The Squatter and the Don

The Squatter and the Don, originally published in San Francisco in 1885, is the first fictional narrative written and published in English from the perspective of the conquered Mexican population that, despite being granted the full rights of citizenship under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848, was, by 1860, a subordinated and marginalized national minority. In this historical romance, the Ruiz de Burton laments the loss of her people's land and questions U.S. expansionism, the rise of corporate monopolies, and their power over government policy.