Hoffman, Abraham. California Then And Now. New York: Amsco School Publications, 1996.

Exploration And Settlement

After making four voyages across the Atlantic, the explorer Christopher Columbus died

in Spain in 1506. Only four years later, a book was published in Spain that fed the growing

public excitement about unexplored lands in America. Everyone loves a good story, and Las

Sergas de Esplandian (“The Deeds Of Esplandian”) by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo told of

many exciting adventures in faraway places. One episode involved an Amazon queen,

Califia, who was said to rule a distant island called California. A careful reader would have

known that the author was describing a fictional character in a fictional place. But the vast

lands across the Atlantic Ocean were largely unexplored in 1510 when Montalvo published

his book. Many Spanish readers of the novel imagined that California was a real place – an

island of fantastic riches that existed somewhere on the American side of the Atlantic.

Was there in fact an island like the one Montalvo described? For many years, Spanish

explorers in the New World thought that there was.

Cortes and UlloaIn 1535, Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conqueror of the Aztecs, heard intriguing reports

about an island in the Pacific lying a few miles to the west of New Spain (present-day

Mexico). He thought it might be “California,” the fabled island in Montalvo’s book. Cortes sent

an expedition to this so-called island and named it Santa Cruz. (In fact, the newly discovered

land was the Baja Peninsula, or Baja California.) The explorers soon changed their minds

about the “island” of Santa Cruz and believed it might be a peninsula attached to the

mainland. But they could not be sure.

In the late 1530s, the conquerors of New Spain organized several expeditions to

explore lands to the north. They wanted to know if the narrow Sea of Cortes (now called the

Gulf of California) opened out into the Pacific Ocean. In 1539, an expedition under Francisco

de Ulloa sailed up the Gulf of California all the way to the mouth of the Colorado River. Ulloa

concluded, correctly, that what lay ahead was a river (not a narrow extension of the sea). He

inferred – also correctly – that land to the west was probably part of a long peninsula rather

than an island.

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Ulloa was right, but other explorers did not want to believe him. They preferred to believe

instead that the legendary island of California truly existed and that it contained gold and

silver treasures as wonderful as those of the Aztecs and Incas. As time passed, people

began to realize that the “California” imagined by Montalvo was fiction, not fact. Even so,

mapmakers of the 1500s had long used the name California for unexplored lands to the north

and west of New Spain. The name stuck.

Cabrillo’s ExpeditionThe first European to set foot on the shore of present-day California was Juan

Rodriguez Cabrillo. In June 1542, the two ships under Cabrillo’s command set sail from

Navidad on the west coast of New Spain. They continued north for three months, passing the

long western shore of Baja California. Pushing beyond this peninsula, they anchored in a

wide bay, later named San Diego Bay. The expedition continued northward at least as far as

Monterey Bay and perhaps farther. But Cabrillo had suffered a bad injury on the voyage. His

broken leg did not heal properly and became infected. He died on San Miguel Island off the

California coast on January 3, 1543. His second-in-command, Bartolome Ferrelo, completed

the expedition, returning to New Spain with reports about San Diego Bay and other

discoveries.

In sending Cabrillo to explore Alta (Upper)

California, the officials of New Spain had two

main purposes. First, they wanted to know

whether or not a water route existed for sailing

directly from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. A

second purpose of Cabrillo’s voyage was to look

for evidence of gold and silver. Survivors of the

Cabrillo expedition brought back negative

answers to both questions. Having answered

these questions, the Spanish government

temporarily lost interest in exploring California.

Spain at this time had enough to do consolidating

its hold over New Spain, Peru, and other regions

conquered in the 1520s and 1530s.

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Vizcaino’s Voyage

In 1602, the viceroy of New Spain, the Conde de Monterey, authorized a Spanish

merchant, Sebastian Vizcaino, to lead three small ships on an expedition to Alta California.

Vizcaino’s chief mission was to find a suitable harbor for Spanish galleons traveling from

Spain’s Asian colony, the Philippines, to stop and rest on their way to New Spain. Ignoring

the place names assigned by Cabrillo 60 years earlier, Vizcaino gave new names that we use

today: San Diego Bay, Santa Catalina Island, Santa Barbara, and Monterey Bay.

Vizcaino described Monterey Bay in glowing terms, calling it “the best port that could

be desired.” Here, he wrote, any Philippine galleon would have an ideal haven for making

repairs and procuring supplies. The viceroy, the Conde de Monterey, was pleased by

Vizcaino’s report. He was flattered by Vizcaino’s decision to name Monterey Bay after him.

But Monterey did not enjoy the good news for long. Another viceroy came to New Spain to

replace Monterey. The new viceroy did not think a California harbor like Monterey Bay would

be of much use to a Philippine galleon. He promptly put an end to any further exploration of

the Pacific Coast. After Vizcaino’s expedition in 1602, California received no more attention

from Spanish explorers.

Overland Exploration and ColonizationThrough the 1600s and 1700s, leaders of New Spain attempted to colonize its

northwest frontier by sending expeditions overland from Mexico. Over time, the Spanish

successfully planted colonies in Sonora (a region of northern Mexico) as well as parts of

Texas and New Mexico.

The Frontier InstitutionsSpanish colonization was based on three types of settlement – the mission, the

pueblo, and the presidio.

A Mission was a Christian church and outpost established in a remote area for the

purpose of spreading Christianity to non-Christians. In the New World, priests and friars

belonging to the Jesuit order and the Franciscan order established missions on the frontier to

convert Native Americans to the Roman Catholic faith. They also taught them European

farming techniques, the Spanish language, and skills for making tools and other useful

objects.

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A Pueblo was a community (village or town) of farmers and other civilians.

Landowning Spaniards took the lead in founding pueblos on the frontier. Also, at least in

theory, Indians who resided at missions for a period of ten years would be granted their own

pueblos subject to their own rule.

A Presidio was simply a military fort under the command of a Spanish officer. Soldiers

stationed at a presidio protected both missions and pueblos from outside attack.

The mission, pueblo, and presidio were supposed to work together for the common good of

all. Presidios provided protection, pueblos provided food, and missions offered spiritual

guidance. The reality, however, was somewhat different from the theory. Mission priests

frequently quarreled with military commanders over matters of power and policy. Also, the

resources of the Spanish Empire were stretched very thin. It could not send adequate

numbers of soldiers to its distant frontiers nor pay regularly those it did send. Even so, the

combination of mission, pueblo, and presidio worked well enough to secure the far-flung

borders of the Spanish Empire for over 200 years.

A Russian Threat?

Russia was a potential enemy that worried the new governor of New Spain, an

ambitious Spanish lawyer named Jose de Galvez. In the 1700s, the Russian Empire was

expanding eastwards to the Pacific. The eastern tip of Russian Siberia is located only about

50 miles from the western tip of Alaska in North America. When Galvez first arrived in

Mexico, the Russians had already established a few outposts in Alaska. Now they were

moving southward down the coast, hunting sea otters for their valuable fur.

Spain claimed both Upper and Lower California. But Galvez realized that these lands,

if left unoccupied, could easily be lost to a rival power such as Russia or Great Britain.

Therefore, Galvez decided to organize an expedition to Alta (Upper) California in order to

established permanent Spanish settlements there.

As Galvez well knew, Alta California was not an easy country to reach either by land or

by seas. But one way or another, Galvez was determined to attain his goal. To increase his

chances of success, he decided to send two ships north to San Diego Bay and, at the same

time, send two expeditions overland. Both the ships and the land parties would start out from

one of Baja California’s settlements. Later, this difficult undertaking was given a name – the

Sacred Expedition.

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Deadly Journey By SeaThe plan was for the ships and land parties to start out separately and meet at San

Diego, a location last described by Vizcaino almost 170 years earlier. Once assembled at

San Diego, the expedition would proceed again by land and sea to Monterey Bay and there

establish a settlement.

The ships left first. On January 9, 1769, the San Carlos, commanded by Captain

Vicente Vila, set sail from Loreto, a settlement in Baja California. Plagued by lack of wind, the

San Carlos took 110 days to reach San Diego Bay. The crew ran out of fresh vegetables and

fruit. One after another, they came down with scurvy, the disease caused by lack of vitamin

C.

The second ship, the San Antonio, left Loreto in February. Captain Juan Perez’s ship

took just 54 days to reach San Diego Bay. It arrived ahead of the San Carlos even though it

had begun its voyage three weeks later than the first ship. When the San Carlos finally did

arrive, the San Antonio’s crew were shocked by the other crew’s desperate condition.

Even worse news was to come. Galvez had commissioned a third ship, the San Jose,

to bring additional supplies to the San Diego meeting place. The San Jose set sail on June

16. It was not heard from again. At some point during its voyage, the ship had sunk. There

were no survivors.

Land ExpeditionsThose taking the overland route to Alta California had much better luck than the

unfortunate sailors. Galvez split the overland travelers into two groups. The first group, led by

Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada, left Loreto on March 24 (about five weeks after the

second ship had left). After six weeks, Rivera’s group arrived at San Diego Bay on May 14.

They were shocked to find how poorly the sailors had fared. A third of them were already

dead, and more were dying.

The second part of the overland expedition left Loreto on May 15, following the rough

road hacked by Rivera’s group. The leaders of this second group were the Spanish captain,

Gaspar de Portola, and the Franciscan padre, Junipero Serra. The group led by Portola and

Serra arrived at San Diego Bay in late June after a six-week trek. It was obvious that the

expedition was in poor shape and could not continue northward as originally planned. In spite

of the weakened condition of his forces, Portola decided to push on. He decided to leave

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about half the men at San Diego and take the healthy half with him on a long hike to

Monterey Bay – the main objective of the Sacred Expedition.

Before leaving for Monterey Bay, Portola created a presidio, and Father Serra founded a

mission at San Diego. Thus, by the summer of 1769, the future state of California had its first

permanent Spanish settlement.

North To MontereyOn July 14, 1769, Portola and Serra led 62 other men, including mission Indians, on

the long journey up the coast to Monterey. One of the Franciscan padres, Father Juan

Crespi, kept a diary – a detailed day-by-day account of the historic expedition. Among the

things that impressed him about the California landscape were the potentially good farmland

and the tar pits that oozed oil (what we know of today as the La Brea Tar Pits). Father Crespi

also recorded the first mention of earthquakes in California history. (No doubt, there had been

earlier earthquakes, but California’s Indians had no written language to record them.)

At last, the company entered the Salinas Valley and drew near a bay that was in fact

Monterey – only Portola did not believe it. He relied on the descriptions of Monterey Bay

given nearly 170 years earlier by the explorer Vizcaino. Portola could not believe that this

was the greatly praised harbor for which the Sacred Expedition had sacrificed so much. He

decided to continue northward.

Discovery Of San Francisco BayPortola sent one of his soldiers, Sergeant Jose Ortega, to inspect a bay that had been

suggested as a possible site for a mission. The bay that Ortega and his men gazed at on

November 2, 1769, was spectacular and beautifully sheltered. It was San Francisco Bay. But

Portola was not overjoyed with the news of this discovery. He knew that this bay could not be

Monterey, since nothing like it had been described by previous explorers. Discouraged, he

returned to San Diego.

Journey’s EndPortola found his little settlement at San Diego to be in worse shape than when he left.

Indians in the region had attacked the settlement, and more men had died. On March 19,

1770, the San Antonio appeared with supplies of corn, flour, and rice revived the expedition.

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Portola ordered the ship’s captain, Perez, to sail

to the wide bay that he now knew was Monterey.

Portola and 16 soldiers again marched

northward. They reached the bay in only 37

days. Erecting a few wooden posts to suggest a

settlement, Portola established a presidio at

Monterey on June 3, 1770. Father Serra moved

a few miles form the bay to found a mission at

what became Carmel.

Struggle For SettlementQuarrels, hunger, and desertion marked

the first years of Spanish settlements in San

Diego and Monterey. The Franciscan

missionaries had come to California to convert

the Indians to Christianity, to teach them

European ways, and to make them loyal subjects

of the king of Spain. Almost immediately, the

religious goals of the missionaries came into

conflict with the behavior of the soldiers. Only men had taken part in the Sacred Expedition.

Soldiers brutally attacked and raped Indian women near the Spanish settlements. As a result,

the missionaries had a hard time winning the Indians’ trust. The padres urged that the

soldiers be punished for their crimes against women, but the military commanders refused to

do so. They argued that they had trouble enough enforcing discipline in such a remote place

and worried that the soldiers might simply walk off, deserting their posts.

Missionaries and soldiers also clashed over the issue of where and how many

missions should be started. While traveling with Portola to San Francisco Bay, Father Serra

had spotted a number of choice locations for missions. He could hardly wait to carry out his

ambitious dream. In 1771, he founded two missions south of Monterey (Mission San Antonio

de Padua and Mission San Gabriel Archangle). The next year, he founded his fifth mission at

San Luis Obispo. But Serra was not satisfied. He argued that only two padres were needed

for each mission and that that the 20 padres in his charge could operate several more new

missions.

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Creating An Overland RouteThe biggest single problem of the California colonists was the unreliable supply

system. Was there a better overland route to California than the one used by Portola and

Serra in 1770? So thought a Spanish officer named Juan Bautista de Anza, who volunteered

to lead an expedition to open up a new overland trail.

Anza started out from Sonora (northern Mexico) on January 8, 1774. Following Anza

on his Sonora-to –California trail were 3 officers, 40 soldiers, 30 mule drivers, 3 missionaries,

and 165 women, men, and children – a total of 240 people. Anza also brought hundreds of

horses and cattle and even two pairs of cats. In March 1774, the party arrived at San Gabriel

mission. The trail from Sonora to Alta California had been established.

Founding Of San FranciscoHaving opened up an overland trail, Anza agreed to lead another expedition to Alta

California. On October 23, 1775, Anza’s caravan set out. By January 1776, his second

expedition had reached the San Gabriel mission. Anza next proceeded to Monterey. From

there, a party was sent north to establish a mission and presidio in San Francisco Bay. Thus,

in the fall of 1776, California had its third presidio, San Francisco, and sixth mission, San

Francisco de Asis (popularly known as Mission Dolores). Both establishments were named

after the founder of the Franciscan order, Saint Francis of Assisi.

A New BeginningAnza’s twofold achievement meant a lot to the development of Spanish California. His

first expedition (1774) opened a vital connection between northern Mexico and Alta

California. His second expedition (1775 to 1776) had brought women and children to

California. Their presence would help to create a secure and growing colony, not just a

military outpost or mission station. The 355 head of cattle brought on the second expedition

would eventually expand into great herds of thousands of head of cattle by the 1830s – the

basis of a major California industry.

In effect, the Anza expeditions marked the end of the struggle for settlement and the

beginning of the effective colonization of California. There would still be obstacles and

troubles, but the worst difficulties were now behind the California pioneers.

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