In 1602, yet another Spanish explorer would lead an expedition to this region in search of a good shipping harbor. His name was Sebastían Vizcaíno, and his exploration would result in some of the most extensive chartings ever made of the northern coastline. Sailing with two vessels and a small launch for land expeditions, he departed Navidad and on the sixteenth of December landed in what he termed the “deepest harbor near land to lay anchor. ” He named the safe harbor for his Viceroy, the Conde de Monterey, and saw it as a profitable northern frontier port. He wrote that the magnificent harbor was rich with timber for shipbuilding, and a natural paradise with abundant shelter from wind. Despite these romantic tales of a harbor in Paradise, the new Viceroy of New Spain, Marqués de Montesclaros, did not trust Vizcaíno’s stories. A study written by Walton Bean, Professor of History at the University of California at Berkeley, suggests that the Viceroy’s distrust of Vizcaíno was so great that the expedition’s mapmaker, Martínez Palacios, was convicted of forgery and then hanged. San Francisco was destined to remain isolated and barren of discovery for nearly two hundred more years.
In New Spain, Jesuit missionaries had ruled the northwestern frontier regions dating back to late 1580, under the terms decreed by their King. These missionaries established settlements along the northern Baja peninsula, which were considered to be the most structured and disciplined of all the missions in New Spain. The Jesuits maintained their dominance in Baja until around the late 1760s, when the King ordered their expulsion, under suspicion that they would attempt to fragment the Spanish government and take power for themselves. The evictions of the Jesuits were delegated to Visitor-General Jośe de Gálvez, a special envoy of the King. His role was to conduct tribunals, and to restructure the political systems in various regions. Gálvez proposed to the King that a new governmental unit be established throughout the northwest. The new structure would be called a commandancy-general, and it was intended to expand Spanish territories up into the Californias. Gálvez claimed that the Europeans were starting to populate the northern lands beyond the Californias, and would soon begin a southward migration to establish their own rule.
In late 1768, Gálvez sent Captain Gaspar de Portolá on what he termed a “sacred expedition,” to establish colonies in the Californias. Father Junípero Serra, a catholic missionary, would accompany him to sanctify and establish the holy missions. Serra had been born in the village of Petra on the island of Majorca in 1713, the son of a poor farmer. His given name was Miguel, but he chose Junípero as his religious designation, naming himself for the closest companion of Saint Francis. Serra became a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Majorca, but left in his mid-thirties to pursue a more meaningful life as a foreign missionary. In Walton Bean’s fascinating interpretive history, the author described Serra:
“Through his life he was a vigorous, hard-driving man, never turning back from a task he had begun, always demanding the full measure from others as well as himself. In physical stature, Serra was short, not more than 5 feet 2 or 3 inches in height, but in courage and determination, he was a giant...”
Father Junípero Serra
A period engraving of Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo, founded in 1770.
Serra’s role in the colonization of California was most significant. He inspired the settler communities with missionary sermons that communicated divine principles and ethics. He would also establish the first Missions in San Diego (on July 16, 1769) and Monterey (which he founded on June 3, 1770, originally at what is known today as the Royal Presidio Chapel and then relocated to a site in Carmel in 1771, naming it Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo). Father Serra died in 1784, and is buried in the Basilica at the Mission in Carmel.
There were three vessels that made the sacred voyage to California. The San Carloswould serve as the flagship with Portolá commanding from her helm. The other ships, the San Joseand San Antonio, were filled with livestock and other goods to be used in establishing the colonies. These vessels transported some of the furniture and other artifacts from Portolá’s expedition that still remain at the Carmel Mission in present day. The condition of the ships was less than adequate, and they took on large amounts of water through their leaky hulls. The San Josewent down, taking with her all of her crew, who additionally, were believed to have been stricken with Scurvy. The crews of the other vessels were also sick and the expedition would lose nearly half of its total number of nearly three hundred men. The expeditions into Monterey and north to San Francisco would have to be continued by land.
The first overland expedition failed to locate the Port at Monterey. It is suspected that Vizcaíno’s romanticized description may have been misleading and caused the frontiersmen to press too far northward in search of a site for their future mission. By the time the crew arrived in the area that is today known as Berkeley, they had already realized that they had overshot their destination. Many of the men had fallen ill during the exhausting expedition, with several documented as having severe diarrhea, and others stricken with scurvy. Portolá himself was described as being ill with “sickness of the intestines, ” and with rations low, the expedition settled for a brief period to allow the men time to rest.
On Tuesday October 31, 1769, Portolá’s party made the first official references to the discovery of San Francisco. In excerpts from the logs of Portolá and Miguel Costansó, the expedition’s engineer and cosmographer, the historic moment is described:
“We traveled two hours of very bad road up over a very high mountain. We stopped upon the height and the sergeant with eight soldiers were dispatched to explore, as some farallones, and a point of land, and a bight had been seen. Here we stayed for four days to explore. The pioneers set out, and we afterward followed along with the packtrain and the rest of the people at eleven o’clock in the forenoon. From the summit we descended a large bay lying to the northwest under a point of land reaching far out to sea, over which there had been much disputing the evening before whether it was an island or no, it having been impossible then, because of some horizon-mist covering it, to make it out as clearly as we did now. Out beyond, about to the west-northwest with respect to our position, and a bit to the southwest from the point could be seen seven white farallones of differing sizes and looking back along the north side of the bay there were abrupt white bluffs made out more toward the north, while turning around toward the northeast, the mouth of the inlet was discovered that seemed to reach inland. At the sight of these marks we turned to the Cabrera Bueno’s sailing directions, and it seemed to us out of all doubt that we were looking upon was the Harbor of San Francisco, and so persuaded that Monterrey Harbor lay behind us.”
Father Crespi who was present on the expedition wrote:
“All Saint’s day and All Soul’s day. The two of us said mass here, and on All Saint’s day after Mass by the governor’s order Sergeant Ortega set out with eight soldiers to scout for three days’ march, wherefore we remained here until the 3 rd, when they arrived back at night from scouting. At this place there are limitless very lush brambles, many rose patches, and all kinds of lush plants, very plentiful. Shortly after we here there came over to the camp a good sized village of very well behaved friendly natives (Indians), most of them well bearded and brought us a great many large dark-colored tamales, very rich, which the soldiers say are very good and would go well in a pipiánfricassee. There must be many villages all about this rich harbor, for we have seen many smoke [columns] from here; mussels are also very plentiful here, and very large, and the soldiers have brought back a great deal of them. Many deer have been seen upon the hills here. Bear tracks and droppings have been seen here. Our sick men have been improving everyday and are now all riding on horseback, thank the Lord Who has granted them this relief.”