How did the US and Mexico arrive at the far western boundary lines in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (2/2/1848)?
In 1773, Spain marked a boundary between Baja and Alta California around Ensenada as the boundary between the Dominican and Franciscan Missions. In 1804, apparently Spain made formal the boundary between the states of Baja and Alta California, but I don’t know where the line was. I can only assume the same line marker was used near Ensenada. Perhaps the border was established at its current location before the Mex-Am war? If so, why was it put there?
The Treaty used the Gila River and a line from the intersection of the Gila and Colorado Rivers to a spot 1 league south of the southernmost point of San Diego Bay.
I understand the US was not interested in taking all or too much of Mexico as a result of the war essentially due to cultural differences and potential slavery issues, so they wanted to draw a line somewhere.
I also understand the Baja peninsula was sparsely populated and desert, but so was much of the area actually annexed.
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Why didn’t the US annex Baja? I know William Walker took over Baja on his own accord in 1853, after the war, with only 45 men, but was quickly acquitted of crimes in a California court due to the prevailing ideas on Manifest Destiny. If those ideas were so strong, why didn’t they lead to US annexation of Baja in the first place? The ideas were strong but not THAT strong?
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Why didn’t the US, at the very least, annex the mouth of the Colorado River at the Sea of Cortez or Gulf of California along with some agreement as to rights of passage and use of the Gulf? I would think the US would want that as a potential natural resource and potential port while denying Mexico a potential strategic military point in terms of river access.
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Why didn’t the US and Mexico simply keep the established Spanish border at Ensenada between Baja and Alta California? If it was a given that Mexico would keep Baja, did Mexico want to ensure physical connection between the mainland and Baja?
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Why didn’t the US take the Tijuana area? Why stop at just barely taking enough to get the entire San Diego Bay plus a bit? If old boundaries between Baja and Alta were being disregarded anyway, I would think the US would want to take the Tijuana River and Valley pretty much adjacent to the San Diego Bay area in that they are basically connected as a geographic region. It was basically just ranch land at the time and not a big urban area filled with Mexicans, so I can’t see a cultural barrier to the US wanting to take Tijuana.