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Description
In 1799 Father José Viader notified the governor of the Californias in this letter that elections were held among the Indians of Mission Santa Clara on January 1st: two Indians were elected as alcaldes (mayor/justice of the peace) and two other Indians were elected as regidores (councilmen). Since the 1770s Felipe de Neve, governor of the Californias, had decreed that Indians should hold elections at every mission in order to learn self-government.
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