Mexican War of Independence the expedition of Isidro Barradas in 1829, Spain under the rule of Isabella II recognized the independence of Mexico in 1836. Mexican resistance and struggle for independence began with the brutal Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire when Spanish conquerors had considerable autonomy from crown control. Don Martín Cortés (son of Hernán Cortés), the second marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, led a conspiracy of holders of encomiendas against the Spanish crown after it sought to eliminate privileges for the conquistadors, particularly putting limitations on encomiendas. After the suppression of that mid-16th-century conspiracy, elites raised no substantial challenge to royal
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana County given under Spanish Rule which were rare during this time. This was only two and a half months before the start of the war for Mexican Independence (1810-1821). The surrounding land grants or ranchos were granted by the Mexican government after Mexican independence in 1821. José Antonio Yorba built an elaborate adobe hacienda, El Refugio (the Refuge), located near present-day First and Sullivan Streets in western Santa Ana. With the Mexican Cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by