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156-606: Although already inhabited by Native Americans, the territory that is now California was claimed by the Spanish Empire in 1542 by right of discovery when Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored the Pacific coast . Cabrillo's exploration laid claim to the coastline as far north as forty-two degrees north latitude. This northern limit was later confirmed by the United States in the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty . A competing claim

312-653: A Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu (Japan) by sailing west. Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. In the Capitulations of Santa Fe , dated on 17 April 1492, Christopher Columbus obtained from the Catholic Monarchs his appointment as viceroy and governor in the lands already discovered and that he might discover thenceforth; thereby, it

468-423: A 20,000-strong Tlaxcalan army. Three days later, a 50,000-strong Otomi -Tlaxcalan force was defeated by Spanish arquebusier and cannon fire, and a Castilian cavalry charge. Thousands of Tlaxcalans joined the invaders against their Aztec rulers. Cortés's forces sacked the city of Cholula , massacring 6,000 inhabitants, and later entered Emperor Moctezuma II 's capital, Tenochtitlan , on 8 November. Velázquez sent

624-402: A Mexican territory when Alta California was ceded to the United States (see 1854 map). In 1931, Baja California Territory was divided into northern and southern territories. In 1952, the " Territory of Baja California Norte " became the 29th State of Mexico as Baja California . In 1974, the " Territory of Baja California Sur " became the 31st state as Baja California Sur . The northern part

780-789: A Spanish protectorate following a series of treaties in 1488, 1491, 1493, and 1495. With the Christian reconquest completed in the Iberian peninsula, Spain began trying to take territory in Muslim North Africa. It had conquered Melilla in 1497, and further expansionism policy in North Africa was developed during the regency of Ferdinand the Catholic in Castile, stimulated by Cardinal Cisneros . Several towns and outposts in

936-559: A different venue. Columbus's second voyage in 1493 had a large contingent of settlers and goods to accomplish that. On Hispaniola, the city of Santo Domingo was founded in 1496 by Christopher Columbus's brother Bartholomew Columbus and became a stone-built, permanent city. Non-Castilians, such as Catalans and Aragonese , were often prohibited from migrating to the New World. Following the settlement of Hispaniola, Europeans began searching elsewhere to begin new settlements, since there

1092-479: A dozen Indians from the interior – apparently Rumsen people  – visited, bringing pinole and seeds. The next day the party slaughtered a mule, but not everyone would eat it. The weather turned cold, and snow began to cover the hills. The exhausted men reached San Diego on January 24, 1770 "smelling frightfully of mules", but warmly welcomed by their fellow soldiers and friars. Apart from five men who had apparently deserted, every member of

1248-598: A force led by Pánfilo de Narváez to punish the insubordinate Cortés for his unauthorized invasion of Mexico, but they were defeated at the Battle of Cempoala on 29 May 1520. Narváez was wounded and captured and 17 of his troops were killed; the rest joined Cortés. Meanwhile, Pedro de Alvarado triggered an Aztec uprising following the massacre in the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan , during which 400 Aztec nobles and 2,000 onlookers were killed. The Castilians were driven out of

1404-414: A harbor with a ship laden with food supplies. Heading a party of scouts up and over Montara Mountain , Ortega reached the area now known as Devil's Slide . They found their northward advance blocked by the mouth of a vast bay they could not identify – known today as San Francisco Bay . Ortega and his scouts turned back south along the west shore of the bay, around the southern end and back up

1560-428: A large wooden cross where passing ships could see it, with a letter describing the expedition's travels buried at its foot. Crespí quoted part of the letter: "The cross was planted on a hill on the edge of the beach of the little bay which lies to the south of Point Pinos (pine-covered headland)." Frustrated in their hunting and fishing efforts, men of the expedition had to eat seagulls and pelicans. On November 30, about

1716-492: A latitude south of Cape Bojador , a compromise was worked out and incorporated in the Treaty of Tordesillas , dated on 7 June 1494, in which the world was split into two dividing Spanish and Portuguese claims. These actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south (later with the exception of Brazil, which Portuguese commander Pedro Álvares Cabral encountered in 1500), as well as

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1872-625: A lieutenant of the royal navy (whose diary survives); the San Antonio , captained by Juan Pérez , a native of Palma de Majorca ; and the San José . All three ships, crossing the Gulf of California from San Blas, arrived leaking on the east coast of Baja, requiring repairs there. On the shore of La Paz on January 9, 1769, friar Junípero Serra blessed the flagship San Carlos and its chaplain, friar Fernando Parrón. José de Gálvez , addressing

2028-584: A map of California depicting it as an island, supposedly on a misconception of reports by Spanish navigators Juan de Fuca and Martin d'Aquilar. A copy of this map was sent to Spain and was seized by the Dutch on its way and then reproduced in the Netherlands, and eventually found its way to Henry Briggs in London who widely disseminated this misinformation. The first printed map showing California as an island

2184-529: A much more difficult undertaking because of the prevailing winds and ocean currents. After Vizcaíno, however, the Spanish Empire did little to protect or settle this region for the next 160 years, and accomplished almost no exploration by land. Affairs in Europe took precedence, keeping all of the maritime powers occupied. The little settlement that did occur included the establishment of several missions on

2340-703: A number of revolts across the Spanish Habsburg's domains, including their Spanish kingdoms. During the Habsburg rule, the Spanish Empire significantly expanded its territories in the Americas, beginning with the conquest of the Aztec Empire ; these conquests were achieved not by the Spanish army, but by small groups of adventurers—artisans, traders, gentry, and peasants—who operated independently under

2496-561: A party of 74 men: lieutenant Pedro Fages with his Catalan volunteers ; leather-jacket soldiers; captain Fernando Rivera ; sergeant José Francisco Ortega leading the scouts; engineer and cartographer Miguel Costansó ; Baja California Christian Indians; and friars Juan Crespí and Francisco Gómez; the Franciscan missionary college of San Fernando had appointed Crespí official diarist of the expedition. On July 14, 1769, after

2652-684: A reason for such a mistake could have originated in the secret in which the Spaniards held their cartography from other European powers' eyes. The final blow to the notion of California as an island was struck by an influential map created by Italian Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino during his mission in the Pimería Alta . It was titled Paso por tierra a la California y sus confinantes nuevas Naciones y Misiones nuevas de la Compañía de JHS [Jesús] en la América Septentrional ("Overland Passage to California and its Contiguous New Nations and New Missions of

2808-892: A result of the marriage politics of the Catholic Monarchs (in Spanish, Reyes Católicos ), their Habsburg grandson Charles inherited the Castilian empire in the Americas and the possessions of the Crown of Aragon in the Mediterranean (including all of south Italy ), lands in Germany, the Low Countries , Franche-Comté , and Austria , starting the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs. The Austrian hereditary Habsburg domains were transferred to Ferdinand ,

2964-436: A source of fresh water and helped by Indians they encountered, they found a suitable river about nine miles northeast. Moving their ships as close as possible, they set up a camp on the beach, surrounding it with an earthen parapet with two cannons mounted. From their ships' sails and awnings they made two large hospital tents, as well as tents for the officers and friars. Then they moved the sick men to shore and settled them into

3120-605: A stock of supplies for the new mission in Monterey. Buffeted by unfavorable winds, the San Antonio retreated back south to Baja California , then swung as far north as the Farallon Islands , 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Monterey. Several sailors fell sick with scurvy . The San Antonio finally sailed into Monterey Bay on May 31, welcomed by the Portolà party which had arrived a week earlier. They returned to

3276-654: A surprise attack in Cajamarca that resulted in the massacre of thousands of Incas. This conquest facilitated the establishment of the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1542, allowing Spain to exert control over territories in western South America, comprising present-day Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and parts of Chile and Argentina. In the subsequent years, Spanish explorers and conquistadors ventured into northern South America, where they established settlements in present-day Venezuela and Colombia. Philip II of Spain (r. 1556–98) oversaw

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3432-673: A surviving heir, probably the Crown of Aragon would have been split from Castile, which was inherited by Charles, Ferdinand and Isabella's grandson. Ferdinand joined the League of Cambrai against Venice in 1508. In 1511, he became part of the Holy League against France, seeing a chance at taking both Milan —to which he held a dynastic claim—and Navarre . In 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre , which had effectively been

3588-562: Is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico . It separates the Gulf of California from the Pacific Ocean . The peninsula extends from Mexicali , Baja California , in the north to Cabo San Lucas , Baja California Sur , in the south. With a length of 1,247 km (775 miles), its width ranges from 40 km (25 miles) at its narrowest to 320 km (200 miles) at its widest point and has approximately 3,000 km (1,900 miles) of coastline and approximately 65 islands. The total area of

3744-464: Is a prominent volcanic activity area . Volcanoes of the peninsula and adjacent islands include: Researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography have found a 2,000-year-old layer of non-decomposed roots, or peat , up to 4 metres (13 ft) under the desert mangroves. The peat layer acts like a sponge for stored atmospheric carbon, a record of sea-level-rise is also recorded in the peat layer. The desert mangroves restricted to rocky inlets on

3900-589: Is a small bay located west of the Canal de las Ballenas which separates the Baja California peninsula from the large island of Isla Ángel de la Guarda in the Gulf of California. The peninsula is home to several distinct ecoregions . Most of the peninsula is deserts and xeric shrublands , although pine-oak forests are found in the mountains at the northern and southern ends of the peninsula. The southern tip of

4056-706: Is its capital. The Baja California peninsula was once a part of the North American Plate , the tectonic plate of which mainland Mexico remains a part. About 12 to 15 million years ago the East Pacific Rise began cutting into the margin of the North American Plate, initiating the separation of the peninsula from it. Spreading within the Gulf of California consists of short oblique rifts or ridge segments connected by long northwest trending transform faults , which together comprise

4212-422: Is the port of Monterey without the slightest doubt." The three men then walked along the rocky coast south to Carmel Bay . Several Indians approached them, and the two groups exchanged gifts. Meanwhile, on April 16, the San Antonio , captained by Juan Pérez , set sail from San Diego to Monterey. On board were friar Junípero Serra , cartographer Miguel Costansó , and doctor Pedro Prat – along with

4368-567: Is the state of Baja California . It is sometimes informally referred to as Baja California Norte , to distinguish it from both the Baja California peninsula and the adjacent state Baja California Sur. The citizens of Baja California are named bajacalifornianos ("Lower Californians" in English). Mexicali is the capital. The southern part, below 28° north, is the state of Baja California Sur . The citizens of Baja California Sur are named sudcalifornianos ("South Californians" in English). La Paz

4524-435: The arbitristas . The natural resource abundance provoked a decline in entrepreneurship as profits from resource extraction are less risky. The wealthy preferred to invest their fortunes in public debt ( juros ). The Habsburg dynasty spent the Castilian and American riches in wars across Europe on behalf of Habsburg interests, and declared moratoriums (bankruptcies) on their debt payments several times. These burdens led to

4680-726: The American Revolutionary War , Britain ceded both Floridas back to Spain as part of the Treaty of Paris . Spain had recaptured West Florida in 1781 through military operations. Both Floridas were ceded to the United States in 1819 as part of the Adams-Onís Treaty . Louisiana was ceded back to France in 1801 in the Treaty of Aranjuez . The Bourbon monarchy implemented reforms like the Nueva Planta decrees , which centralized power and abolished regional privileges. Economic policies promoted trade with

4836-597: The Baja California peninsula by Spanish Jesuit missionaries. Then, in 1767, Charles III of Spain expelled the Jesuit order from the Spanish kingdom. Gaspar de Portolà , a Catalan military officer and colonial administrator, was appointed governor of the new province of Las Californias and sent to dispossess the Jesuits and replace them with Franciscans , who would set up their own network of missions in

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4992-753: The Cape Verde islands (1476), conquering the city of Ceuta in the Tingitan Peninsula in 1476 (but retaken by the Portuguese), and even attacked the Azores islands, being defeated at Praia . The turning point of the war came in 1478, however, when a Castilian fleet sent by King Ferdinand to conquer Gran Canaria lost men and ships to the Portuguese who expelled the attack, and a large Castilian armada—full of gold—was entirely captured in

5148-624: The Council of the Indies and Casa de Contratación , the two highest bodies in metropolitan Spain for the government of the empire in the New World, as well as royal government in the Indies. Portugal obtained several papal bulls that acknowledged Portuguese control over the discovered territories, but Castile also obtained from the Pope the safeguard of its rights to the Canary Islands with

5304-510: The Crown of Castile , having earlier retaken territory from the Muslims. Following Portugal's earlier completion of the reconquest and its establishment of settled boundaries, it began to seek overseas expansion, first to the port of Ceuta (1415) and then by colonizing the Atlantic islands of Madeira (1418) and the Azores (1427–1452); it also began voyages down the west coast of Africa in

5460-555: The Franciscan missionary team into Alta California, joined the Portolà party as chaplain and diarist. The 55-year-old Serra suffered a chronic infection of his left foot and leg, which Portolà believed had now become cancerous. He tried to dissuade Serra from joining the expedition, but Serra refused to withdraw; he told Portolà to go ahead, saying he would follow and meet up with Portolà on the frontier. Meanwhile, Serra assigned friar Miguel de la Campa from Mission San Ignacio to join

5616-782: The Gulf of California Rift Zone . The north end of the rift zone is located in the Brawley seismic zone in the Salton Sea basin between the Imperial Fault and the San Andreas Fault . The Baja California peninsula is now part of the Pacific Plate and is moving with it away from the East Pacific Rise in a north northwestward direction. Along the coast north of Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur

5772-850: The Honduras Company (1714), a Caracas company; the Guipuzcoana Company (1728), and the most successful ones, the Havana Company (1740) and the Barcelona Trading Company (1755). In 1717–18, the structures for governing the Indies, the Consejo de Indias and the Casa de Contratación , which governed investments in the cumbersome Spanish treasure fleets , were transferred from Seville to Cádiz , where foreign merchant houses had easier access to

5928-518: The Italian Wars beginning in 1494. Following Spanish victories at the Battles of Cerignola and Garigliano in 1503, France recognized Ferdinand's sovereignty over Naples through a treaty. After the death of Queen Isabella in 1504, and her exclusion of Ferdinand from a further role in Castile, Ferdinand married Germaine de Foix in 1505, cementing an alliance with France. Had that couple had

6084-755: The Kingdom of Naples , the Kingdom of Sicily , the Kingdom of Sardinia , and the Duchy of Milan through the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. Italy became the core of Spain's power. By the mid-17th century, Spain's global empire burdened its economic, administrative, and military resources. Over the preceding century, Spanish troops had fought in France, Germany, and the Netherlands, suffering heavy casualties. Despite its vast holdings, Spain's military lacked essential modernization and heavily relied on foreign suppliers. Nevertheless, Spain possessed abundant bullion from

6240-458: The Monterey peninsula , then just south to a hill by the beach where their party had planted a large cross the previous December. They found the cross surrounded by feathers and broken arrows driven into the ground, with fresh sardines and meat laid out before the cross. No Indians were in sight. In the bay waters, hundreds of seals and sea otters splashed and basked in the sun. Crespí wrote: "This

6396-667: The New World in 1493, Portugal and Castile divided the world by the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), which gave Portugal Africa and Asia, and the Western Hemisphere to Spain. The voyage of Columbus, a Genoese mariner, obtained the support of Isabella of Castile, sailing west in 1492, seeking a route to the Indies. Columbus unexpectedly encountered the New World , populated by peoples he named "Indians". Subsequent voyages and full-scale settlements of Spaniards followed, with gold beginning to flow into Castile's coffers. Managing

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6552-550: The San Carlos headed south down the Gulf of California to round Cabo San Lucas and then head north along the Pacific coast. On February 15, Gálvez dispatched the San Antonio , captained by Juan Pérez , from Cabo San Lucas; Franciscan friars Juan Vizcaíno and Francisco Gómez served as chaplains. With sailors plus cooks, carpenters and blacksmiths, the San Antonio carried a total of around 30 men. These ships left ahead of

6708-769: The War of the Spanish Succession , as various European powers contested his claim to the throne. The conflict concluded with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, allowing Philip, the first Bourbon king of Spain, to retain the throne but resulting in territorial losses for Spain: Gibraltar , Menorca , the Spanish Netherlands and Spanish Italy. In 1763, after the Seven Years' War , Spain ceded both East Florida and West Florida to Great Britain while gaining Louisiana from France. However, in 1783, following

6864-424: The "port of San Francisco" by previous European explorers, while what is today known as "San Francisco Bay" was still undiscovered. The sight convinced some, but not all of them that they had indeed bypassed the port of Monterey. Sergeant Ortega , contacting a group of Indians, thought they were trying to notify him of a ship anchored somewhere up north; for weeks, the men of the expedition had sought desperately for

7020-423: The 1530s and early 1540s. In 1539, explorer Francisco de Ulloa proved that Baja California was a peninsula rather than an island, and named the water separating it from the mainland the "Vermillion Sea" (sometimes referred to as the "Red Sea"). The Spaniards gave the name Las Californias to the peninsula and lands to the north, including both Baja California and Alta California , the region that became parts of

7176-406: The Americas instead. Thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced division of the world would be reached in the Treaty of Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, and his son Ferdinand II of Aragon , married to Isabella I of Castile , inherited

7332-477: The Americas, which played a crucial role in both sustaining its military endeavors and meeting the needs of its civilian population. During this period, Spain displayed limited military interest in its overseas colonies. The Criollo elites (colonial-born Spaniards) and mestizo and mulatto militia (of mixed Indigenous-Spanish and African-Spanish descent) provided only minimal protection, often assisted by more influential allies with vested interests in maintaining

7488-446: The Austrians at the Battle of Bitonto in 1734 during the War of the Polish Succession , and during the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–42) thwarted British efforts to capture the strategic cities of Cartagena de Indias , Santiago de Cuba and St. Augustine by defeating a British combined army and navy force, although Spain's invasion of Georgia also failed. The British suffered 25,000 dead or wounded and lost nearly 5,000 ships during

7644-413: The Aztec capital, suffering heavy losses and losing all of their gold and guns during La Noche Triste . On 8 July 1520, at Otumba , the Castilians and their allies, without artillery or arquebusiers, repelled 100,000 Aztecs armed with obsidian-bladed clubs. In August, 500 Castilians and 40,000 Tlaxcalans conquered the hilltop town of Tepeaca , an Aztec ally. Most of the inhabitants were either branded on

7800-410: The Baja California peninsula is 143,390 km (55,360 sq mi). The peninsula is separated from mainland Mexico by the Gulf of California and the Colorado River . There are four main desert areas on the peninsula: the San Felipe Desert, the Central Coast Desert, the Vizcaíno Desert , and the Magdalena Plain Desert. The name of California existed as a myth among European explorers before it

7956-409: The Canaries, recognized the Portuguese monopoly of fishing and navigation along the whole west African coast and Portugal's rights over the Madeira , Azores and Cape Verde islands [plus the right to conquer the Kingdom of Fez ]." The treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, establishing the principle of the Mare clausum . It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV , in

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8112-499: The Christian conquest of the Muslim Emirate of Granada , completed in 1492, for which Valencia-born Pope Alexander VI gave them the title of the Catholic Monarchs . Ferdinand of Aragon was particularly concerned with expansion in France and Italy, as well as conquests in North Africa. With the Ottoman Turks controlling the choke points of the overland trade from Asia and the Middle East, both Spain and Portugal sought alternative routes. The Kingdom of Portugal had an advantage over

8268-486: The Duchy of Milan in northern Italy since 1741, but faced the opposition of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia , and warfare in northern Italy remained indecisive throughout the period up to 1746. By the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle , Spain gained (indirectly) Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla in northern Italy. Baja California peninsula The Baja California peninsula ( Spanish : Península de Baja California , lit.   'Lower California peninsula')

8424-401: The Emperor's brother, whereas Spain and the remaining possessions were inherited by Charles's son, Philip II of Spain , at the abdication of the former in 1556. The Habsburgs pursued several goals: "I learnt a proverb here", said a French traveler in 1603: "Everything is dear in Spain except silver". The problems caused by inflation were discussed by scholars at the School of Salamanca and

8580-421: The Indies trade. Cádiz became the one port for all Indies trading (see flota system ). Individual sailings at regular intervals were slow to displace the traditional armed convoys, but by the 1760s there were regular ships plying the Atlantic from Cádiz to Havana and Puerto Rico , and at longer intervals to the Río de la Plata , where an additional viceroyalty was created in 1776. The contraband trade that

8736-429: The Native Americans, indicating that they were committed to creating peaceful relationships with the native people. The long-term goal was to create settlements, introduce farming, and convert the inhabitants to Christianity, so peaceful coexistence was important during the expedition. The Portolà expedition was the first land-based exploration by Europeans of what is now California. The expedition's most notable discovery

8892-412: The North African coast were conquered and occupied by Castile between 1505 and 1510: Mers El Kébir , Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera , Oran , Bougie , Tripoli , and Peñón of Algiers . On the Atlantic coast, Spain took possession of the outpost of Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña (1476) with support from the Canary Islands , and it was retained until 1525 with the consent of the Treaty of Cintra (1509). As

9048-409: The Pacific, just north of Punta Eugenia. Onshore southeast of the bay is the Desierto de Vizcaino , an extensive desert lying between the Sierra Vizcaino to the west, and the Tres Virgenes range which runs along the Gulf of California to the east. The largest bays along the coastline of the Gulf are Bahia de La Paz where the city of La Paz is located, and Bahia Concepcion . The Bahía de los Ángeles

9204-402: The Portolà party left San Diego. Following the same route they had taken the year before, they traveled five weeks with only two days of rest, arriving at Monterey Bay on May 24. They did not lose a single man or suffer any illnesses, except for an eye infection that afflicted Fages and Crespí. That afternoon, Portolà, Crespí and a guard walked over the hills to Point Pinos on the northern tip of

9360-446: The Portolà party. The party, driving a supply train and food animals, included 25 leather-jacket soldiers under sergeant José Francisco Ortega ; muleteers; artisans; and 44 Christian Indians from Baja California, acting as servants and interpreters to communicate with Indians along the way. This group traveled slower than the Rivera party. Serra, trekking much of the way on a broken-down mule, finally caught up with Portolà, De la Campa and

9516-403: The Portolà/Serra party arrived in San Diego in good health, with 163 mules loaded with supplies. Desiring to push the sea expedition north to Monterey – as Gálvez had instructed – Portolá offered captain Vicente Vila of the San Carlos 16 of his own men to work the ship on its voyage to Monterey. But Vila had lost all his ship's officers, his boatswain , coxswain of

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9672-488: The Portolá Expedition. Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire , sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy , was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire , it ushered in the European Age of Discovery . It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas , Africa , various islands in Asia and Oceania , as well as territory in other parts of Europe. It

9828-437: The Portuguese power, but also to take possession of this lucrative commerce. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea: every caravel had to secure a government license and to pay a tax on one-fifth of their profits (a receiver of the customs of Guinea was established in Seville in 1475—the ancestor of the future and famous Casa de Contratación ). Castilian fleets fought in the Atlantic Ocean, temporarily occupying

9984-404: The San Diego River, building the new camp on a hill now known as Old Town . They erected a stockade and mounted a cannon on land that later became the Presidio of San Diego . The commanding officers prepared to dispatch the San Antonio back to Lower California New Spain, to report to viceroy de Croix and visitador Gálvez about the expedition. On July 1, just as the ship was about to sail,

10140-407: The Society of Jesus in Northern America"). Originally, in 1695, it depicted California as a peninsula but based on the presence of blue abalone shells (most likely Haliotis fulgens ) from the Pacific coast in the Pimería Alta, the information from natives, and his own travels and sightings, Eusebio Kino redrew the map in 1701. The map was printed in 1707 in Hamburg and Leipzig and became one of

10296-469: The Spanish Americas, exploring and describing it for the first time from a modern scientific point of view between 1799 and 1804. In his work Political essay on the kingdom of New Spain containing researches relative to the geography of Mexico he says that the Amerindians of New Spain were wealthier than any Russian or German peasant in Europe. According to Humboldt, despite the fact that Indian farmers were poor, under Spanish rule they were free and slavery

10452-439: The Spanish Empire would expand across the Caribbean Islands , half of South America , most of Central America and much of North America . The Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation —the first circumnavigation of the Earth—laid the foundation for Spain's Pacific empire and for Spanish control over the East Indies . The influx of gold and silver from the mines in Zacatecas and Guanajuato in Mexico and Potosí in Bolivia enriched

10608-403: The Spanish crown and financed military endeavors and territorial expansion. Another crucial element of the empire's expansion was the financial support provided by Genoese bankers, who financed royal expeditions and military campaigns. In 1700, Philip V became king of Spain after the death of Charles II , the last Habsburg monarch of Spain, who died without an heir. His ascension triggered

10764-516: The Spanish had reached Tlatelolco's center, raising their new flag atop the city's twin towers. Having exhausted their gunpowder, they attempted a catapult breach but failed. On 3 August, 12,000 more civilians were killed in another city section. Alvarado's destruction of the aqueducts forced the Aztecs to drink from the lake, causing disease and thousands of deaths. Another major assault occurred on 12 August, during which many thousands of non-combatants were massacred in their shelters. The following day,

10920-416: The Spanish overseas empire in the Americas and the Philippines. The settlement gave spoils to those who had backed a Habsburg for the Spanish monarchy, ceding European territory of the Spanish Netherlands , Naples , Milan , and Sardinia to Austria ; Sicily and parts of Milan to the Duchy of Savoy , and Gibraltar and Menorca to the Kingdom of Great Britain . The treaty also granted British merchants

11076-412: The area for Spain and determine whether the bay would make a good port. The first leg of the expedition consisted of five groups all departing from Baja California and heading north for San Diego. Three groups traveled by sea while two others traveled by land in mule trains. Three galleons , hastily built in San Blas , set sail for San Diego in early 1769: the San Carlos , captained by Vicente Vila,

11232-592: The balance of power and safeguarding the Spanish Empire from falling into enemy hands. With the 1700 death of the childless Charles II of Spain , the crown of Spain was contested in the War of the Spanish Succession . Under the Treaties of Utrecht (11 April 1713) ending the war, the French prince of the House of Bourbon , Philippe of Anjou, grandchild of Louis XIV of France, became King Philip V of Spain . He retained

11388-471: The beginning of Catalan participation in the Spanish slave trade , and the rapidly growing textile industry of Catalonia which by the mid-1780s saw the first signs of industrialization. This saw the emergence of a small, politically active commercial class in Barcelona . This isolated pocket of advanced economic development stood in stark contrast to the relative backwardness of most of the country. Most of

11544-500: The best-known maps of northern New Spain. A notable colleague of Eusebio Kino who accompanied him on one of his major travels (in 1694) and acted as the intermediary in the publication of this map and dissemination of Kino's knowledge in Europe was Carniolan priest Marcus Antonius Kappus  [ es ] . The province of the Californias was united until 1804, in the Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain , when it

11700-491: The bulls Romani Pontifex dated 6 November 1436 and Dominatur Dominus dated 30 April 1437. The conquest of the Canary Islands , inhabited by Guanche people, began in 1402 during the reign of Henry III of Castile , by Norman nobleman Jean de Béthencourt under a feudal agreement with the crown. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when

11856-421: The camp. The number of men engaged in those arduous labors diminished daily due to illness. Nearly all medicines and stored food had been consumed on the long voyages. Doctor Pedro Prat – himself weakened by scurvy – gathered medicinal herbs in the fields and desperately tried to cure the ill men. Heat scorched them by day, cold stung them by night. Two or three men died every day, until

12012-408: The causeway at Tlacopan by the armies of Alvarado and Cristóbal de Olid . While fighting on the causeway, the Spanish and their allies came under attack from both sides by Aztecs firing arrows from canoes. Thirteen Spanish brigantines sank 300 out of 400 enemy war canoes sent against them. The Aztecs tried to damage the Spanish vessels by hiding spears beneath the shallow water. The attackers breached

12168-549: The city and engaged in fighting with the Aztec defenders in the streets. The Aztecs defeated the Spanish-Tlaxcalan forces at the Battle of Colhuacatonco on 30 June 1521. Following this Aztec victory, 53 Spanish prisoners were paraded to the tops of Tlatelolco 's highest pyramids and publicly sacrificed . In late July, the attackers resumed their assaults, resulting in the massacre of 800 Aztec civilians. By 29 July,

12324-557: The city fell and Cuauhtémoc was captured. At least 100,000 Aztecs died during the siege, while 100 Spaniards and up to 30,000 of their Indigenous allies were killed or died from disease. The fall of Tenochtitlan marked the beginning of Spanish colonial rule in Mexico, leading to the establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535. In 1532, Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire by capturing its leader Atahualpa during

12480-404: The coastline so that he could create a buffer zone to protect Spain's territories from the threat of invasion. Upon hearing about the king's desire to explore Alta California , New Spain's visitador (inspector general) José de Gálvez organized an exploratory expedition and placed Governor Portolà in overall command. The plan called for a joint land-sea movement up the Pacific coast. The job of

12636-399: The colonies, enhancing Spanish influence in the Americas. Socially, tensions emerged between the ruling elite and the rising bourgeoisie, as well as divisions between peninsular Spaniards and Creoles in the Americas. These factors ultimately set the stage for the independence movements that began in the early 19th century, leading to the gradual disintegration of Spanish colonial authority. By

12792-601: The colonization of the Philippines, which began in 1565 with the arrival of Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi , making him ruler of one of the first true globe-spanning empires. His victory in the War of the Portuguese Succession led to the annexation of Portugal in 1580, effectively integrating its overseas empire—encompassing coastal Brazil and African and Indian coastal enclaves—into Spain's domain. Philip II also reaffirmed Spanish control over

12948-514: The colony. Gaspar came from a military background and had served as a captain of the dragoons of the Regiment of Spain immediately before being appointed governor. When he first sailed to Baja California as the new governor he brought with him 25 dragoons and 25 infantrymen in order to help him with his expulsion of the Jesuits and, eventually, the further exploration of the rest of California. His military background would prove very helpful during

13104-478: The combined sea expedition – which had started with over 90 men – had shrunk to eight soldiers and eight sailors. Captain Rivera 's column arrived on May 14, having trekked 300 miles (480 km) in 50 days from Velicatá without losing a single man or having a sick one – although with their food rations drastically reduced. Rivera's men moved the camp slightly inland near

13260-533: The crown's encomienda system. Defying the opposition of Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar , the governor of Hispaniola, Hernán Cortés organized an expedition of 550 conquistadors and sailed for the coast of Mexico in March 1519. The Castilians defeated a 10,000-strong Chontal Mayan army at Potonchán on 24 March and emerged triumphant against a larger force of 40,000 Mayans three days later. On 2 September, 360 Castilians and 2,300 Totonac Indigenous allies defeated

13416-499: The decisive Battle of Guinea . The Treaty of Alcáçovas (4 September 1479), while assuring the Castilian throne to the Catholic Monarchs, reflected the Castilian naval and colonial defeat: "War with Castile broke out waged savagely in the Gulf [of Guinea] until the Castilian fleet of thirty-five sail was defeated there in 1478. As a result of this naval victory, at the Treaty of Alcáçovas in 1479 Castile, while retaining her rights in

13572-677: The detriment of interests in the colonies, undermined creole elites' loyalty to the crown. When French forces of Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the Iberian peninsula in 1808, Napoleon ousted the Spanish Bourbon monarchy, placing his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. There was a crisis of legitimacy of crown rule in Spanish America, leading to the Spanish American wars of independence (1808–1826). The Spanish Bourbons' broadest intentions were to reorganize

13728-464: The east side. However, they only got as far as present-day Hayward before turning back – because their allotted three days were up. When the scouts returned and described what they had seen, Portolà led the entire party up into the hills, to a place where the entire San Francisco Bay was visible . Only friar Crespí seemed to grasp the importance of the bay, describing it in his diary as "a very large and fine harbor, such that not only all

13884-490: The easternmost parts of Asia. The Treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506. The Treaty of Tordesillas and the treaty of Cintra (18 September 1509) established the limits of the Kingdom of Fez for Portugal, and the Castilian expansion was allowed outside these limits, beginning with the conquest of Melilla in 1497. Other European powers did not see

14040-501: The effects of scurvy . Portolà and his men continued north along the coast, hoping to find the great port they had now left behind. On October 30, they reached the headlands near today's Moss Beach . Looking into the Pacific Ocean, they could see the Farallon Islands due west – and Drakes Bay curving broadly to Point Reyes across 40 miles (65 km) of open water to the northwest. Drake's Bay had been named

14196-486: The exclusive right to sell slaves in Spanish America for thirty years, the asiento de negros , as well as licensed voyages to ports in Spanish colonial dominions and openings. Spain's economic and demographic recovery had begun slowly in the last decades of the Habsburg reign, as was evident from the growth of its trading convoys and the much more rapid growth of illicit trade during the period. (This growth

14352-455: The expanding empire became an administrative issue. The reign of Ferdinand and Isabella began the professionalization of the apparatus of government in Spain, which led to a demand for men of letters ( letrados ) who were university graduates ( licenciados ), of Salamanca , Valladolid , Complutense and Alcalá . These lawyer-bureaucrats staffed the various councils of state, eventually including

14508-638: The expedition. By the late 1760s, the Spanish king and a handful of other European rulers began to realize the importance the Pacific coast of North America would have in maritime trade and activity. The Russians had been advancing south from their strongholds in present-day Alaska , and the British had been pushing west in Canada and were approaching the Pacific coast. In order to secure Spain's claims in California, Charles III wanted to explore and settle

14664-613: The face with the letter "G" (for guerra, the Spanish word for "war") and enslaved by the Spanish, or sacrificed and eaten by the Tlaxcalans. Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan in 1521 with a new invasion force and laid siege to the Aztec capital in May, which was suffering from a smallpox epidemic that killed thousands. The new emperor, Cuauhtémoc , defended Tenochtitlan with 100,000 warriors armed with slings, bows, and obsidian clubs . The first military encounter occurred after an advance along

14820-518: The fifteenth century. Its rival Castile laid claim to the Canary Islands (1402) and retook territory from the Moors in 1462. The Christian rivals Castile and Portugal came to formal agreements over the division of new territories in the Treaty of Alcaçovas (1479), as well as securing the crown of Castile for Isabella whose accession was challenged militarily by Portugal. Following the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492 and first major settlement in

14976-566: The foundation of the Spanish monarchy. The union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon joined the economic and military power of Iberia under one dynasty, the House of Trastámara . Their dynastic alliance was important for a number of reasons, ruling jointly over a number of kingdoms and other territories, mostly in the western Mediterranean region, under their respective legal and administrative status. They successfully pursued expansion in Iberia in

15132-490: The four groups had reunited in San Diego, friars Juan Vizcaíno and Fernando Parrón stayed there with Junípero Serra to head the new mission San Diego . Friars Juan Crespí and Francisco Gómez continued north with Portolà. Serra's group aimed to establish Catholic missions to convert the natives of Alta California to Christianity. Crespí was the only one who traveled with the land expedition throughout its travels, so he became

15288-693: The friars held a Mass in honor of saint Joseph  – patron saint of the Portolá expedition – the Portolá party pulled out of San Diego. Serra stayed behind, as did captain Vicente Vila and the few sailors who remained on the San Carlos . Serra founded mission San Diego in a humble building just two days after the expedition's departure. While Portolà moved north, more men died in San Diego: Eight soldiers, four sailors, eight Christian Indians, and one servant perished by

15444-595: The future pueblo of Los Angeles . They continued moving northwest along a route that would become El Camino Real (royal path or road) in New Spain. On September 30, as the party camped by a river just south of today's Salinas , scouts ranged west to the coast. They reached Monterey Bay but failed to recognize it as the port described by Vizcaíno 167 years earlier. The rest of the party reached Monterey Bay on October 1 – but still failed to recognize it as their destination, because it did not seem to match

15600-443: The grand scale described by Vizcaíno. Also, Portolà and his hungry men had hoped to find the supply ship San José waiting for them at anchor in their destination harbor of Monterey. They never saw the San José , apparently lost at sea. Its morale waning, the party resumed its march on October 7, reaching the area of Espinosa Lake east of today's Castroville . By then, at least ten of the party were being carried on litters , due to

15756-525: The improvements were in and around some major coastal cities and the major islands such as Cuba, with its tobacco plantations , and a renewed growth of precious metals mining in South America. Agricultural productivity remained low despite efforts to introduce new techniques to what was for the most part an uninterested, exploited peasant and laboring groups. Governments were inconsistent in their policies. Though there were substantial improvements by

15912-556: The institutions of empire to better administer it for the benefit of Spain and the crown. It sought to increase revenues and to assert greater crown control, including over the Catholic Church. Centralization of power (beginning with the Nueva Planta decrees against the realms of the Crown of Aragon ) was to be for the benefit of the crown and the metropole and for the defense of its empire against foreign incursions. From

16068-499: The integrity of the closed Spanish mercantile system and established thriving sugar colonies. At the beginning of his reign, the first Spanish Bourbon, King Philip V, reorganized the government to strengthen the executive power of the monarch as was done in France, in place of the deliberative, Polysynodial System of Councils. Philip's government set up a ministry of the Navy and the Indies (1714) and established commercial companies,

16224-460: The islands of Gran Canaria (1478–1483), La Palma (1492–1493), and Tenerife (1494–1496) were subjugated. By 1504, more than 90 percent of the indigenous Canarians had been killed or enslaved. The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast (1471) in the Gulf of Guinea , but the news quickly caused a huge gold rush. Chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of

16380-505: The land groups. The San Carlos and San Antonio were followed by an additional supply ship, the San José , which was named after the patron saint of the Portolà expedition, Saint Joseph . The San José never reached San Diego and was presumed lost at sea. Captain Fernando Rivera , moving north through Baja California, gathered horses and mules from the fragile chain of Catholic missions to supply his overland expedition. José de Gálvez had ordered Rivera to requisition horses and mules from

16536-526: The lands adjoining it for the Spanish Crown. The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children to isolate their rival, France. The Spanish princesses married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg . Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Aragonese house of the Kingdom of Naples against Charles VIII of France in

16692-427: The late 18th century, Spain was still an economic backwater. Under the mercantile trading arrangements it had difficulty in providing the goods being demanded by the strongly growing markets of its empire, and providing adequate outlets for the return trade. From an opposing point of view according to the "backwardness" mentioned above the naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt traveled extensively throughout

16848-459: The launch and storekeeper – and none of the men offered by Portolà had experience as sailors. Vila refused to sail under such conditions. So Portolà decided to place all available sailors aboard the San Antonio , which set out for San Blas on July 9, with a very small crew. Carrying important letters from Serra, Portolà and others, the San Antonio reached San Blas in just three weeks. On that voyage, several more sailors died. After

17004-572: The mainland was Santa María la Antigua del Darién in Castilla de Oro (now Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Panama and Colombia ), settled by Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1510. In 1513, Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama , and led the first European expedition to see the Pacific Ocean from the West coast of the New World. In an action with enduring historical import, Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean and all

17160-401: The map Maris Pacifici from 1589, in the first half of the 17th century the idea of California as an island spread again; this persisted well into the 18th century, and was included in many erroneous maps that did not have the knowledge of the Spanish sailors about the Pacific coast of North America. It is believed to have originated with Carmelite friar Antonio Ascension, who around 1620 drew

17316-583: The men waiting to board, declared their final destination as Monterey and their mission to plant the holy cross among the Indians. Friar Parrón boarded the San Carlos along with captain Vicente Vila, followed by lieutenant Pedro Fages with his 25 Catalan volunteers ; cartographer Miguel Costansó , who made maps and drawings to describe the journey; surgeon Pedro Prat; and a crew of 23 sailors, plus two blacksmiths, two boys, four cooks, and mate Jorge Estorace – a crew of 62 in all. Weighing anchor,

17472-609: The mid-1820s, Spain had lost its territories in Mexico, Central America, and South America. By 1900, it had also lost Cuba , Puerto Rico , the Philippine Islands , and Guam in the Mariana Islands following the Spanish–American War . With the marriage of the heirs apparent to their respective thrones Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile created a personal union that most scholars view as

17628-533: The missions without endangering their survival and to give the friars receipts for the number of animals taken; those missions would later get restocked with animals brought over from the Mexican mainland. Friar Juan Crespí , selected as chaplain for the Rivera party and diarist for the Franciscan missionaries, traveled for 24 days from Mission La Purísima , approximately 400 miles (640 km) north to Velicatá, then

17784-656: The most part, it was reported that interactions with Native American tribes in Alta California were peaceful without much conflict. Many were described as welcoming and helpful, as they offered guidance and supplies to the Spanish explorers. Friendly encounters with the native people had been a goal from the onset of the expedition, and the Spanish brought many items and trinkets with which they traded for supplies and used to create peaceful relations. They used valuable space to carry so many glass beads and other items, rather than food or more crucial supplies, in order to pacify

17940-410: The navy of our Most Catholic Majesty but those of all Europe could take shelter in it." On November 11, Portolà convened an officers' council, which agreed unanimously that 1) they must have passed Monterey, 2) it was time to turn around and retrace their steps back to San Diego , and 3) no one would be left behind hoping for a supply ship to arrive. The entire party headed back south. On November 28,

18096-429: The northern frontier of Spanish settlement in Baja California. There Crespí met up with the Rivera party, which set out from Velicatá on March 24. Their mule and horse train, tended by three muleteers , carried 25 leather-jacket soldiers and 42 Baja California Christian Indians (all men). Portolà himself led the second land group, which set out from Loreto on March 9. Junípero Serra , assigned by José de Gálvez to head

18252-400: The nuclei of permanent settlements, established a cattle ranching economy and converted thousands of Native Americans to Christianity. Three diaries written by members of the expedition survive, giving unusually complete insight into the daily movements and experiences: One by Portolà himself, a record by Miguel Costansó , and a diary by Juan Crespí which is the most complete and detailed of

18408-506: The official diarist for the missionaries (Portolà and Costansó also kept diaries). The Franciscans ultimately founded twenty-one missions at or near the Pacific Coast of what is now the state of California, in addition to one mission in Baja California. The string of California missions began at San Diego. After two weeks of recuperation, Portolà resumed the northward march to rediscover Vizcaíno 's port of Monterey by land, with

18564-775: The other members of their party on May 5, just south of Velicatá. Following the trail blazed by the Rivera party, and less burdened by livestock, the Portolà party moved somewhat faster. Even so, they had an arduous trek over deserts and through ravines. The ships arrived in San Diego first: the San Antonio on April 11 and the San Carlos on April 29, 1769. Many crew members on both ships had fallen ill – especially from scurvy  – during their voyages. On May 1, lieutenant Pedro Fages , engineer Miguel Costansó , and mate Jorge Estorace came ashore from their anchorage in San Diego Bay , along with 25 soldiers and sailors still healthy enough to work. Searching for

18720-498: The papal bull Æterni regis (dated on 21 June 1481). However, this experience would prove to be profitable for future Spanish overseas expansion, because as the Spaniards were excluded from the lands discovered or to be discovered from the Canaries southward —and consequently from the road to India around Africa —they sponsored the voyage of Columbus towards the west (1492) in search of Asia to trade in its spices , encountering

18876-527: The party crossed the Monterey Peninsula south to Carmel Bay . A week later, while waiting for two Baja Christian Indians who got separated from Rivera 's group, the expedition leaders discussed their next moves. They still did not believe they had found Vizcaíno 's port of Monterey. On December 7, they decided to return to San Diego without waiting any longer for the missing men, or for a supply ship. On December 10, Portolà ordered his men to plant

19032-501: The party had survived their six-month journey. They told of large numbers of friendly Indians who lived along the coast, waiting to receive the Catholic gospel. In total they had traveled around 1,200 miles (1,900 km) and become the first Europeans to survey San Francisco Bay and many other important strategic locations. Yet friar Junípero Serra , who welcomed them back to San Diego, felt dismayed and incredulous that they had not found Monterey Bay. "You come from Rome without having seen

19188-416: The peninsula, which was formerly an island, has many species with affinities to tropical Mexico. The peninsula is known colloquially as Baja by American and Canadian tourists, and is known for its natural environment . It draws ecotourists who go whale watching for migrating California gray whales as well as tourists that arrive to the resorts on the southern tip of the peninsula. Its location between

19344-453: The peninsula. The two most prominent capes along the Pacific coastline of the peninsula are Punta Eugenia , located about halfway up the coast, and Cabo San Lázaro , located about a quarter of the way north from Cabo San Lucas. The Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay , the largest bay in Baja, lies along the Pacific coast halfway up the peninsula. The large Cedros Island is situated between the bay and

19500-551: The pope", Serra told Portolà. A second expedition to find Monterey Bay and establish a permanent settlement there took place in 1770. Portolà mustered a new overland party in San Diego, consisting of less than half the number of men he had taken on his first trip to find Monterey. The new party included Pedro Fages with twelve Catalan volunteers , seven leather-jacket soldiers, two muleteers , five Baja Christian Indians, Portolà's servant, and friar Crespí . Rivera had traveled back to Baja California to get supplies. On April 17,

19656-456: The present-day U.S. states of California , Nevada , Utah , Arizona , and parts of Colorado and Wyoming . Over time the name "Sea of Cortez" replaced Vermillion Sea, and today the term "Gulf of California" is used by some. Although cartographers such as Abraham Ortelius showed the Baja as an extensive peninsula in his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum , published in Antwerpen in 1589, and on

19812-422: The rugged coast of Baja California have been growing over their own root remains over thousands of years to compensate for sea-level rise, accumulating a thick layer of peat below their roots. However, mangroves in flat coastal floodplains have accumulated a thinner peat layer. The Peninsular Ranges form the backbone of the peninsula. They are an uplifted and eroded Jurassic to Cretaceous batholith , part of

19968-403: The rural Bajío faced rising land prices, falling wages. Eviction of many from their lands resulted. With a Bourbon monarchy came a repertory of Bourbon mercantilist ideas based on a centralized state, put into effect in the Americas slowly at first but with increasing momentum during the century. Shipping grew rapidly from the mid-1740s until the Seven Years' War (1756–63), reflecting in part

20124-628: The same amount of bread as any European city, with 363 kilograms of bread per person per year in comparison to the 377 kilograms consumed in Paris. Caracas consumed seven times more meat per person than in Paris. Von Humboldt also said that the average income in that period was four times the European income and also that the cities of New Spain were richer than many European cities. Bourbon institutional reforms under Philip V bore fruit militarily when Spanish forces easily retook Naples and Sicily from

20280-518: The same coastline, leaving a description of coastal features. The Portolà expedition carried a copy of Soromenho's writings to guide them along the coast. Soromenho was followed in 1602 by Sebastián Vizcaíno , whose coastal explorations in 1602 surveyed several California locations for future colonization, including San Diego, the California Channel Islands and Monterey . Vizcaíno sailed north from Mexico (as Cabrillo had done),

20436-618: The same original batholith chain which formed much of the Sierra Nevada mountains in U.S. California. This chain was formed primarily as a result of the subduction of the Farallon Plate millions of years ago all along the margin of North America. Climate The climate of Baja California peninsula is predominantly a hot desert climate , with the northern parts featuring a Mediterranean climate, and contains some dots of Mediterranean and hot semi arid climate along all of

20592-430: The ships was to keep the land contingent supplied with provisions and to carry communications between them and New Spain. Portolà decided to travel by land. The expedition's original assignment was to travel to the "port of Monterey" described by Vizcaíno and establish a settlement there. After that, the explorers were to continue north to locate Soromenho's "Bay of San Francisco", chase away any Russians encountered, claim

20748-613: The success of the Bourbons in bringing illicit trade under control. With the loosening of trade controls after the Seven Years' War, shipping trade within the empire once again began to expand, reaching an extraordinary rate of growth in the 1780s. The end of Cádiz's monopoly of trade with the American colonies brought about very important changes, particularly a rebirth of Spanish manufactures. Most notable of those changes were both

20904-495: The three. When Portolà returned to New Spain in 1770, Pedro Fages (now promoted to captain) was appointed lieutenant governor of Alta California, with headquarters at the Presidio of Monterey . Fages led further exploratory trips to the east side of San Francisco Bay, and left his own diaries. California Historical Landmarks #2, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 92, 94, 375, 394, 655, 665, 727, 784, 1058, and 1059 are all related to

21060-440: The thrones of the Crown of Aragon . The two became known as the Catholic Monarchs , with their marriage a personal union that created a relationship between the Crown of Aragon and Castile, each with their own administrations, but ruled jointly by the two monarchs. Ferdinand and Isabella defeated the last Muslim king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war . The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus ,

21216-542: The time the Portolà party returned six months later. On July 28, the Portolà party reached a major southern California river, which the soldiers called the Santa Ana River . That afternoon they felt a strong earthquake , with aftershocks jolting them over the next few days. On August 2 they traveled west out of San Gabriel Valley , through the hills to a river Crespí named El Río de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula  – site of

21372-535: The treasures of Guinea "spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there". Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. The War of the Castilian Succession (1475–79) provided the Catholic Monarchs with the opportunity not only to attack the main source of

21528-477: The treaty between Castile and Portugal as binding on themselves. Francis I of France observed "The sun shines for me as for others and I should very much like to see the clause in Adam's will that excludes me from a share of the world." Spanish settlement in the New World was based on a pattern of a large, permanent settlements with the entire complex of institutions and material life to replicate Castilian life in

21684-810: The viewpoint of Spain, the structures of colonial rule under the Habsburgs were no longer functioning to the benefit of Spain, with much wealth being retained in Spanish America and going to other European powers. The presence of other European powers in the Caribbean, with the English in Barbados (1627), St Kitts (1623–25), and Jamaica (1655); the Dutch in Curaçao , and the French in Saint Domingue (Haiti) (1697), Martinique , and Guadeloupe had broken

21840-709: The war. In 1742, the War of Jenkins' Ear merged with the larger War of the Austrian Succession , and King George's War in North America. The British, also occupied with France, were unable to capture Spanish convoys, and Spanish privateers captured British merchant shipping along the Triangle Trade routes and attacked the coast of North Carolina , levying tribute on the inhabitants. In Europe, Spain had been trying to divest Maria Theresa of

21996-564: The wooden cross left on a hill the year before, and this time (perhaps on a clearer day) realized that the site did indeed overlook the place Vizcaíno had described. Portolà founded the Presidio of Monterey on that hill, and Serra founded the Mission San Carlos Borromeo (moved to Carmel the next year, a little ways to the south). On July 9, 1770, Portolà and Costansó boarded the San Antonio and sailed out of Monterey Bay, headed back to Baja California New Spain. For

22152-489: Was San Francisco Bay, but nearly every stop along the route was a first. It is also important in that it, along with the later de Anza expedition , established the overland route north to San Francisco which became the Camino Real . That route was integral to the settlement of Alta California by the Spanish Empire, and made it possible for the Franciscan friars to establish a string of twenty-one missions , which served as

22308-529: Was a century of prosperity for the overseas Spanish Empire as trade within grew steadily, particularly in the second half of the century, under the Bourbon reforms. Spain's victory in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias against a British expedition in the Caribbean port of Cartagena de Indias helped Spain secure its dominance of its possessions in the Americas until the 19th century. But different regions fared differently under Bourbon rule, and even while New Spain

22464-455: Was defeated in Italy by an alliance of Britain, France, Savoy, and Austria. Following the war, the new Bourbon monarchy took a much more cautious approach to international relations, relying on a family alliance with Bourbon France, and continuing to follow a program of institutional renewal. The crown program to enact reforms that promoted administrative control and efficiency in the metropole to

22620-610: Was discovered. The earliest known mention of the idea of California was in the 1510 romance novel Las Sergas de Esplandián by Spanish author Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo . The book described the Island of California as being west of the Indies , "very close to the side of the Terrestrial Paradise; and it is peopled by black women, without any man among them, for they live in the manner of Amazons ". The Baja peninsula

22776-556: Was divided into Alta (upper) and Baja (lower) California. The two Californias division was kept after Mexican independence in 1821. The Spanish Baja California Province became Mexican Baja California Territory , and remained a separate territory until 1836. In 1836, the Siete Leyes constitutional reforms reunited both Californias in the Departamento de las Californias . After 1848, the Baja California peninsula again became

22932-552: Was established for England in 1579 by the privateer Francis Drake , who followed the trans-Pacific route from the Philippines established by the Manila galleons and reached the California coast near Cape Mendocino , from which he then sailed south along the coast at least as far as Point Reyes . In 1596, a Portuguese captain sailing for Spain, Sebastião Rodrigues Soromenho (Spanish: Sebastián Rodríguez Cermeño) explored some of

23088-404: Was little apparent wealth and the numbers of indigenous were declining. Those from the less prosperous Hispaniola were eager to search for new success in a new settlement. From there Juan Ponce de León conquered Puerto Rico (1508) and Diego Velázquez took Cuba . Columbus encountered the mainland in 1498, and the Catholic Monarchs learned of his discovery in May 1499. The first settlement on

23244-468: Was non-existent, their conditions were much better than any other peasant or farmer in northern Europe . Humboldt also published a comparative analysis of bread and meat consumption in New Spain compared to other cities in Europe such as Paris. Mexico City consumed 189 pounds of meat per person per year, in comparison to 163 pounds consumed by the inhabitants of Paris, the Mexicans also consumed almost

23400-437: Was one of the most powerful empires of the early modern period , becoming known as " the empire on which the sun never sets ". At its greatest extent in the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Spanish Empire covered over 13 million square kilometres (5 million square miles), making it one of the largest empires in history. Beginning with the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus and continuing for over three centuries,

23556-470: Was originally believed by the first Spanish sea explorers to be an island, and acquired the name California, after the mythical paradise inspired by the historic Califor region in Floptropica. Following Hernán Cortés 's conquest of Mexico , the search for the fabled Strait of Anián connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific helped motivate him to send several expeditions to the west coast of New Spain in

23712-402: Was particularly prosperous, it was also marked by steep wealth inequality. Silver production boomed in New Spain during the 18th century, with output more than tripling between the start of the century and the 1750s. The economy and the population both grew, both centered around Mexico City. But while mine owners and the crown benefited from the flourishing silver economy, most of the population in

23868-602: Was published by Briggs in 1622 (this map was also included in Hakluytus Posthumus by Samuel Purchas , 1625), where it was written that it was sometimes supposed to be a peninsula, but had since been shown by the Dutch to be an island. The idea was warmly accepted by cartographers and presented even in c. 1720 on Carte Nouveelle de la Mer du Sud , published in Amsterdam by Andries and Hendrik de Leth  [ nl ] . Garcia and Jorge opined in 2023 that

24024-481: Was slower than the growth of illicit trade by northern rivals in the empire's markets.) However, this recovery was not then translated into institutional improvement, rather the "proximate solutions to permanent problems." This legacy of neglect was reflected in the early years of Bourbon rule in which the military was ill-advisedly pitched into battle in the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–20). Spain

24180-507: Was the first document to establish an administrative organization in the Indies. Columbus' discoveries began the Spanish colonization of the Americas . Spain's claim to these lands was solidified by the Inter caetera papal bull dated 4 May 1493, and Dudum siquidem on 26 September 1493. Since the Portuguese wanted to keep the line of demarcation of Alcaçovas running east and west along

24336-457: Was the lifeblood of the Habsburg empire declined in proportion to registered shipping (a shipping registry having been established in 1735). Two upheavals registered unease within Spanish America and at the same time demonstrated the renewed resiliency of the reformed system: the Tupac Amaru uprising in Peru in 1780 and the rebellion of the comuneros of New Granada , both in part reactions to tighter, more efficient control. The 18th century

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