Another example of history in our backyards:
According to some this is the place where the history of modern California began – at Verdugo Adobe in present day Glendale.
The preliminary talks to the actual peace treaty (signed two days later) which ended the war between the US and Mexico were held under an oak tree, later called “The Oak of Peace” or “El Roble de la Paz.” Interestingly enough two brothers were involved in those talks about surrender of the Mexicans to the U.S. forces under the command of John Fremont: Jesus Pico, acting on behalf of the U.S. government and Andres Pico, commander of the Mexican Army.
The tree itself isn’t there any longer – in 1987 it had to be taken down due to root rot.
Well, at least it did not get chopped down for firewood or to make room for an office building.
Ya know, I hear all this whining, bitching, and outrage from my knee-jerk right-wing friends, about the “illegal” immigrants flooding into our country from Mexico. Until 1836, Anglos were the illegal immigrants. From 1519, when Spain first claimed Texas, until 1836, we were considered a part of Mexico. So, who are the usurpers?
Let me clarify something. Anglos weren’t illegal immigrants. They had actually been encouraged to settle Texas. Before the revolution, there were more Anglos than Mexicans in Texas.
I heard an interesting theory once: When the present-day Texas was still part of Mexico, the Spaniards and their descendants as the elite of the country saw Mexico City very much as the main hub of their country. Present-day Texas was so far removed from that hub of the elite that they had no interest in developing it. That they left to those settlers allowed in, which were indeed Anglos in large numbers.
So basically for the Mexican elite those Anglo settlers were more or less paisanos to do the dirty work.
Apparently the Mexicans had not assumed that settlers somewhere out in the sticks could be so interested in the land they were living on that subsequently they declared their independence/were annexed by the US.