Alexander Forbes (1778–1862) was a 19th-century

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

merchant, explorer, and author. His book ''California: A History of Upper and Lower California'', published in 1839, is perhaps the first full account in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He is the brother of distinguished Scottish physician

Sir John Forbes Sir John Forbes Royal College of Physicians, FRCP Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (17 December 1787 – 13 November 1861) was a distinguished Scottish physician, famous for his translation of the classic French medical text ''De L'Auscultation ...

. Forbes grew up in the counties of

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...

and

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

. At some point, he emigrated to

Tepic Tepic () is the capital and largest city of the western Mexican state of Nayarit, as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality. Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of above sea level, on the banks of the Río Mo ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, where he made his living as a merchant. He is also recorded as having been the British

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

to Mexico. It was during his time here that he wrote his book. One of the remarkable aspects of the book is that Forbes wrote it without ever having visited California at the time. At the time Forbes was writing, California was a province of

. Forbes drew upon the accounts of California's

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Padres to inform his work, as well as other agents, including southern California cattleman and landowner

Abel Stearns Abel Stearns (February 9, 1798 – August 23, 1871) was an American trader who came to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Alta California in 1829 and became a major landowner and cattle rancher and one of the area's wealthiest citizens. Early life Stea ...

. His work contains extensive descriptions of Mexican California, including accounts of California's agriculture and its landscape. Forbes advocated that the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

take control of California, and suggested that the territory might be ceded to the UK in return for forgiving Mexico's debt to the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

. In 1846, Barron, Forbes & Co., which was composed of Forbes, Eustace Barron (who served as consul before him), and the British vice-consul to California,

James Alexander Forbes James Alexander Forbes, Jr. (born September 6, 1935) is the Senior Minister ''Emeritus'' of the Riverside Church, an interdenominational ( American Baptist and United Church of Christ) church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. H ...

(no relation), purchased the

New Almaden , settlement_type = Neighborhood of San Jose , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = , mapsize1 = , map_caption1 = , pushpin_map = United States Sa ...

quicksilver mines from Andrés Castillero, which proved to be extremely profitable. However, another man,

José de los Reyes Berreyesa José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, also lay claim to the mine on the basis that it lay on land given to him in a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

by the Mexican governor of Alta California. Furthermore, Justo Larias also claimed ownership, and the United States government even stepped in to claim that the mine lay on public land. A complex legal case involving Mexican laws and the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as "one of the most remarkable civil trials in this or any other country", '' United States v. Andres Castillero'' eventually reached the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

whereupon it was finally decided in 1862 that, the mine was on the Larias grant, and that the furnaces and improvements of the company below the hill were on the Berreyessa grant. The company bought into these two titles and then sold the entire operation in 1864 to the Quicksilver Mining Company. Forbes, however, had moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1848 to stay with his brother. They retired to

Whitchurch-on-Thames Whitchurch-on-Thames is a village and civil parish on the Oxfordshire bank of the River Thames, about northwest of Reading, Berkshire, in close proximity to Whitchurch Hill. Opposite Whitchurch on the Berkshire bank is the village of Pangbour ...

in 1859 after his brother suffered a series of strokes. Forbes died in 1862 at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Alexander 1778 births 1862 deaths Scottish businesspeople 19th-century Scottish historians Scottish explorers of North America Explorers of California People of Mexican California Scottish emigrants to Mexico Historians of California