Introduction
Joaquin Murrieta is one of California’s legendary people whose life history revolves around many controversial issues. It is not very clear about who he really was, about his life encounters and his life in general. To begin with, many people often argue about Murrieta’s birth. Some say he was born in Mexico, others say he was born in Ouillota while others say he was born in Chile. The allegation of Chile as His birthplace is mainly because he supported Chileans while they were in war. In this case, some people believe that he sided with Chileans because he was born in Chile. Murrieta moved to California mainly because he went to search for fortune during gold rush in the country. Despite all the conflicting events about Murrieta, his legend is still essential in California’s history. Apparently, Murrieta had committed several criminal activities before he died. His criminal activities started when he lost both his wife and his brother. This happened while they were all in California. Murrieta, his wife and his brother were all gold miners in California though it was only for a short time. Initially, everything went well for them until the day when they met their tragedy. All along, their mining activity did not please some American miners who were jealous of them. Eventually, the American miners were able to get rid of them by killing Murrieta’s wife and brother. The turn of events did not favor Murrieta who never got justice from the Californian courts. Murrieta was determined to take vengeance upon those who killed his wife and brother. Regardless of not getting assistance from the courts, Murrieta did not give up and so he went ahead with his revenge plans. He, therefore, joined a gang of five men who robbed and murdered many people. Murrieta and his gang group robbed people of their cattle, horses and money. The gang did all that because they were fighting for rights that were denied by the Californian courts. The criminal actions of Murrieta’s gang were also fueled by discrimination which dominated most parts of California. Minority groups like the Mexicans were treated with contempt and were not respected by the white men. Gradually, Mexicans started to oppose the discrimination that they got from the white men. Murrieta’s gang was also able to influence Mexicans into the Chicano movement that dealt with several issues. The objective of this paper is to address the general life and struggles of Joaquin Murrieta with an emphasis on how they were instruments of influence for the Chicano movement of the 50s 60s and 70s.
Murrieta’s life
Considering the legend, Murrieta’s birthplace was in Mexico although he left the country and migrated to California. Murrieta’s family was part of reputable people in Mexico who were known as the Sonara. His family was humble and brought him up in the right way. Generally, Murrieta had an incredible childhood in which he was able to earn respect from those who knew him. He was well-mannered and always respected people with whom he associated. His educational background was successful though he did not get a job in Mexico. As a result of unemployment, Murrieta decided to move to other places where there were opportunities. It was in 1849 when He went to California in order to search for riches that were in the country’s gold rush. Murrieta was accompanied by his wife and his brother to California where they all engaged in mining activities. Unfortunately, Murrieta, his wife and brother were not very successful in their search for better opportunities. This was because they went through discrimination and racism. Their success in mining was suddenly interrupted by some Americans who were jealous of him. The Americans were not only jealous of them but also hated those who were from Mexico. The Americans were also miners who felt threatened by Marietta’s progressions. As a result of this, the Americans arranged a malicious plot whereby they attacked Murrieta, his wife and his brother. Without any mercy, the Americans whipped Marietta several times.
Murrieta’s brother did not escape from the attack since he was hanged by the Americans. Murrieta survived the attack although he was thoroughly whipped without any considerations. Bearing the pain of losing his wife and brother was not easy for Murrieta who was left alone. He tried to seek justice from the California courts though his efforts did not bear any fruits. Seeking justice from the California courts was impossible because Mexicans were treated with contempt. According to the laws by that time, Mexicans were not allowed to testify against any citizen from California. Murrieta was therefore denied the opportunity to testify against those who brutally murdered his wife and brother. This was so unfair because the courts were protecting California’s citizens who had committed murder. Ideally, this was discrimination of the highest level because Mexicans were not granted the freedom to express themselves . They were also denied the chance to be heard in the California courts. Meanwhile, Murrieta had to quit mining which had caused him nothing but trouble from the white men. Even if he wanted to go back to mining, the white men would not allow him to do so. The Americans had so much hate and discrimination against the Mexicans. In this case, Mexicans were not given opportunities to venture into businesses, innovations or ways of earning income. The Americans only wanted to benefit themselves at the expense of Mexicans. With all those negativity, Murrieta decided to seek justice outside the legal framework. This was because the court had neglected his call for justice and did not want to associate with him. Murrieta therefore opted to carry out his vengeance without any help from the Californian government. Seeking revenge was not an easy task. Murrieta needed to get assistance from a few individuals whom he knew.
Getting assistance was not a problem for him because he decided to join a gang of five men. The gang name was known as “the five Joaquins”. Members of the gang were namely Murrieta, Ocomoreniaq, Carrillo and Bottellier and Valenzuela. Joining the gang was the beginning of criminal activities in Murrieta’s life. His personality changed suddenly to a person who was inhuman and did not care about the lives of people. Clearly, this was contrary to the life he led before losing his wife and brother. Murrieta was only compelled to his criminal activities because he was bearing too much pain. This was also contributed by the manner in which the white men discriminated against Mexicans. Murrieta was against the mistreatment and racism that Mexicans received from the white men. Through Murrieta, most Mexicans were able to open their eyes and oppose the harsh treatment of the Californians. For a long time, Mexicans did not complain or oppose the mistreatment of white men. Probably they were naïve or lacked the courage to demand their rights in California. Thanks to Murrieta who helped Mexicans to get back their lost identity. He was a true inspiration and new hope to his people who were unable to fight for their rights. What started as a revenge strategy developed into a movement that was fighting for the rights of the minorities. In his actions to seek justice, Murrieta managed to fight also for the rights of Mexicans who were undermined by Californians. He sensitized his people who got a clear insight of what was rightfully theirs. Historically, Sonara people from Mexico migrated to settle in California land where there were mining activities. Most of them had left California even before Murrieta was born. The Sonara’s were mainly attracted by the gold mining activities in California. Mexico did not offer many opportunities for its citizens and so many people opted to try their luck in other places. Most Mexicans were successful in their mining activities though they were not accepted by Californians. Americans in California were jealous of the Mexicans who inhabited their lands. However there were some Mexicans who belied that part of Californian land belonged to them. The only problem was that they did not have viable evidence to prove their allegations. Mexicans were also afraid of the reactions that they would get from Americans in California. With all this combined, Mexicans were reluctant to claim for what they thought was rightfully theirs. Mexicans instead concentrated on mining activities that kept them busy most of the time.Californians on the other hand were very uncomfortable with the idea that Mexicans were in their land. Hosting Mexicans in their country was an issue that they did not like at all. White men were more concerned with the gold mining which they wanted for themselves. Sharing the gold mining with Mexicans was not a pleasing idea for Californians who were very jealous. Their jealousy culminated in discrimination and racism. Mexicans were treated with all kinds of negativity by the white men. Unfortunately, Mexicans had no choice but to humble themselves before their host. Initially, it was the Mexicans who showed Californians how to mine.
The Americans in California did not know how to extract gold until the time Mexicans gave them an idea. They had the gold in their country but did not know how to make good use of it. It was therefore necessary to employ Mexican miners who could assist them in mining. Had it not been for the efforts of Murrieta, Mexicans might have never realized their rights. Murrieta played a very big role in liberating his people who were unable to fight for their rights. For some time, he was also a victim of the discrimination and racism until the time he was disappointed by the courts. His urge to liberate Mexicans was mainly caused by the death of his wife and brother. Taking revenge on his hands was a very big challenge Murrieta was anxious to take down those who had attacked them. After his revenge mission, Murrieta and his gang went ahead to fight for the rights of Mexicans. They gave Mexicans a clear insight and direction into what was rightfully theirs. Between 1850 and 1853, Murrieta’s gang was involved in horse robbery. Their work was to assemble wild horses which were wandering in most parts of Californian land. The gang would then take the horses to Mexico where they were eventually sold. This continued for a very long time until the day they were caught by some Californian rangers. During that time, Murrieta and his gang members were in their hideout at Cantua Creek. That was the end of Murrieta and the gang members who were killed by the rangers.
The Chicano Movement
Although Murrieta did not accomplish much of his goals, he really assisted many Mexicans who were able to fight for their dreams. Through his actions, he managed to influence Mexicans into the Chicano Movement. This movement included social, economical and political problems that affected Mexicans in California. The term Chicano was used to refer to Mexicans who had migrated from their land to California. Chicanos were Mexican refugees who had migrated into US. They were mistreated and denied many rights by the Americans in US. There was a great need for them to seek for what was rightfully theirs. This led to the Chicano movement in 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The movement was initiated so that Mexicans or rather Chicanos could get their social justice. Chicanos had suffered enough from people who treated them with too much contempt and hatred. The movement was an essential tool that assisted Mexicans to address their grievances. Education was one of the major issues which were contained in the movement. This is because Mexicans were not given equal educational opportunities like the white Americans. As such, the Chicanos had poor educational systems which did not help them at all. They were also facing hard economic times that made them poorer.
Due to lack of skills, Mexicans were unable to get well-paying jobs in America. Farm labor was the main livelihood for them although it did not bring enough money to them. White Americans were more privileged than the minority groups that were not recognized. Chicano movement was basically influenced by smaller groups within the minorities. These groups included small community units and gang groups like the one for Murrieta. In this case, the movement started at the grass-root levels where communities were sensitized by people from smaller groups. In order to achieve their goals, the Chicanos had to be resistant and very aggressive towards white Americans. Pleading or appealing for their right could not help them. They had to go beyond the ordinary for them to acquire what they wanted. By that time, gang groups had already exposed Mexicans to animosity which they embraced with much courage. Having seen people killed many times by gangs, the Chicanos were not afraid of attacking their rivals. They had to fight for freedom which was denied to them for a very long time. As a result of the Chicano movement, millions of people lost their lives while so many issues were disrupted. Life could not be normal at that time when Chicanos were attacking white Americans. The Chicano was a long-lasting revolution since it took place in 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Mexicans were determined in their fight and did not give up in the process. In reaction to the movement, white Americans were very angry with Mexicans who were attacking them. As a way of solving the situation, several Mexicans were deported back to their country by some white Americans. Deporting the Mexicans was to some extent effective because it reduced their population levels. It was however difficult to deport some of them who were too aggressive for the Americans. Other than deportation, most Mexicans were sacked from agricultural farms where they worked as labors.
Conclusion
Although many controversies surround the life of Murrieta, his legend states that he was a Mexican native. He was part of the Sonara people who lived in Mexico. He was born and brought up in Mexico where he started and completed his education. Later he had to migrate to California where he started a new life (Latta, 2008, p.81). His life changed when his family was killed in the mining attack. This led to his quest for revenge after he was disappointed by the Californian courts. Through his journey of revenge, Murrieta was able to guide Mexicans into their liberation. Murrieta gave Mexicans the courage to fight for their freedom. He was a true inspiration to his people who were highly discriminated against by the white Americans (Latta, 2008, p.102).
Bibliography
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His exploits in the State of California. Texas: University of Houston. Romano Octavio. The Chicano Movement in History. California: TQS Publications. 1995. Web.
Sinmadera Telodigo. The Chicano Movement. The meaning of Chicano. California: Foothill College. 2005. Web.