THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE: THE OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA AND LOUISIANA BY
SPAIN (1763-1783)
READJUSTMENT IN SPANISH NORTH AMERICA
Effect of the Seven Years' War.--The outcome of the Seven Years' War
caused several readjustments in Spanish North America. It left Spain in
a position where she must restore her colonial power or sink to the rank
of a third rate nation. Renewed war with England was regarded as
inevitable. Florida was lost, and was poorly compensated for, it was
thought, by western Louisiana. The French barrier having been removed,
Spain's hold on Louisiana and the Pacific Slope was threatened by the
English, advancing both through Canada and from the thirteen colonies.
On the Pacific Slope the Russians seemed even more threatening than the
English. Added to all this, northern New Spain was overrun by
increasingly hostile tribes. Poor and unprepared though she was,
therefore, Spain was forced to get ready for another war with England,
occupy Louisiana and Alta California, strengthen the frontier defences
of New Spain against the Indians, and explore or reexplore the northern
interior.
The Reforms of Charles II.--All these demands could be met only by the
most heroic measures; and these were applied by the energetic Charles
III. This king, a Bourbon, had come to the throne in 1759, after a long
and forceful reign as King of Naples. By the time of his accession,
Spain had already profited much by the Bourbon reforms which from time
to time had been instituted since the opening of the century, but the
national revenue was still small, commerce stagnant, the army and navy
weak, and colonial administration corrupt. Now came the new demands
entailed by the outcome of the great war. To make the program of defence
possible, it was necessary to provide revenue. This could be done only
by increasing commerce and reforming the fiscal administration of the
colonies.
Commercial reforms.--Commercial reforms were outlined in a series of
decrees enacted between 1764 and 1778. The ends at which they aimed are
indicated by the deliberations of the _junta_ held in 1765. This body
condemned especially the monopoly enjoyed by Cadiz, delays due to the
flota system, the export duties on Spanish goods, restrictions upon
intercolonial commerce, the smuggling habit, and the English monopoly of
the slave carrying trade.
Reforms of Jose de Galvez.--To carry out the reforms in New Spain King
Charles sent Jose de Galvez, who, as _visitador general_, was entrusted
with a complete overhauling of the administration. The special function
of Galvez was to increase the revenues from New Spain. The amount
collected had been limited by crude fiscal methods and by corrupt
officials. Galvez laid a heavy hand upon "graft," and devised new
sources of revenue. Conspicuous among the latter was the tobacco
industry, which he made a royal monopoly.
Explorations on the Gulf coast.--One of the first steps toward
readjustment of the frontier to the new situation was a series of
explorations looking to the defence of the northern coast of the Gulf of
Mexico against rumored dangers from the English, now in possession of
Florida. To this end, in 1766 Colonel Escandon and Colonel Parrilla
explored the Nuevo Santander and Texas coasts between Tampico and
Matagorda Bay.
Rubi's tour.--To inspect and report on the northern outposts of New
Spain, the Marques de Rubi was commissioned. Leaving Mexico in March,
1766, he passed through the frontier establishments from Sonora to the
borders of Louisiana. He found the whole northern frontier infested with
warlike tribes, especially the Apaches and Comanches, who committed
depredations all the way from the Gila to central Texas. Rubi
recommended rearranging the northern posts so as to form a cordon of
fifteen, extending from Altar in Sonora to La Bahia in Texas. Regarding
Texas he recommended that the Comanche harassed district of San Saba and
all of the establishments on the Louisiana border be abandoned, and that
a war of extermination be made against the Eastern Apaches, relying for
the purpose on the aid of their enemies. In 1772 most of the Rubi
recommendations were adopted in the form of a "New Regulation of
Presidios." To Hugo O'Conor, as _comandante inspector_, fell the task of
arranging the line of presidios.
Expulsion of the Jesuits.--For reasons which need not be discussed here,
in 1767 the king of Spain expelled the Jesuits from all of the Spanish
dominions. This caused a general shifting of the missionary forces, the
places of the Jesuits in the northeastern provinces being taken by the
Franciscans. The temporalities were at first put in the hands of soldier
commissioners, but were soon turned over to the Franciscan missionaries.
To Pimeria Alta were sent Franciscans from the College of the Holy Cross
of Queretaro. To Lower California went members of the College of San
Fernando of Mexico, the president being Junipero Serra, already
distinguished for work in Sierra Gorda.
Galvez in Lower California.--In 1768 the visitor, Galvez, was called to
California and Sonora. In California he restored the temporalities to
the missionaries, consolidated the Indian pueblos, and tried to
stimulate Spanish colonization and mining, but without great success. It
was while on the Peninsula, too, that he organized the expedition to
occupy Alta California.
Galvez in Sonora.--To end the Indian disturbance which for many years
had been menacing Sinaloa and Sonora, Galvez sent Colonel Domingo
Elizondo at the head of eleven hundred men. The war began in 1768. After
a year of futile campaigns, chiefly against Cerro Prieto, the landing
place of the enemy, Galvez himself took command for a time, with little
better results. Elizondo was restored to the command, and for another
year the war continued. By dint of guerrilla warfare, presents, and
coaxing, by the middle of 1771 the rebels were pacified and settled in
towns.
The Provincias Internas.--Prominent among the plans of Galvez were the
establishment of the intendant system in New Spain, the erection of the
northern provinces into an independent commandancy general, and the
establishment there of one or more bishoprics. The project of a separate
government for part or all of the northern provinces had often been
considered. It was felt that the viceroy was overworked, and too far
from the frontier to understand its needs. The demand was sectional,
based on regional interests. In 1760 a separate viceroyalty had been
proposed, but Galvez favored a military commandancy general. In 1776,
after he became Minister of the Indies, his ideas were put into effect.
Nueva Vizcaya, Sinaloa, Sonora, the Californias, Coahuila, New Mexico,
and Texas were put under the military and political government of a
comandante general of the Interior Provinces, directly responsible to
the king and practically independent of the viceroy, the Audiencia of
Guadalajara retaining its judicial authority. Chihuahua became the
capital, except for a short time when Arispe was the seat of government
(1780-1782). The first _comandante general_ (1776-1783) was Teodoro de
Croix, brother of Viceroy Croix, and himself later viceroy of Peru. By
writers on California history, with attention fixed on the West, he has
been regarded as incompetent.
New dioceses in the North.--In 1777 the Diocese of Linares was created
to embrace the northeastern provinces of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Nuevo
Santander, and Texas. Two years later was formed the Diocese of Sonora,
to include Sinaloa, Sonora, and the two Californias.
The intendancies.--The primary purpose of the intendancies was to
provide for the fiscal administration. A French institution, the system
had been established in Spain in 1749 with satisfactory results. In 1764
the intendancy of Havana was established, likewise with good results. In
1768 the system was tentatively established in Sonora. At that time
Galvez favored eleven intendancies, dependent on the viceroy as
superintendent general of revenues. The plan was not put into general
operation until 1786, when Galvez was Minister of the Indies.
The captaincy-general of Havana.--Up to the middle of the eighteenth
century the audiencia and captaincy-general of Santo Domingo comprised
all of the West Indies and Venezuela. Though nominally within the
district, Florida was a separate captaincy-general, dependent directly
on the Council of the Indies for judicial and military affairs. In other
respects it was subject to the Viceroy of Mexico. As a result of the
English war, in 1764 Havana was made the seat of an independent
captaincy-general and of an intendancy. In 1795 the Audiencia of Santo
Domingo was moved to Havana.
THE RUSSIAN MENACE
The Russian advance.--Spain had long been uneasy about upper California
because of the activities of the English, Dutch, and French. Now the
advance of the Russians seemed more threatening, and caused the long
contemplated step to be taken. In the seventeenth century the Russians
had crossed Siberia and opened up trade with China. In the early
eighteenth century large portions of northern Asia were conquered by
Russia in the interest of the east-moving fur traders. Before he died
Peter the Great set on foot the project of sending an expedition to seek
the northern passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic by going east. In
pursuance of this task Vitus Bering made his stupendous expeditions into
the Pacific (1725-28, 1733-41), in the second of which he discovered
Bering Strait, coasted the American mainland, and made known the
possibilities of profit in the fur trade.
Fur trade on the Aleutian Islands.--Bering's voyage was followed by a
rush of fur traders to the Aleutian Islands. Companies were formed,
vessels built at the port of Okhotsk, and posts established within a few
years on Bering, Unalaska, Kadiak, and other islands, for a distance of
nearly a thousand miles. The principal market for furs was China. The
fur trade was attended by wanton slaughter of animals and harsh
treatment of natives, who sometimes rebelled, as at Unalaska in 1761.
Decision of Spain to occupy Alta California.--Though Russian activities
were as yet confined largely to the Aleutian Islands, the Spanish
government feared that they would be extended down the coast. Moreover,
there was a growing friendship between Russia and England, Spain's chief
enemy. But these dangers, like others discussed during three centuries,
might have resulted in nothing but correspondence had there not been on
the northern frontier of New Spain a man of action, clothed with full
authority to act. This man was the visitor-general, Jose de Galvez. On
January 23, 1768, Grimaldi, royal minister, sent the viceroy orders to
resist any aggressions of the Russians that might arise. This order,
which coincided with the views of the visitor and the viceroy, reached
Galvez while on his way to California.
THE FOUNDING OF ALTA CALIFORNIA
The Portola expedition.--While settling affairs in the Peninsula Galvez
organized the expedition. It was designed to establish garrisons at San
Diego and Monterey, and to plant missions, under their protection, to
convert and subdue the natives. The command was entrusted to Governor
Portola, and the missionary work to Father Junipero Serra, president of
the California missions. The enterprise was carried out in 1769 by joint
land and sea expeditions. The _San Carlos_ under Captain Vicente Vila
and the _San Antonio_ under Captain Juan Perez conducted a portion of
the party, while the rest marched overland from Lower California, under
Captain Rivera and Governor Portola.
San Diego founded.--By the end of June all but one vessel had arrived at
the Bay of San Diego. While Vila, Serra, and some fifty soldiers
remained to found a mission and presidio there, Portola led others to
occupy the port of Monterey. Following the coast and the Salinas Valley,
he reached Monterey Bay, but failed to recognize it. Continuing up the
coast he discovered the present San Francisco Bay and then returned to
San Diego.
Monterey founded.--At San Diego affairs had gone badly. Many persons had
died, provisions were scarce, and Portola decided to abandon the
enterprise. Persuaded by Serra, he deferred the day of departure, and
new supplies came. Another expedition to Monterey was successful, and
the presidio and mission of San Carlos were founded there in 1770.
Plans for expansion.--At last the long talked of ports of San Diego and
Monterey had been occupied. But the newly found port of San Francisco,
further north, needed protection, the large Indian population called for
more missions, settlers were lacking, and permanent naval and land bases
were necessary. One by one these matters were considered and adjusted.
To assist in the plans for expansion Serra went to Mexico in 1772 and
made many recommendations. The temporary naval base at San Blas was made
permanent, and thereafter played an important part in the development of
California. The new foundations were assured support from the Pious
Fund, and in 1771 and 1772 three new missions were founded--San
Antonio, San Gabriel, and San Luis Obispo. In 1772 California was
divided, the peninsula being assigned to the Dominicans. Politically the
two Californias were continued under one governor, with his residence at
Loreto, Fages being replaced as commander in the north by Rivera y
Moneada.
[Illustration: Alta California Settlements.]
A land route to California.--The next step was the opening of a land
route from Arizona to California, and was the work especially of two
frontier leaders. When the Franciscans in 1768 took the place of the
Jesuits in Pimeria Alta, Father Francisco Garces was sent to San Xavier
del Bac, the northern outpost. He at once began to make visits to the
Gila, and in 1771 alone he crossed the Yuma Desert from Sonoita, and the
California Desert to the foot of the western Sierras. Encouraged by
these discoveries, Captain Anza of Tubac offered to open a land route to
Monterey. The plan was approved by the viceroy, and in 1774 Anza, with
Garces as guide and with twenty soldiers, made the expedition, with
great hardships but with notable success.
San Francisco founded.--The opening of the land route from Sonora
facilitated the occupation of the port of San Francisco. Plans for its
occupation had been discussed ever since its discovery by Portola.
Meanwhile the region had been throughly explored from Monterey as a
base. In December, 1774, Anza was ordered to lead a soldier colony from
Sonora to occupy the port, and plans were made for a mission. Enlisting
some two hundred and fifty persons, Anza assembled them at Tubac, and in
October set out for California. Descending the Santa Cruz and Gila
Rivers to the Colorado, thence he followed his former trail to Monterey,
where he arrived in March, 1776. Aided by Father Font, he reexplored the
Bay region, selected sites for a presidio and mission, and returned to
Sonora. In September the presidio and in October the mission of San
Francisco were founded.
A route from New Mexico.--The Sonora base for California was not
altogether satisfactory and some thought that New Mexico would serve
better. Among the latter was Father Garces, and by a most remarkable
exploration he put his views to the test. He accompanied Anza's second
expedition to the Gila-Colorado junction, but from there set out to
explore a new route. Ascending the Colorado to the Mojave tribe, near
Needles he turned west and crossed the Mojave Desert. It was his plan to
go straight to San Luis Obispo, but his guides refused, and he threaded
Cajon Pass to Mission San Gabriel. From there he continued through Tejon
Pass into the San Joaquin Valley, descended it to the Tulare region,
emerged through an eastern pass, probably the Tehachapi, and recrossed
the desert to the Mojaves. Thence he continued east to the Moquis,
reaching Oraibe on July 2. Here he was given a cold reception, so he
turned back to the Yumas.
Exploration by Escalante and Dominguez.--Shortly after Garces returned,
a party set out from Santa Fe to attempt reaching Monterey by a more
northern route. The party consisted of Fathers Dominguez and Escalante,
Captain Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco, and nine soldiers. Leaving Santa Fe
on July 29, 1776, they went northward into Colorado, followed the
western line across the San Juan, Dolores, Grand and Colorado Rivers,
turned westward to Utah Lake and south past Sevier Lake. In October,
concluding that it was too late to attempt to cross the Sierras, they
returned eastward to Moqui, Zuni, and Santa Fe. Thus had another great
feat of exploration resulted from the attempt to find land connection
with California.
Spanish Pueblos.--California still lacked the civil element to make it
complete in outline, and this was now provided. In 1777 Governor Neve
moved his capital from Loreto to Monterey, where he received orders from
the viceroy to take steps toward founding colonies of settlers, as a
means toward making the province self-supporting. Neve therefore
proceeded to establish two Spanish pueblos.
San Jose.--With fourteen families from Monterey and San Francisco, in
1777 Lieutenant Moraga founded the Pueblo of San Jose in the Santa Clara
Valley, near the head of San Francisco Bay, and near by the mission of
Santa Clara was founded. The pueblo was established according to the
general laws of the Indies. Five years later titles were issued to those
settlers who had fulfilled their contracts.
Los Angeles.--The second pueblo was located beside Mission San Gabriel,
in the southern part of the province. To procure colonists Rivera y
Moneada was sent in '79 to Sinaloa and Sonora. Recruiting fourteen
families, Rivera sent them overland by way of Loreto and the Peninsula.
Rivera himself, with forty-two soldiers, went with nearly a thousand
head of horses and mules over the Anza route by way of the Gila
junction, where he and part of his men were massacred. The settlers
reached their destination, and in September, 1781, the Pueblo de los
Angeles was founded, with eleven families comprising forty-six persons.
Plans for a new outpost.--The old question of advancing the Sonora
frontier northward to provide missions for the Pirnas and Yumas, and a
halfway station on the road to California, had been much discussed ever
since Anza's exploration in '74. Opinions varied as to the best
location, one proposing the Gila-Colorado junction, another the middle
Gila, another the Colorado above the Yumas, and another even the Moqui
country.
Mission-Pueblos at Yuma.--But the weight of opinion was with the
Gila-Colorado junction. The chief advocate of this location was the Yuma
chief Ollyquotquiebe. In 1776 he went with Anza to Mexico City to ask
for a mission and a presidio, made submission for his tribe, and was
baptized as Salvador Palma. In the following year the king ordered the
petition granted. Delays ensued and Palma became impatient. In 1779
Fathers Garces and Diaz were sent, with a small garrison, to Palma's
village. Their slender outfit of presents and supplies was
disappointing, and the Yumas were dissatisfied. In the following year,
at Croix's order, two missions were founded west of the Colorado, at the
junction, but not of the usual type. Instead of a presidio, ten families
were settled near each mission to serve as a protection to the
missionaries and an example to the neophytes, who were to five among the
settlers instead of in an Indian pueblo.
The massacre.--Trouble soon ensued, and in July, 1781, while Rivera y
Moncada was on his way to found Los Angeles, the Yumas, led by Palma,
massacred Father Garces, his three companions, Rivera and his men, and
most of the settlers. The women and children were spared. The experience
at the Yuma missions is a pointed commentary on the need of soldiers to
control mission Indians, and on the wisdom of the usual Spanish custom
of separating the neophytes from the settlers. For his part in the plan
Croix has been severely criticized, but it must be remembered that at
the time he needed every soldier available for the Apache wars, and that
the Yumas had much vaunted their friendship.
The Yumas punished.--Learning of the massacre, in September, 1781, Croix
sent Pedro Fages to the scene with one hundred and ten men from Pitic
and Altar. In the course of two journeys he ransomed some seventy-five
captives. In the following year Captain Romeu of Sonora, made a campaign
against the Yumas, killed or captured nearly two hundred, and recovered
over one thousand horses. But the massacre put an end for the time being
to the long series of efforts to establish the Yuma outpost, and
practically closed the Anza route to California.
The Santa Barbara Channel occupied.--From the first Father Serra had
been anxious to found a group of missions among the numerous Indians
along the Santa Barbara Channel, but there had been a lack of funds and
soldiers. The reduction of these tribes was important also from a
military standpoint, because they held a strategic position on the coast
and on the road to the north. With the coming of more soldiers in 1781
the desired step was taken, and in 1782 Mission San Buenaventura and the
presidio of Santa Barbara, and in 1786 Mission Santa Barbara were
founded.
With the occupation of this district California was complete in outline.
There were four presidios, each occupying a strategic position and
protecting a group of missions. In the succeeding years new missions
were planted in the interior valleys, till the total reached twenty-one.
They became marvellously prosperous, converting and giving industrial
training to thousands of Indians, and acquiring great wealth in farms
and herds. In 1784 Father Serra, the master spirit of the missions,
died.
NORTHERN EXPLORATIONS
English and Russian activities.--Continued rumors of Russian and English
activities had by now led to a new series of explorations which gave
Spain claim to the Pacific Coast for nearly a thousand miles beyond the
points reached by Cabrillo and Vizcaino. In 1773 came rumors that an
English expedition was about to attempt to pass through the Northern
Strait to California, and that Russia was planning an expedition from
Kamtchatka to the American coast.
Perez.--Accordingly, in 1774 Viceroy Bucarely sent Juan Perez north in
the _Santiago_ with orders to take formal possession of the country as
far as 60 deg.. Sailing from San Bias, and taking on Fathers Crespi and Pena
at Monterey as diarists, Perez sailed to 55 deg., exploring Nootka Sound on
the way.
Heceta and Bodega.--Perez having failed to reach 60 deg., another expedition
was sent from San Bias in 1775 in two vessels, under Heceta and Bodega y
Quadra. Heceta reached 49 deg., discovering Trinidad Bay and the mouth of
the Columbia River on the way (1776). Bodega, in his thirty-six foot
schooner, reached 58 deg., and on the way discovered Bodega Bay.
Arteaga and Bodega.--No Russians had been found, but news had come of
the preparations being made by the English captain, James Cook, for a
voyage to the northwest coast in search of the strait. Accordingly,
another expedition was ordered by the King of Spain to explore to 70 deg..
Through delays it was 1779 before Arteaga and Bodega, in the _Favorita_
and the _Princesa_, left San Blas. Meanwhile Cook had made his famous
voyage to Nootka Sound. Arteaga's expedition reached 60 deg., where it was
forced to return because of scurvy among the crews.
LOUISIANA UNDER SPAIN, 1762-1783
The cession.--On October 9, 1762, Louis XV offered western Louisiana,
with New Orleans, to Charles III, king of Spain, both as a compensation
for the loss of Florida, and to put an end to the constant
Franco-Spanish friction over contraband trade. Charles at first rejected
the gift, but reconsidered, and the treaty of cession was signed on
November 3, the day of the signature of the preliminaries of the peace
with England.
The state of the province.--With Spain's small means and great
responsibilities, the gift was not very tempting, and Spain was not
eager to take possession of it. The ceded district embraced New Orleans
and the western watershed of the Mississippi River. The principal
settlements lay along the Mississippi and Missouri, as far as the Kansas
post, and along the lower Red River, as far as the Cadadacho post. The
bulk of the population lay between Pointe Coupee and New Orleans, where
there were over 7000 persons, of whom nearly two-thirds were colored
settlements in the lower district were La Balize, Attakapa, Opelousas,
Avoyelle, and Natchitoches. On the way to the Missouri district were the
post opposite Natchez and the Arkansas settlement. Near or on the
Missouri were St. Charles and Ste. Genevieve. Farther in the interior
were slender trading posts, such as St. Louis among the Cadadacho, a
post on the Osage, and Ft. Cavagnolle, near the mouth of the Kansas
River. The total population of the province ceded to Spain was estimated
at from 8250 to 11,500, over half of whom were colored.
Industries.--Rice, indigo, tobacco, and grain were cultivated in small
quantities, but there was little stock raising. For horses, mules, and
cattle dependence was placed upon trade with the Indians and the
Spaniards of the West, much of which trade was contraband. The principal
industries of the province were the fur trade and commerce with
Illinois. The paper money issued during the recent war, of which there
was nearly a million unredeemed, had depreciated to 25 per cent, of its
face value.
Dissatisfaction with the transfer.--It was not till September, 1764,
that the cession was known in New Orleans. The news caused consternation
and protest. Some of the inhabitants of Illinois, left under English
rule, moved across the Mississippi River to La Clede's recently founded
fur-trading post of St. Louis. When, in 1765, the British took
possession of Fort Chartres, Captain St. Ange, in charge of the latter
place, moved with his garrison to St. Louis, where he continued to rule
until Spanish possession was taken. Some French settlers from the more
southern districts moved across the Mississippi or to New Orleans. There
the feeling was intense. In January, 1765, the inhabitants held a
meeting and sent a delegate, Jean Milhet, to France to remonstrate, but
without avail, for after months of waiting he failed even to get an
audience with the king.
Ulloa expelled.--At last, in March, 1766, Don Antonio de Ulloa arrived
at La Balize as Spanish governor. The choice was not a happy one, for
although a distinguished scientist and naval officer, Ulloa had an
unpleasant and inflexible personality which made him unpopular. In July
he reached New Orleans, with ninety soldiers. But the French militia
refused to serve him, and Aubry was left in command. Bickerings and
dissatisfaction followed. The colonists demanded the redemption of the
depreciated paper money at face value; the recently arrived Acadians,
who had become indentured servants, made constant complaint, until at
last redeemed by Ulloa.
Ulloa did not confine his efforts to New Orleans, but established
Spanish garrisons at several interior posts and issued ordinances
regarding the Indian trade. In the spring of 1766, with Aubry, he
visited the settlements between New Orleans and Natchitoches, and sent
an officer to report on the best means of defending the upper posts
against the English. In 1767 he sent Captain Francisco Rui to establish
posts on the lower Missouri at St. Charles and Bellefontaine.
The prohibition of trade with France, promulgated in October, 1768;
caused a veritable insurrection in New Orleans, and Ulloa was expelled
from the province. His departure was followed by a removal of the
Spanish garrisons from the Missouri and elsewhere in the interior, and
there was an interregnum of several months, during which Aubry governed.
O'Reilly.--Charles III now sent a man made of sterner stuff. He was
Alexandro O'Reilly, an officer who had served with distinction in
Europe, had reorganized the defences of Havana after the recent war, and
was now recalled to cope with the situation in Louisiana. With 4500
regulars he reached Balize in July, 1769. There was renewed excitement.
Some talked of independence and others of joining the English colonies;
but Aubry counselled against resistance and the disturbance subsided.
His coup d'etat.--King Charles had demanded nothing more severe than the
sending of the leaders of the opposition to France, but O'Reilly was not
so mild. By a ruse he arrested a number of prominent citizens, executed
five and imprisoned others. For this violent deed he has become known as
"The Bloody O'Reilly." If the government of Charles III had been imbued
with a full sense of its responsibility, it would never have left
unpunished such a violation of the fundamental rules of justice.
The Spanish regime installed.--For thirty-four years Louisiana remained
under Spanish rule, and during that time it prospered as never before.
O'Reilly governed for a year or more with great vigor, not as governor,
but as special commissioner to establish Spanish authority. Possession
was taken of the interior posts, and by the end of 1770 the Spanish
flag had been raised at Ste. Genevieve, the last place to haul down the
French emblem. Having accomplished his coup d'etat, O'Reilly was
conciliatory, and appointed numerous old French officers, like Villiers
and De Mezieres, to important positions. After authority had been
established, the military force was reduced to 1200 men. Spanish law was
installed, although the French Black Code was retained. New Orleans was
given a cabildo with direct appeal to the Council of the Indies instead
of to the Audiencia of Santo Domingo. Louisiana was put under a
governor, the first incumbent being Luis de Unzaga y Amezaga. Each of
the principal subdistricts was put under a Lieutenant-governor, Pedro
Piernas going to St. Louis, Villiers to the Arkansas Post (now Fort
Carlos III), and Athanase De Mezieres at Natchitoches. Until 1771
Louisiana was an independent _gobierno_ directly dependent on the
Council of the Indies. In 1771 it was attached for military purposes to
the captaincy-general of Havana, and for judicial matters to the
Audiencia of Santo Domingo. In 1795 it was attached to the Audiencia of
Havana. After 1783 West Florida and Louisiana were put under one
governor. Later the province was divided into Upper and Lower Louisiana.
Unzaga and Galvez.--Unzaga ruled till 1776, and proved popular,
particularly since he shut his eyes to English smuggling in the lower
Mississippi River. Unzaga's successor, Bernardo de Galvez, nephew of the
visitor, son of the viceroy, and himself a viceroy later, was a
remarkable man. He too, was popular; he married a French wife, and
stimulated tobacco raising by pledging himself to buy each year eight
hundred pounds of tobacco.
Encouragement of commerce.--Trade regulations, as promulgated by Ulloa
in 1766, restricted all trade to Spanish vessels, and certain specified
Spanish ports. Under these conditions English smugglers very soon
monopolized the trade of the lower Mississippi, and made their way among
the tribes of the Gulf coast. This contraband Unzaga tacitly permitted
for the good of the colony. In 1776 an agreement was made with France by
which Louisiana was permitted to trade with the French West Indies,
under the supervision of two French commissioners resident in New
Orleans. Galvez now promptly seized eleven English vessels and the
commerce of the colony passed largely into the hands of the French. In
1778 the produce of the colony was admitted to any of the ports of
France or the United States, and to any of the ports of Spain to which
the commerce of any of the colonies was admitted. The exportation of
furs was encouraged by exemption from duty for a period of ten years.
English trade in Louisiana was now completely ruined. Under Spanish rule
population grew steadily and by 1803 had reached about 50,000. After the
American Revolution efforts were made to counter-colonize against the
American advance.
[Illustration: The Spanish Frontier in the Later Eighteenth Century.]
The English danger.--The principal military problems of the new
government were to keep the English out and to keep the Indians quiet.
Already English traders were entering the tribes west of the
Mississippi, ascending the Missouri and the Arkansas, and reaching the
borders of Texas overland, or ascending its rivers from the Gulf of
Mexico. Trade in Pawnee and Spanish horses extended to the English
seaboard colonies, Governor Patrick Henry being among the purchasers of
thoroughbred Spanish stock. To keep out the English, defence was
concentrated on the Mississippi and efforts made to control the Indian
tribes.
Eastern Texas abandoned.--On the other hand, since Louisiana belonged to
Spain, the defences of eastern Texas, and the weak missions which they
protected, were now withdrawn. At the same time the few settlers, some
five hundred in number, who lived on the border, were evicted and taken
to San Antonio. But they demurred, sent their Creole leader Gil Ybarbo
to Mexico to represent them, and were allowed in 1774 to settle on the
Trinity River. Five years later, taking advantage of a flood and Indian
raids, and led by Ybarbo, they moved to Nacogdoches (1779), and from
there scattered eastward toward their former homes.
The fur trade continued.--Louisiana was Spain's first colony previously
occupied by Europeans, and in it many departures were made from her
traditional system. As a means of controlling the Indians of Louisiana,
Spain utilized the corps of French traders already among the tribes,
instead of attempting to use the mission as a means of control, as was
being done at the same time in California. A regular system of licensed
traders was installed, vagabonds and unlicensed persons were driven from
the tribes, presents were annually distributed, and medals of merit
were given to friendly chiefs. St. Louis, the Arkansas post, and
Natchitoches became important centers for the fur trade and for
distributing presents. To St Louis tribes went to receive presents from
the Illinois country, the upper Mississippi, and the upper Missouri. To
remove them from English influence, tribes were induced to cross the
Mississippi to settle.
De Mezieres.--One of the most difficult problems which confronted Spain
was the control of the Red River tribes, which had been friendly to the
French but hostile to the Spaniards. It was now necessary to win them
over to Spanish allegiance. This was accomplished by Athanase de
Mezieres, lieutenant-governor at Natchitoches. He installed French
traders, drove out vagabonds, expelled English intruders, called in the
hostile Red River tribes to make treaties, and himself made a series of
notable tours among them. In 1770 he held a great council at the
Cadodacho post, where the Cadodacho chief Tin-hi-ou-en was mediator. Two
years later he made an expedition through the Asinai, Tonkawa, and
Wichita tribes, reaching the upper Brazos River, and going thence to San
Antonio. His excellent report first made northern Texas well known to
Spanish officials.
Croix's plans for a war on the Apaches.--It was in 1776 that the
northern provinces of New Spain were put under a _comandante general_
with his capital at Chihuahua. The first comandante, Teodoro de Croix,
arrived at the frontier in 177 7. As his first great task he set about
checking Indian hostilities, particularly those of the Apaches on the
Texas-Coahuila frontier. The essence of his plan was to unite the Red
River and the eastern Texas tribes (the Nations of the North) and
_chasseurs_ from Louisiana, commanded by Galvez, with the soldiery of
the Interior Provinces, commanded by Croix, in a joint war of
extermination against the eastern Apaches.
Set aside by the American Revolution.--To consider the matter Croix held
a council of war at San Antonio in January, 1778. The arrangement of
details with the Indians was left to De Mezieres. In 1778 he made a tour
of the upper Red River, and in the following year again visited the
Texas tribes. Spain soon afterward entered the American war, Galvez was
unable to leave Louisiana, and the conduct of the Apache War was left
for the time being to Juan de Ugalde, governor of Coahuila.
Communication with Santa Fe and the Upper Missouri.--The explorations of
De Mezieres were soon followed by the opening of routes from Santa Fe to
San Antonio, Natchitoches, and St. Louis. In this work the chief
pathfinder was Pedro Vial. Just as the American Pike in his southwestern
exploration (1807) was preceded by Vial and his associates, so Lewis and
Clark, in their ascent of the Missouri River (1804), were anticipated by
the agents of Glamorgan's fur trading and exploring company, who
operated from St. Louis to the country of the Mandans (1794-1797).
READINGS
REFORMS OF CHARLES III AND GALVEZ
Addison, Joseph, _Charles the Third of Spain_; Altamira y Crevea,
Rafael, _Historia de Espana_, IV; Chapman, C.E., _The Founding of
Spanish California_, ch. IV; Danvila y Collado, Manuel, _Reinado de
Carlos III_; Desdevises du Desert, Gaston, _L'Espagne de l'Ancien
Regime_; Ferrer del Rio, Antonio, _Historia del Reinado de Carlos III_;
Hume, M.A.S., _Spain: Its Greatness and Decay_; Priestley, H.L., _Jose
de Galvez, Visitor-General of New Spain_; Rousseau, Francois, _Regne de
Charles III d'Espagne, 1750-1788_; Scelle, G., _La Traite Negriere aux
Indes de Castille_; Viollet, A., _Histoire des Bourbons d'Espagne_.
CALIFORNIA
Academy of Pacific Coast History, _Publications_, I-III; Bancroft, H.H.,
_History of California_, I, 110-480; Chapman, C.E., _The Founding of
Spanish California_; Eldredge, Z.S., _The Beginnings of San Francisco_,
I, 31-170; Engelhardt, Fr. Zephyrin, _Missions and Missionaries of
California_, I, 289-385; II, 3-414; Hittell, T.H., _History of
California_, I, 300-429; 441-452; 509-540; Norton, H.K., _Story of
California_, 1-103; Palou, Fr. Francisco, _Relacion Historica de la Vida
[de] ... Serra_; Richman, I.B., _California under Spain and Mexico_,
32-158.
LOUISIANA
Bolton, Herbert E., _Athanase de Mezieres and the Louisiana-Texas
Frontier_, I, 66-122; Gayarre, C., _History of Louisiana_, III, 1-617;
Hamilton, P.J., _The Colonization of the South_, 423-445; 447-456;
Houck, L., _The Spanish Regime in Missouri_, I-II; Mason, E.C., "The
March of the Spaniards across Illinois," in _Magazine of American
History_, XV. 457-470; Robertson, J.A., _Louisiana under the rule of
Spain. France, and the United States_; Shepherd, W.R., "The Cession of
Louisiana to Spain," in _The Political Science Quarterly_, XIX, 439-458;
Teggart, F.J., "Capture of St Joseph, Michigan, by the Spaniards in
1781," in _The Missouri Historical Review_, V, 214-228; Thwaites, R.G.,
_France in America_, 281-295.