Juan Bautista Alvarado | |
|---|---|
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| 8th Governor of the Californias | |
| In office 1837–1842 | |
| Preceded by | Nicolás Gutiérrez |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Micheltorena |
| President ofAlta California (Unrecognized) | |
| In office 1836–1837 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1809-02-14)February 14, 1809 Monterey, California |
| Died | July 13, 1882(1882-07-13) (aged 73) San Pablo, California |
| Spouse | María Martina Castro de Alvarado |
| Profession | Politician, ranchero, rebel |
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882)[1][2] usually known asJuan Bautista Alvarado, was aCalifornio politician that served asgovernor of Alta California from 1837 to 1842.[3] Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement forindependence of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, in which he successfully deposed interim governorNicolás Gutiérrez, declared independence, and created a new flag and constitution, before negotiating an agreement with the Mexican government resulting in his recognition as governor and the end of the independence movement.
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Alvarado was born inMonterey,Alta California, to Jose Francisco Alvarado and María Josefa Vallejo. His grandfather Juan Bautista Alvarado accompaniedGaspar de Portolá as an enlisted man in the Spanish Army in 1769. His father died a few months after his birth and his mother remarried three years later, leaving Juan Bautista in the care of his grandparents on the Vallejo side, where he andMariano Guadalupe Vallejo grew up together. They were both taught byWilliam Edward Petty Hartnell, an English merchant living in Monterey.
In 1827, eighteen-year-old Alvarado was hired as secretary to the territorial legislature. In 1829 he was briefly arrested along with Vallejo andJosé Castro by soldiers involved in the military revolt led byJoaquín Solis. In 1831 he built a house in Monterey for his mistress, Juliana Francisca Ramona y Castillo, whom he called "Raymunda", to live in. It's possible the home was for her sister, Maria Reymunda Castillo.[4] Over the years, the pair had at least two illegitimate daughters whom he recognized (Estefana del Rosario (born 1834),[5] and Maria Francisca de la Asencion (born 1836).[6] They may have had several more that he did not recognize, but they never married. During this period Alvarado began drinking heavily.
Alvarado supportedsecularization of theSpanish missions in California. He was appointed byJosé María de Echeandía to oversee the turn over ofMission San Miguel, even though Echeandía was no longer governor. The new governorManuel Victoria rescinded the order and sought to have Alvarado and Castro arrested. The pair fled and were hidden by their old friend Vallejo, who had becomeadjutant at thePresidio of San Francisco. However, Victoria was unpopular and Echeandía overthrew his rule and replaced him withPío de Jesús Pico near the end of 1831.[7] Secularization of the missions resumed in 1833.
In 1834 Alvarado was elected to the legislature as a delegate and appointed customs inspector in Monterey. GovernorJosé Figueroa grantedRancho El Sur, two square leagues of land, or about 9,000 acres (3,600 ha), south of Monterey, to Alvarado on October 30, 1834.
After Figueroa's death in September 1835, Nicolás Gutiérrez was appointed as interim governor in January 1836. He was replaced byMariano Chico in April, but Chico was unpopular. His intelligence agents told him that another Californio revolt was brewing, hence he fled toMexico, claiming he planned to gather troops against the independent Californios. Instead, Mexico reprimanded him for abandoning his post. Gutierrez, the militarycommandant, re-assumed the governorship, but like the Mexican governors before him, the Californios forced him to flee.[6] As senior members of the legislature, Alvarado and Castro, with political support from Vallejo and backing from a group of Tennesseans led by Capt.Isaac Graham, staged a revolt in November 1836 and forced Gutierrez out of the country. Alvarado's Californio coup wrote a constitution and adopted anew flag—a single red star on a white background, but neither were used after Alvarado made peace with Mexico.
Alvarado, at age 27, was then appointed governor, but the city council ofLos Angeles protested. Alvarado, Castro, and Graham went south and negotiated a compromise after three months, avoiding a civil war.[7] This negotiation caused many people of San Diego to feel threatened. According toSantiago Argüello in a letter of 1837, “Most of the people in San Diego were indignant at the way their commissioners had compromised them, so they…departed to Lower California to avoid persecution.”[8] However, the city council of San Diego then voiced its disagreement with Alvarado's revolt. This time, the Mexican government was involved and there were rumors that the Mexican Army was ready to step in. Alvarado was able to negotiate another compromise to keep the peace.
Mexico reneged on the agreement, however, and appointedCarlos Antonio Carrillo, who was very popular among the southerners, governor on December 6, 1837. This time, civil war broke out and after several battles, Carrillo was forced out. Mexico finally relented and recognized Alvarado as governor.
Alvarado married Doña Martina Castro on August 24, 1839, inSanta Clara, but did not attend his own wedding having his half-brother, Jose Antonio Estrada, stand in for him. Though he claimed to be detained in Monterey on official business, it was rumored he was actually drunk and unable to function. After the wedding, Alvarado lived with his bride in Monterey, but continued on with mistress, Raymunda, who lived nearby.
The process of secularization of the missions was in its final stages, and it was at this time that Alvarado parceled out much of their land to prominentCalifornios via land grants. Though he took no land for himself, he did however, trade his Rancho El Sur toJohn B.R. Cooper in exchange forRancho Bolsa del Potrero which he subsequently sold back to Cooper. He purchasedRancho El Alisal nearSalinas in 1841 from his former tutorWilliam Hartnell.
In April 1840 a report of a planned revolt against Alvarado by a group of foreigners, led by former allyIsaac Graham, caused the governor to order their arrest and deportation to Mexico City for trial. They were eventually, however, acquitted of all charges in June 1841. Also in 1841, political leaders in the United States were declaring their doctrine ofManifest Destiny, and Californios grew increasingly concerned over their intentions. Vallejo conferred with Castro and Alvarado recommending that Mexico send military reinforcements to enforce their military control of California.
In response, Mexican presidentAntonio López de Santa Anna sentBrigadier General Manuel Micheltorena and 300 men to California in January 1842. Micheltorena was to assume the governorship and the position ofcommandant general. In October, before Micheltorena reached Monterey, AmericanCommodoreThomas ap Catesby Jones mistakenly thought that war had broken out between the US and Mexico. He sailed intoMonterey Bay and demanded the surrender of thePresidio of Monterey. Micheltorena's force was still in the south and the Monterey presidio was undermanned. Alvarado reluctantly surrendered, and retired to Rancho El Alisal. The next day Commodore Jones learned of his mistake, but Alvarado declined to return and instead referred the commodore to Micheltorena.
Micheltorena eventually made it to Monterey, but was unable to control his troops, a number of which were convicts. This fomented rumors of a revolt, and by 1844, Alvarado became associated with the malcontents and an order was made by Micheltorena for his arrest. His detention was short-lived, as Micheltorena was under orders to organize a large contingent in preparation for war against the US. All hands would be required for the task.
This turned out to backfire on him, as on November 14, 1844, a group of Californios led byManuel Castro revolted against Mexican authority. José Castro and Alvarado commanded the troops. Castro's drummer Juan 'Tambor' Higuera was killed during the capture of the barracks in Los Angeles, possibly the only Californio killed.[9] A truce was negotiated and Micheltorena agreed to dismiss his convict troops. Micheltorena later reneged on the deal and fighting broke out this time. The rebels won theBattle of Providencia in February 1845 at theLos Angeles River and Micheltorena and his troops left California.
Pío Pico was installed as governor in Los Angeles andJosé Castro became commandant general. Later, Alvarado was elected to the Mexican Congress. He prepared to move to Mexico City, but Pico declined funding for the transfer, and relations between northern and southern California deteriorated further.
John C. Frémont arrived in Monterey at the beginning of 1846. Afraid of foreign aggression, Castro assembled his militia, with Alvarado second in command, but Frémont went north toOregon instead. An unstable political situation in Mexico strained relations among the Californios and it seemed that civil war would break out between north and south.
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On July 7, CommodoreJohn D. Sloat occupied Monterey, declaring to the citizenry that theMexican–American War had begun. Pico, Castro, and Alvarado set aside their differences to focus on the American threat, but by the end of August, Pico and Castro fled to Mexico, and Alvarado was captured. Following his release, Alvarado spent the remainder of the war on his estate in Monterey.
After the war, Alvarado was offered the governorship but declined, instead retiring to his wife Martina's family estate atRancho San Pablo in 1848.[10] Alvarado did not participate in theCalifornia Gold Rush, instead concentrating his efforts on agriculture and business. He opened the Union Hotel on the rancho in 1860, but his businesses were mostly unsuccessful. After Martina's death in 1876, Alvarado wrote hisHistoria de California.[11] He died on his ranch in 1882 and is buried atSaint Mary Cemetery inOakland.
Alvarado'sadobe house, at the foot of Alvarado Street in downtown Monterey, survives as aCalifornia Historical Landmark. The former settlement ofAlvarado (now part ofUnion City) was named after him, as was Alvarado Street inSan Francisco'sNoe Valley. Portions of the Rancho San Pablo adobe are incorporated into the current City ofSan Pablo government campus andAlvarado Park withinWildcat Canyon Regional Park is named in his honor.
The Governor Alvarado House isCalifornia Historical Landmark number #348.
California Historical Landmark reads:
The adobe house, which is now occupied by a local bank branch, was seriously damaged in January, 2023, during the2022–2023 California floods.[13]
Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Alvarado, Jean Bautista".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. p. 99.
| Under Spain (1769–1822) |  | |
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| Under Mexico (1822–1846) | ||
| Under U.S. military (1846–1850) | ||
| U.S. state (since 1850) | ||
