Republic of Baja California

The Republic of Lower California, also known as the Republic of Baja California, was a proposed state from 1853 to 1854, after American private military leader William Walker failed to invade Sonora from Arizona. Walker wanted to appropriate Sonora, and his claims had both the support of tycoons and government complacency in the United States. In November 1853, Walker set off with two hundred men to La Paz, where he captured the political head and proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Lower California, a state that never had recognition nor truly existed because Walker had neither full control of the peninsula nor the support of the population. He faced resistance from the Mexican army and from civilians, among them.