routinely ignored), miners made their
own laws, called mining camp codes. The
camp codes defined how big a claim could
be and specified that all claims had to be
continuously worked to stay valid. The
codes were often enforced by “vigilance
committees” that were little more than
lynch mobs. With mining camp senti-
ment growing against “foreigners,” many
codes began incorporating clauses that
specifically excluded or otherwise discrim-
inated against Mexicans and other Latino
miners, as well as against Asians. Many
miners working in Sonora were forced to
return to Mexico under the threat of vio-
lence. Because all Hispanics looked alike
to these Anglos, many Californios were
also forced to flee to Mexico, even though
they had lived in California all their
lives—and even though the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo had made them citi-
zens of the United States.
California entered the Union as a
state in 1850, but the state legislature
failed to address discrimination against
Hispanic and other non-Anglo miners. InMANIFEST DESTINY AND HISPANIC AMERICA 99CHILEAN MINERS
Because of their proximity to quick sea transportation northward, Chileans were among the
first fortune seekers to arrive in the California minefields following the discovery of gold there
in 1848. Their presence—like that of Mexicans and others from Latin America—angered
Anglo miners, who petitioned the California government to pass a foreign miners’ tax on all
non-U.S.-born miners. Though steep for its time, the tax (which began at $20 per month, but
was later lowered) did not dissuade many Chileans from working in the mines. As the gold
rush came to a close, some Chileans in 19th-century California returned home, while most
shifted to other occupations.