To be clear, I didn’t originally come up with this. I read it in the book That’s not in my American History Book by Thomas Ayres (and an interesting read, by the way).
His reasoning goes like this:
When Sir Francis Drake landed in what is now California, he claimed that area in the name of the Queen of England.
By right of discovery and with the consent of the natives (well, as much consent as there could be, as they couldn’t understand a word he was saying), he posted a declaration of claim and planted a flag.
Drake’s claim has never been challenged, and since Great Britain has never ceded the territory, it still technically belongs to Great Britain.
(And if the British still own California, then it should be called New Albion, as that is what Sir Francis Drake originally named it.)
So, do the British still technically own California?
Right of discovery isn’t an especially powerful means of determining sovereignty. In the ages of exploration and of colonisation, possession, conquest, treaty and Papal fiat all trumped the act of planting a flag and declaring possession by right of discovery.
Discovery was much more of a retroactive thing, if you appreciate the difference. Once colonial ownership was settled, victors would valorise the discoverer they claim descent from, ignore or forget the rest, and base their deeds on discovery and the legal doctrine of terra nullius. It’s tidier that way, and once in possession most prefer to play down the possibility of someone else coming along next to dispossess them.
That was exactly my thought*. I wouldn’t mind betting that would be the instinctive reaction of just about any Brit. It’d be a heck of a responsibility.
If we’re gonna play brits-and-yanks, I give you The Anglo-EU Translation Guide, which which is just as valid as an Anglo-Americano (er, both trms used in the British rather than Californian sense) interpreter.
Interesting stuff S1m0n. Just shows how daft Johnny Foreigner can be*.
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Translation for the kind of audience implied by that translation guide(“the audience”): I’m a Brit and I’m making fun of our perceived arrogance. How the audience understands it: “Just shows how daft Johnny Foreigner can be”.
I think S1m0n’s reaction is interesting. S1m0n seemed to think (or at least implied, I thought) that Hotblack’s and my reaction was kind of anti-American. But I certainly didn’t think so. It’s kind of hard to explain. I think Brits are very happy to think of America as part of the same cultural entity, made up of the US and us. We’re not just on the same team - we (collectively) are the team. But own any of it? No thanks. That’s you guys’ responsibility.
Oh for heaven’sske, maki, I saw him just the other day. I mean, he’s a bit older, but he’s looking after himself these days. He’s looking good. You know he works just down the road, in Tesco, right?
Y’all almost had it, you know. During the Mexican-American War, Mexico was actually considering selling off much of Alta California to either the British or the Russians (both of whom had footholds in the northern part of what would become the state of California), but the Bear Flag Rebellion put an end to that idea.
I didn’t read it that way. I thought it was just as tongue in cheek as mine and yours Ben. 
