Royal California (Imperial: real estate, live, estate)

[WesternPilgrim]

California, founded by King Carlos III of Spain, has always been something of a haven for monarchists and exiled royalty from around the world. In my opinon California should be ranked with Virginia and Louisiana among states retaining the strongest legacies of their monarchial origins.

For a fascinating read, I recommend Charles Coulombe's description of Royal California.

[BeauCharles]

All that went out the window with the American takeover and the subsequent Gold Rush. Turned California into about the most egalitarian free-for-all in US history.

[WesternPilgrim]

BeauCharles, as the article makes clear, the monarchial strain in California remained long after the American annexation and persists to this day. In fact the Americans had a lot to do with it. While the revolutionary, anti-clerical government of Mexico closed the missions and expelled the padres, the American government restored them and returned them to the Catholic Church. Post-annexation California literature and poetry propelled the state's monarchial past back to cultural prominence. Real estate developers, perhaps insincerely, capitalized on the romance of it all. Furthermore the state continues to serve as a kind of magnet for exiled monarchists and their sympathizers from around the world. I've met more than a few of them, and the linked article refers to some of their organizations.

In this respect, as in others, "egalitarian" California resembles "egalitarian" France. In reality, both are lands of extremes containing lively pockets of old world reactionary sentiment. It has been said that Paris is a "nursery of saints and antichrists". California isn't far behind.

[.highnlite]

More or less, bull****. If anything California has Imperial aspirations, as the Emperor Norton would tell you.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by WesternPilgrim

BeauCharles, as the article makes clear, the monarchial strain in California remained long after the American annexation and persists to this day. In fact the Americans had a lot to do with it. While the revolutionary, anti-clerical government of Mexico closed the missions and expelled the padres, the American government restored them and returned them to the Catholic Church. Post-annexation California literature and poetry propelled the state's monarchial past back to cultural prominence. Real estate developers, perhaps insincerely, capitalized on the romance of it all. Furthermore the state continues to serve as a kind of magnet for exiled monarchists and their sympathizers from around the world. I've met more than a few of them, and the linked article refers to some of their organizations.

In this respect, as in others, "egalitarian" California resembles "egalitarian" France. In reality, both are lands of extremes containing lively pockets of old world reactionary sentiment. It has been said that Paris is a "nursery of saints and antichrists". California isn't far behind.

There is a small Mexican monarchist movement. I wonder if California has any organized devotees of Agustin I or Maximilian.

[ferretkona]

I prefer the Miwok procession. Little more history by a few centuries.