Asbill massacre facts for kids
The Asbill massacre was a terrible event in 1854. Six explorers from Missouri killed about 40 Yuki people in a place called Round Valley, California. This event is a sad part of California's history.
History
A Time of Big Changes
In 1848, many people rushed to northern California because of the California Gold Rush. The number of non-Native American people in California grew very fast. It went from 13,000 to over 300,000 in just ten years. This sudden rush of miners and settlers caused big problems. There were already about 300,000 Native Americans living there. Everyone needed space and resources, and there wasn't enough for everyone.
Unfair Laws
In 1851, California's governor said that a "war" would continue until Native Americans were gone. This idea soon became law. A new law in 1851 allowed settlers to form groups to harm Native Americans. It even let them ask the government to pay for their actions. By 1852, the state had approved over a million dollars for these claims.
The Incident
On May 15, 1854, six explorers from Missouri, led by Pierce Asbill, found Round Valley. They were looking for a path between two towns, Weaverville and Petaluma. Round Valley was a quiet, hard-to-reach area. Because of this, settlers and miners had not bothered it much yet.
As the explorers crossed a meadow, they saw movement in the grass. They realized that Native Americans were living peacefully in the valley. The group then went to a creek where they found a large village of Yuki people. The explorers had better weapons and horses. They attacked the Yuki people, killing about 40 of them.
What Happened Next
No one charged Pierce Asbill or his group for killing the Yuki people. The Yuki people were not threatening them. Asbill even stayed in the area to hunt.
Because Round Valley was so far away, other Native American groups who had been forced off their lands came to live there. Soon, the Native American population in the valley grew to 20,000. But there were only a few dozen White settlers. A California law from 1850, called the "Act for the Government and Protection of Indians," made it legal to kidnap Native Americans and force them to work. Because of this law and their large numbers in one place, slave raids against the Round Valley Native Americans became common.
More conflicts followed, including attacks meant to make Native Americans leave the valley. You can read more about these in the Round Valley Settler Massacres of 1856 - 1859 and the Mendocino War. By 1860, all remaining Yuki people were forced to live on reservations. In the 1880s, settlers started taking over reservation lands. This led to another conflict, the Round Valley War. This caused the Yuki people to lose even more land and lives.
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