Dates	Events in Allen Light's Life	Events in California History
1803		Battle of San Diego - Lelia Byrd steals a cargo of sea otter pelts from Spanish Presidio
1805 (?)	Allen Light is born in Philadelphia
1821		California becomes a part of Mexican Empire
1827	Light receives his Sailor protection papers in New York
1830		Mexican government forbids foreigners from hunting sea otters in California American contrabandists from Hawaii and Northern Pacific Indians continue hunting otters illegally along California Coastline.
August 15, 1834	Allen Light finds work as a mariner on the Pilgrim which sets sail from Boston, bound for Santa Barbara, California
1835	Allen Light arrives in Santa Barbara. He begins hunting sea otters with George Nidever, who nicknames him Black Steward. They use the hunting license of an American who has gained Mexican Citizenship.
January 1836	Native Americans attack Light's hunting party near Santa Rosa Islands. The attackers try to take their otter furs. They work for an American contrabandist, George Bancroft.
Autumn 1836	Light and Nidever stop hunting otter and become soldiers in Juan B. Alvarado’s Mexican army.	Juan Alvarado revolts against Mexico’s centralist government and marches troops into Los Angeles. Alvarado becomes Governor of Alta California.
1838	Light quits the Mexican army and goes back to otter hunting.	The Llama's Indian hunters mutiny, kill Captain Bancroft and steal most of the otter furs.
Jan. 13, 1839		The Llama lands in Hawaii.
Jan 25, 1839	Light says that he saw the Llama hunting sea otters without permission from Mexico along Santa Barbara's Coastline two years earlier. He says the Llama's captain was George Bancroft.	Governor Alvarado orders the mayor of Santa Barbara to look into reports of an American ship hunting sea otters near Santa Barbara
1839	Light becomes a Mexican citizen
January 27, 1839	Governor Alvarado writes a letter hiring Allen Light as "Principal Arbiter of the National Armada for Otter Fishing." Alvarado tells Light to look for the Llama and arrest its sailors.
1841	Allen Light never finds the Llama. He continues hunting otter near San Juan Capistrano without his partner George Nidever
1842	Light and Nidever reunite to hunt otter in Baja California. They put $4,000 worth of otter pelts on American ship Alert for safekeeping.	American ship Alert arrives at port of San Diego
1846		United States declares war on Mexico
1847	Richard Freeman buys a house in Old Town, San Diego from Henry Fitch and moves in with Allen Light.
1848		California becomes a territory of the United States
1847- 1850	Allen Light and Freeman reportedly run a saloon in their San Diego home.
1851	Richard Freeman dies. Light disappears from San Diego	Federal Census of San Diego does not mention Allen Light in list of residents
1948	Workers find Light's sailor protection and Mexican appointment papers buried in the wall of his neighbor's home