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Gaspar de Portolá | |
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| Governor of the Californias | |
| In office November 30, 1767 – July 9, 1770 | |
| Monarch | Charles III |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Fages |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gaspar de Portolà i Rovira January 1, 1716 |
| Died | October 10, 1786 (aged 70) Lleida, Catalonia |
| Resting place | Lleida, Catalonia |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Spain |
| Branch/service | Spain Army |
| Rank | Captain |
DonGaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786) was aSpanish Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the firstgovernor of the Californias from 1767 to 1770. Born inCatalonia into anaristocratic family, he is best known for leading thePortolá expedition intoCalifornia, which laid the foundations of Spanish rule in the region Californian cities likeSan Diego andMonterey, and bestowed names to geographic features throughout California, many of which are still in use.[1]
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Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira was born on January 1, 1716 inOs de Balaguer, Catalonia, into a family of minor Catalan nobility. After he came of age, Portolá joined theSpanish Army, being commissioned as anensign in 1734 and alieutenant in 1743. He saw service inItaly during theWar of the Austrian Succession and participated in theSpanish invasion of Portugal during theFantastic War. Following theexpulsion of the Jesuits from theSpanish Empire, Portolá was tasked with removing theJesuits fromSpanish missions in Baja California. He then ensured the missions were turned over to theFranciscans and later to theDominicans.[citation needed]
Spain was driven to establishmissions and other outposts on the Pacific Coast north of theBaja California Peninsula by fears that the territory would be claimed by competing foreign powers, in addition to its Catholic proselytizing mission and need for additional sources of income. TheBritish, who had establishedseveral colonies on the East Coast of North America, had also sent explorers into the Pacific. Russian fur hunters were pressing east fromSiberia across theBering Strait into theAleutian Islands and beyond.
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Dispatches of January 23, 1768, exchanged between King Carlos and the viceroy, set the wheels in motion to extend Spain's control up the Pacific Coast and establish colonies and missions atSan Diego Bay andMonterey Bay, which had been discovered and described in reports by earlier explorersJuan Cabrillo andSebastián Vizcaíno. Vizcaíno had mapped the California coastline as far north as Monterey in 1602, but no significant Spanish settlement or even trading station had followed because those earlier explorations had failed to find a good harbor that the Spanish could have used for their long-standing Pacific maritime trade between Asia and Mexico: Monterey Bay, sighted by both Cabrillo and Vizcaíno, was exposed to rough currents and winds.
In May 1768, the Spanish Visitor General,José de Gálvez, began to organize anexpedition, by sea and by land. Portolá was created "Governor of the Californias" and given overall command.Junípero Serra, leader of the expedition'sFranciscan missionaries, took command of spiritual matters. Sea and land detachments were to meet at San Diego Bay.
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The first ship, theSan Carlos, sailed fromLa Paz on January 10, 1769 and a second, theSan Antonio sailed fromCabo San Lucas on February 15. At the same time, the various elements of the land parties began to movenorth fromLoreto, Baja California Sur. The land expedition was assembled at Velicatá, where Serra established his first newmission. From there, Portolá's plan called for splitting the land expedition in two. The lead group, charged with building a wagon trail and pacifying the natives, was led by CaptainFernando Rivera y Moncada, and departed from Velicatá on March 24. With Rivera was the priestJuan Crespí, diarist for the Franciscans. The expedition led by Portolá, which includedJunípero Serra (the President of the Missions), along with a combination of missionaries, settlers, and leather-jacket soldiers, includingJosé Raimundo Carrillo, left Velicatá on May 15. Junípero Serra founded two more missions during the expedition:San Diego de Alcalá on July 16, 1769 andMission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on June 3, 1770.
Rivera reached the site of present-daySan Diego in May, established a camp in the area that is nowOld Town and awaited the arrival of the others. Because of an error by Vizcaíno in determining the latitude of the San Diego Harbor, the ships passed by it and landed too far north before finding their way back. TheSan Antonio arrived on April 11 and theSan Carlos, the first ship to leave La Paz, having met with fierce winds and storms on the journey, arrived on April 29. A third vessel was to follow with supplies, but it was probably lost at sea. The land expedition of Portolá arrived on June 29. After their arduous journeys, most of the men aboard ship were ill, chiefly fromscurvy, and many had died. Out of a total of 219 who left Baja California, little more than 100 now survived.
Eager to press on toMonterey Bay, Portolá and his expedition, consisting of Juan Crespí, 63 leather-jacket soldiers and 100 mules loaded down with provisions, headed north on July 14, 1769, marching two to four leagues (1 league = 2.6 miles) a day. The expedition recorded anearthquake on July 28 at theSanta Ana River. On July 29 they reached the site of present-dayFullerton, California atHillcrest Park. On July 30, the expedition crossed thePuente Hills at a pass inLa Habra (North Harbor Boulevard). They moved north-west to theSan Gabriel River (nearEl Monte) where they built a bridge to cross over. This bridge ('La Puente' in Crespi's diary) is remembered in the name of today's nearby city ofLa Puente. They arrived in what is nowLos Angeles on August 2 (where theLos Angeles River and Arroyo Seco river meet). The following day, they marched out the Indian trail that would one day becomeWilshire Boulevard to the present site ofSanta Monica. Winding around to the area of laterSaugus, now part ofSanta Clarita, they reached the area to becomeSanta Barbara on August 19, and the present-daySan Simeon area on September 13. Unable to remain on the coast due to the steep, difficult terrain, the party turned inland. They marched through the San Antonio Valley and on October 1, Portolá's party emerged from theSanta Lucia Mountains and reached the mouth of theSalinas River.
After a march of some 400 miles (640 km) from San Diego and about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Velicatá, they had reached the bay they were seeking. But they failed to discern the coastline's semi-circular shape, described by Vizcaíno as round like an "O", even though members of the party had twice marched along its beach. Having failed to find their goal, they marched on north and reached the area at the north end of the bay, where Crespí named a creekSanta Cruz on October 18. Pushing on, they reached a creek in the present-day town ofPacifica on October 31.
On November 4, having crossed the low coastal mountain range above the creek, the party was stunned to catch a glimpse of the enormousSan Francisco Bay from the mountain range, as the bay was previously unknown to the Spanish. This sighting was crucial to the later settlement of California because unlike Monterey Bay, it was surrounded by land on all sides except the Golden Gate, and thus it was not exposed to rough ocean currents as was Monterey Bay, which had been known to the Spanish since Cabrillo's exploration in the sixteenth century. Despite the earlier explorations of Cabrillo and Vizcaíno, and despite two centuries of Spanish sailing the Pacific for trade between Asia and Mexico, the San Francisco Bay had been missed because of the fog that frequently shrouded its entrance. If the San Francisco Bay had been discovered earlier, the region surrounding would have been settled by the Spanish earlier since it would have provided a safe, convenient harbor for Spain's Pacific maritime trade.
Portolá's party then headed back to San Diego, exploring and naming many localities in the region south of what eventually became known as theGolden Gate. Surviving on mule meat for most of the journey, they arrived on January 24, 1770.
On their way past Monterey Bay, they again failed to recognize it as the same bay that Vizcaíno had described in 1602.
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One of Portolá's officers, Captain Vicente Vila, convinced him that he had actually been exactly on the Bay of Monterey when he placed his second cross at what later becamePacific Grove. After replenishing supplies at San Diego, Portolá and Serra decided on a joint expedition by land and sea to again search for the bay and establish a colony if they were successful. TheSan Antonio sailed on April 16, 1770. On board were Serra, Miguel Costansó, military engineer and cartographer, and Doctor Pedro Prat, army surgeon, along with a cargo of supplies for the new mission at Monterey. On April 17, after mustering what forces he could, Portolá's land expedition, which included lieutenantPedro Fages, 12 Spanish volunteers, seven leather-jacket soldiers, five Baja California Indians, twomuleteers, andJuan Crespí serving as the expedition's chaplain, again marched north.
The expedition followed the same route they had the previous winter while returning to San Diego. After 36 days on the road, with only two days of rest, Portolá arrived at his second cross on May 24, 1770. He then saw that on a clear day and from a certain point of view the round harbor assumed the proportions described by the earlier enthusiastic explorers. Having recognized the bay, a Mass was conducted near the oak tree that the Carmelite missionaries with Vizcaíno had worshiped under in 1603, and possession was officially taken. On June 3, 1770, they laid the beginnings of theMission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo and founded thePresidio of Monterey.
Governor Portolá's task was finished. He then left CaptainPedro Fages in charge, and on June 9 he sailed forSan Blas, never to return to Upper California. In 1776, Portolá was appointed the governor ofPuebla. After the appointment of his successor in 1784, he was advanced money for expenses and returned to Spain, where he served as commander of theNumancia cavalry dragoon regiment. On February 7, 1786 he was appointed King's Lieutenant for the strongholds and castles of Lleida. He died that same year, in October.
A 9 foot (2.7 m) statue inPacifica, California was sculpted by theCatalan sculptorJosep Maria Subirachs and his associate, Francesc Carulla. It was given to the people of California by theCatalan government in 1988. The statue was taken down on January 18, 2024, after years of complaint that the statue was honoring European colonization in the area.[2] A ten-foot high oil-on-canvas portrait of Portolá byAlbert Herter in 1929 hangs in theLos Angeles Central Library's History Room.[3][4]
The city ofPortola inPlumas County,[5] the town ofPortola Valley inSan Mateo County, and thePortola neighborhood of San Francisco were named after Portolà.
A number of schools in California were also named after him, including Portola Hills Elementary School inPortola Hills, Portola Elementary School inSan Bruno, Gaspar de Portola Middle School inTierrasanta, Portola Middle School inTarzana,Portola Middle School inOrange, & Portola High School inIrvine. The school in Orange is close to the spot where the expedition crossed the Santa Ana River, and the school has a 60-foot mural depicting the Portolà Expedition.
Portola Parkway running through Irvine and Lake Forest (though not connected as of 2018), was also named after Portolà. It is said that Portolà used the same route Portola Parkway now runs across. Portola Drive, which runs parallel to and near the Monterey Bay shoreline, is the main street of thePleasure Point area ofSanta Cruz County. Portola Avenue is also a north-south street located inPalm Desert in theCoachella Valley.
In World War II, the United StatesLiberty shipSSGaspar de Portola was named in his honor.
| Under Spain (1769–1822) |  | |
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| Under Mexico (1822–1846) | ||
| Under U.S. military (1846–1850) | ||
| U.S. state (since 1850) | ||
