Contra Costa County, California
In 1821 Mexico gained independence from Spain. While little changed in ranchero life, the Mexican War of Independence resulted in the secularization of the missions with the re-distribution of their lands, and a new system of land grants under the Mexican Federal Law of 1824. Mission lands extended throughout the Bay Area, including portions of Contra Costa County. Between 1836 and 1846, during the era when California was a province of independent Mexico, the following 15 land grants were made in Contra Costa County.
Liberal Party (Mexico)
When Mexico achieved its independence in 1821, the Mexican political life was altered by constant struggles between Liberals and Conservatives. The Liberal Party enacted the Federal Constitution of 1857, which along with the Plan of Ayutla (1854) and other liberal reforms polarized Mexican society to lead the Reform War (1857–1861), the Second French Intervention in México (1862–1867) and the Second Mexican Empire (1863–1867).