Mission days in old Los Cabos: the Franciscan Era

By February 1768, the Jesuits, expelled from Spanish dominions by King Carlos III for reasons that stay unclear — 1 mentation was that a forged missive ostensibly from the Jesuits questioned the legitimacy of the king’s commencement — were gone from the Baja California peninsula. However, immoderate ideas of the hidden wealthiness of the Jesuits — different complaint often made by their enemies — were rapidly dispelled.

When Gaspar de Portolá, the caller California governor, sailed into San José del Cabo connected Nov. 30, 1767, “the soldiers, who had travel with exaggerated notions astir the wealthiness of the Jesuit missions, hastened to prehend the treasures of Mission San José del Cabo; but, with the objection of the religion ornaments, thing of worth was discovered,” wrote Zephyrin Engelhardt successful his 1908 publication connected the Spanish missionary period, “The Missions and Missionaries of California: Vol. 1, Lower California.” 

José de Gálvez, the almighty visitador general, whose imaginativeness for California would everlastingly change the past of Los Cabos. (Public Domain)

“They past proceeded to Mission Santiago and encountered the aforesaid poverty. Like each the Jesuits successful the missions, Father (Ignacio) Tirsch of Santiago had not the slightest suspicion of what was coming, and nary crushed oregon accidental for concealing anything. Portolá adjacent took his men to the metallic mines and convinced himself of their poverty, and the penury of those who feebly worked them.”

José de Gálvez and the displacement successful Franciscan focus

After a small much than 70 years of missionary enactment connected the Baja California peninsula, the Jesuits had accumulated nary wealthiness but had founded 17 missions and “saved galore souls.” 

The Franciscans, who replaced them, would stay successful Baja California for lone 5 years, found only 1 mission — the Misión San Fernando Rey de España de Velicatá, astir 35 miles southeast of El Rosario — and permission the peninsula’s missions adjacent poorer than they already were.

The Franciscans were chosen arsenic successors to the Jesuits by José de Gálvez, the visitador general, whose recently endowed authorization had made him the astir almighty antheral successful Mexico (or Nueva España, arsenic it was past known). 

Gálvez arrived successful July 1768 to reorganize the peninsula, unveiling his plans for California to the twelve oregon truthful Franciscan friars, led by Mallorcan Junípero Serra, who himself had lone been successful residence since April. 

The astir ambitious of these plans was the committedness to establishing missions successful Alta California — present the U.S. authorities of California. How overmuch of this displacement successful absorption northward was influenced by the evident poorness of the missions successful Baja California is unknown. However, by aboriginal 1769, onshore and oversea expeditions were bound for San Diego. By July of that year, Serra had founded the archetypal Alta California ngo there. Serra would aboriginal recovered 8 much missions successful Alta California, an accomplishment for which helium has since been controversially canonized arsenic a saint by the Catholic church. 

Junípero Serra spent lone a twelvemonth connected the Baja California peninsula earlier committing himself to the founding of Alta California missions. (Public Domain)

Portolá, besides integral to the expedition, saw his relation arsenic politician grow to see some Alta and Baja California.  

How Baja California paid for the colony of Alta California

Not everyone benefited from this bluish focus, which by 1777 had seen the superior of Las Californias displacement from Loreto successful Baja California to Monterey successful Alta California. To beryllium blunt, the colony of Alta California was mostly paid for by looting the meager coffers of Baja California’s missions and squeezing wealth from the peninsula’s lone palmy entrepreneur. 

“To lessen the expenses for the projected missions, Gálvez decided that the aged establishments (the missions successful Baja California) should assistance successful founding the caller ones by donating vestments, ineffable vessels and different religion articles,” Engelhardt wrote. “From the inventories, helium saw that each could assistance a little, which, with what helium had obtained from the extinguished missions, would proviso astatine slightest 3 caller missions. He himself proceeded to Todos Santos to cod what could beryllium spared, and helium directed Fr. Serra to bash likewise connected his travel to the northbound from each the missions, not excepting Loreto.”

Also contributing was the 1 affluent antheral the peninsula had truthful acold produced: erstwhile worker Manuel de Ocio. After reaping immoderate timely intel from Cochimí Indians astir 400 pounds of pearls thrown onto a formation successful Mulegé aft a convulsive tempest successful 1740, Ocio retired from the Loreto presidio to recovered a excavation astatine Santa Ana successful 1748, a fewer miles southbound of the Baja California Sur mining towns that subsequently sprang up successful San Antonio and El Triunfo.

Ocio’s excavation wasn’t that awesome successful presumption of the magnitude of metallic it produced, but by 1751, it had reached the bounds indispensable for him to registry it with the Spanish crown and wage taxes. In summation to the workforce of 300 helium acquired, galore from the Mexican mainland, helium besides ran thousands of caput of cattle and managed to bargain 14 homes successful Guadalajara arsenic a existent property investment. 

Gálvez, seeing that Ocio had what small wealthiness determination was connected the peninsula, established his office astatine Santa Ana and ruthlessly pumped the excavation proprietor to assistance money the expedition to Alta California. Indeed, according to Harry W. Crosby’s definitive book, “Antigua California, Mission and Colony connected the Peninsular Frontier, 1697-1768”: 

The tendency of Franciscan missionaries to give their efforts to missions successful Alta California, similar the 1 St. Junípero Serra founded successful San Diego, had galore antagonistic consequences for Baja California. (H. Zell/Wikimedia Commons)

“Manuel de Ocio’s small empire provided the vessel that made imaginable Portolá’s coming; the further usage of his ships, his mules, mule drivers and stores made imaginable the punctual launching of the expedition to the north. Without that which was commandeered from Ocio, Gálvez’s plans would person had agelong setbacks. But Ocio received nary acknowledgment and yet nary reward nor adjacent the recompense promised by royal officials.”

As if that weren’t atrocious enough, 2 of Gálvez’s imported miners murdered Ocio successful 1771 aft robbing his storehouse.

Indigenous peoples and the catastrophe of Gálvez’s policies

If Ocio was ill-used by Gálvez, so, too, were the Indigenous peoples of the Baja California peninsula. Gálvez believed the Jesuits had coddled the Indians; helium was intent connected utilizing them arsenic a escaped labour source, including successful the brackish mines astatine Isla del Carmen, disconnected the seashore of Loreto. 

“Gálvez made elaborate plans for the translation of the California missions utilizing Serra and the Franciscans arsenic the agents for the changes helium thought necessary,” writer Dave Werschkul pointed retired successful “Saints and Demons successful a Desert Wilderness: A History and Guide to Baja California’s Spanish Missions” (2003):

“Among Gálvez’s decrees were the simplification successful the fig of missions, elimination of the visitas (sub-missions), and the question of Indians from 1 country to different to conscionable the labour requirements of the much productive cultivation areas. The results were a disaster. In 1769, 1 ranchería of 44 Indians was moved from San Javier to San José del Cabo. All but 3 died.”

The autochthonal inhabitants of Los Cabos, the Pericú, besides saw their numbers proceed to dwindle. In 1768, the twelvemonth the Franciscans took over, determination were 178 Indians astatine the Santiago ngo nether Fr. José Murguía and 70 astatine San José del Cabo, which had been raised backmost to afloat ngo presumption nether Fr. Juan Morán. Three years later, successful 1771, those numbers were 70 and 50, respectively, oregon a full of lone 120 passim Los Cabos. 

One of the fewer extant illustrations of a Pericú, courtesy of George Shelvocke successful his 1726 travelogue, “A Voyage Round the World by Way of the Great South Sea.” (Public Domain)

Likely, these were mostly inactive Pericú, though arsenic noted above, Gálvez was not supra importing Indigenous radical from different parts of the peninsula to assistance facilitate cultivation accumulation for the missions.

Disease remained the superior culprit for the diminished numbers. Many Indigenous radical were killed by the 1769 epidemic that besides killed Fr. Morán, arsenic good arsenic the French astronomer Jean-Baptiste Chappe d’Auteroche, who had traveled to San José del Cabo to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus, which helium did successfully earlier his death. 

The nonstop illness that decimated Indigenous numbers is not known. An outbreak of measles was known to person occurred that year, with typhus and yellowish fever besides conjectured.

The Franciscan era’s bequest successful Los Cabos

The Jesuits had been cautious to support the colonisation of Baja California restricted to missionaries, Indigenous and presidio soldiers. Some soldiers were married. Esteban Rodríguez Lorenzo, for example, 1 of the archetypal 10 to onshore astatine Loreto successful 1697, joined María de Larrea connected the mainland during a hiatus from his duties successful 1707. They had 7 children, the archetypal existent household of settlers connected the peninsula. Rodríguez was besides the archetypal antheral permitted by the Jesuits to rise his ain cattle. 

But arsenic section historiographer Pablo L. Martínez was speedy to enactment successful his “Guía Familiar de Baja California, 1700-1900” (1965), the archetypal existent secular assemblage to originate connected the peninsula came astir due to the fact that of the request for workers astatine Ocio’s mine. Santa Ana frankincense became a benignant of cradle for aboriginal settlers, with immoderate of the astir esteemed Los Cabos families, specified arsenic the Cotas, arriving during this aboriginal period. 

Gálvez, for each his faults, was the archetypal to initiate a telephone for colonists. 

Fr. Ignacio Tirsch’s illustration of an aboriginal rancher successful Baja California Sur. (Public Domain)

“Besides making beardown efforts to amended the conditions of the natives, Gálvez paid peculiar attraction to the task of colonizing Lower California with Spaniards,” Engelhardt wrote. “On Aug. 12, 1768, helium issued a decree mounting distant the privileges offered to colonists and the regulations by which they were to beryllium governed. Government lands were separated from ngo lands and offered to Spaniards of bully quality connected casual terms. 

“The main work was that the settlers would marque improvements and wage a tiny yearly taxation to the king. The archetypal to avail themselves of these advantages were discharged soldiers and sailors from Loreto, but determination were fewer others earlier 1821.” 

These discharged soldiers, sailors and their families, on with the workforce astatine Santa Ana, would signifier the roots of the communities that would yet originate successful San José del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas and elsewhere successful the portion present known arsenic Los Cabos. 

But, first, determination was 1 much Catholic missionary bid to travel to the country — that of the Dominicans, who took implicit the missions successful Baja California aft 1773, erstwhile the Franciscans decided to ore their efforts solely connected Alta California. 

Chris Sands is the erstwhile Cabo San Lucas section adept for the USA Today question website 10 Best and writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos question guidebook. He’s besides a contributor to galore websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily.