men in higher regard than women, she exclaimed in her writings, "Ah, if I were a man! What a sorry thing a woman is!" (Sanchez and Pita, xi). She was a landowner and an accomplished writer. Through her writings, we can see the discrimination that women and Mexicans lived through after the takeover of California by the United States in the mid to late nineteenth century.

One story in particular that illustrates how the law and Church influenced the lives of the Calfornio women was in relation to her marriage to Captain Henry S. Burton of the US Army. Under the Mexican and Catholic laws marriage was a sacred covenant made between two baptized Catholics by a Catholic priest. As it happens, Governor Pico, received a chastisement by Bishop Garcia Diego for allowing inter-faith marriages. The new vicar, Franciscan Jose Gonzales Rubio, wrote to the military governor petitioning his support in not allowing inter- religion marriages. Colonel Mason agreed to respect the Mexican laws and policies until others were established.(Sanchez and Pita, 10).

On July 9, 1849, Maria Amparo Ruiz, a Catholic, married Captain Henry S. Burton, a Protestant in Monterey, California by a Protestant minister. This, of course, shocked the Church and the Californios, especially the women. The couple had sought the blessing of Friar Ramirez, nonethless she was banished from the "Catholic society." Maria was a strong, independent woman who would not shy away from, "countering social prescriptions for women." She sought counsel from the Church and was told that she would need a dispensation, a relaxation of the law by a superior who has the authority to enforce such, to be recognized as a married woman in the eyes of the Church. Rubio agrees to give her a dispensation with the agreement that she will continue attending he Catholic Church, teach her children the Catholic religion, and convert her husband to Catholicism. (Sanchez and Pita, 11).

Rubio asks the new governor of California, General Bennett Riley, to please respect Catholic marriage laws and adhere to the original understanding made by Colonel Mason. The acting Secretary of State, Henry W. Halleck, informs Rubio that Riley has no authority to keep that agreement because it was made as a "temporary wartime provision" and its enforcement would be in direct inviolation with the "spirit of the Constitution of the United States." (Sanchez and Pita, 11).

Maria's need for a dispensation from the Catholic church became a moot point when at the end of 1849, the California Constitution clearly stated in Article XI, Miscellaneous Provisions, Section 12: " No contract of marriage, if otherwise duly made, shall be invalidated for want of conformity to the requirement of any religious sect." (Sanchez and Pita, 14).