page_title: History of Sonora
section_title: Independence
hierarchical_section_title: History of Sonora / Independence
caption_attribution_description: English: This is one of two known photos commissioned by Ramon Corral after the capture of Cajemé in 1887. The background has been replaced for better clarity.
context_page_description: The Free and Sovereign State of Sonora is one of 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo. Sonora is located in Northwest Mexico, bordered by the states of Chihuahua to the east, Baja California to the northwest and Sinaloa to the south. To the north, it shares the U.S.–Mexico border with the states of Arizona and New Mexico, and on the west has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of California.
context_section_description: The colonial era was ended in Sonora by the Mexican War of Independence from 1810 to 1821; however, Sonora was not directly involved in the war. Independence came by way of decree. One positive development of independence is that it would allow for economic development. The former province of Sonora, Ostimuri y Sinaloa, was divided in 1823 to form the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, with the Sonoran capital in Ures. However, they would be reunited again in 1824 and would remain so until the 1830s, in spite of the fact that Sonora was declared a state by the 1824 Constitution of Mexico. Sonora became separate again in 1831, when it wrote its first state constitution, which put the capital in Hermosillo. In 1832, the capital was moved to Arizpe. The struggles between the Conservatives, who wanted a centralized government, and Liberals, who wanted a federalist system affected the state as well as the rest of the country during the 19th century. In 1835, a centralist government was instituted based on what were called the Bases Constitutionales (Constitutional Bases). They were followed by the Siete Leyes Constitutionales (Seven Constitutional Laws), which remained in effect until 1837. But in December of the same year, General José de Urrea proclaimed in Arizpe the re-establishment of the Constitution of 1824, initially supported by then Governor Manuel Gándara. However, for the rest of the century, Gándara and succeeding governors would support a centralized government, leading to political instability in the state. In 1838, the capital was moved back to Ures.
  The fertile lands of the Mayo and Yaquis continued to attract outsiders during the 19th century. These were now Mexicans rather than Spanish, and later in the century it was a major draw for North Americans. However, the area received large numbers various European (esp. German, Italian and Russian); Middle Eastern (mainly Lebanese or Syrian Arab) and Chinese immigrants by the end of the 19th century, who would bring new forms of agriculture, mining, livestock, industrial processes, ironwork and textiles.
  The Mexican–American War resulted in only one major military confrontation between Mexican and U.S. forces, but its consequences would be severe for the state. In October 1847, the battleship Cyane laid siege to Guaymas bay, resulting in U.S. control of this part of the coast from then until 1848. When the war ended, Sonora lost 339,370 hectares of its territory to the U.S. through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In addition, the war ruined the state's economy. Sonora would lose more territory in the 1850s, through the Treaty of La Mesilla or Gadsden Purchase. Before the war, Sonora was the largest entity in Mexico. The area's weakness immediately after the war made it susceptible to buccaneers such as William Walker, Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon and Henry Alexander Crabb who attacked Sonoran ports such as Guaymas and Caborca. However, most attacks were repelled. The economy would not begin recovery from the war until the late 1850s, then Ignacio Pesqueira became governor and attracted foreign investment to the state, especially in the mining sector as well as worked to create markets abroad for agricultural products.
  During the French Intervention in Mexico, Sonora was invaded by French troops as part of their effort to install a monarch in Mexico under Maximilian I. The port of Guaymas was attacked by forces under Armando Castagny, forcing Mexican forces under Pesqueira and General Patoni to retreat north of the city. French troops attacked the Mexicans again at a place called La Pasión, again resulting in defeat for the Mexican resistance. The French were not defeated in the state until the Battle of Llanos de Ures in 1866 by Pesqueria, Jesús García Morales and Ángel Martínez. Shortly after this, the state's current constitution was written in 1871, and its capital would be permanently moved to Hermosillo.
  During the regime of Porfirio Díaz from the 1800s to the 1900s, major economic changes were promoted. These changes promoted rapid economic growth, which would ha
caption: Cajemé, Yaqui resistance leader
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