BajaNomad

Junípero Serra's Mission Data of Nov. 3, 1768

David K - 6-10-2020 at 02:57 PM

Junípero Serra's report on the missions was recorded on November 3, 1768 at the Real de Santa Ana.

Not reflected is that the Spanish governor or Visitador General, José de Gálvez, closed the mission of San Luis Gonzaga in August that year and the mission at La Pasión in September.

This list includes all the missions founded by the Jesuits, less two that were abandoned: Ligüí (in 1721) and Santa Rosa (in 1748). San José del Cabo was also abandoned (in 1748) but reactivated when the Franciscans arrived in April 1768.



Serra Report 11-3-1768.jpg - 235kB

The above list comes from the 1966 book: The Writings of Junípero Serra.

mtgoat666 - 6-10-2020 at 03:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Junípero Serra's report on the missions was recorded on November 3, 1768 at the Real de Santa Ana.

Not reflected is that the Spanish governor or Visitador General, José de Gálvez, closed the mission of San Luis Gonzaga in August that year and the mission at La Pasión in September.

This list includes all the missions founded by the Jesuits, less two that were abandoned: Ligüí (in 1721) and Santa Rosa (in 1748). San José del Cabo was also abandoned (in 1748) but reactivated when the Franciscans arrived in April 1768.


The above list comes from the 1966 book: The Writings of Junípero Serra.


this census data is in English. Can you post the original? I am curious to see the original texts.

David K - 6-10-2020 at 04:15 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Junípero Serra's report on the missions was recorded on November 3, 1768 at the Real de Santa Ana.

Not reflected is that the Spanish governor or Visitador General, José de Gálvez, closed the mission of San Luis Gonzaga in August that year and the mission at La Pasión in September.

This list includes all the missions founded by the Jesuits, less two that were abandoned: Ligüí (in 1721) and Santa Rosa (in 1748). San José del Cabo was also abandoned (in 1748) but reactivated when the Franciscans arrived in April 1768.


The above list comes from the 1966 book: The Writings of Junípero Serra.


this census data is in English. Can you post the original? I am curious to see the original texts.


This is an English language forum, so English allows everyone here to read it. I cited the source, it is online, and it is bilingual.

The census numbers are the same, a number doesn't change when the language does...

Just for you goat, here is the Spanish chart of missions:



Serra Report 11-3-1768 Spanish.jpg - 227kB

pacificobob - 6-10-2020 at 04:58 PM

Padre Serra. isn't he the patron saint of indigenous slave labor?....just kidding, im sure he was a real pal to the natives.

mtgoat666 - 6-10-2020 at 05:08 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Junípero Serra's report on the missions was recorded on November 3, 1768 at the Real de Santa Ana.

Not reflected is that the Spanish governor or Visitador General, José de Gálvez, closed the mission of San Luis Gonzaga in August that year and the mission at La Pasión in September.

This list includes all the missions founded by the Jesuits, less two that were abandoned: Ligüí (in 1721) and Santa Rosa (in 1748). San José del Cabo was also abandoned (in 1748) but reactivated when the Franciscans arrived in April 1768.


The above list comes from the 1966 book: The Writings of Junípero Serra.


this census data is in English. Can you post the original? I am curious to see the original texts.


This is an English language forum, so English allows everyone here to read it. I cited the source, it is online, and it is bilingual.

The census numbers are the same, a number doesn't change when the language does...

Just for you goat, here is the Spanish chart of missions:



Actually, I was wanting to look at the source documents. I wanted to see the transcription next to the original written text.
Where are the source docs online?




David K - 6-10-2020 at 05:31 PM

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001610828

Go to "Full View v.4" University of Michigan (it's the third from the bottom). Check out all the other Serra letters there, too.

David K - 6-10-2020 at 05:38 PM

Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
Padre Serra. isn't he the patron saint of indigenous slave labor?....just kidding, im sure he was a real pal to the natives.


I am not a fan of the Franciscans as much as I am the Jesuits as for Baja history, but one thing rings clear, Serra was a huge advocate of protecting the Indians from injustice and Spanish soldiers. This was the case with the Jesuits wanting authority over the soldiers, to protect the Indians.

When the Jesuits were removed and replaced by the Franciscans in 1768, the Spanish government took over civil authority from the padres and saw the Natives as subjects of the Spanish king and used them as laborers and no longer respected their family life, and living desires, forcing many to live at the missions after that change.

Luis Avery - 6-13-2020 at 03:52 AM

I want to write a research paper on Junípero Serra's Mission of 1768 and your information is very valuable to me. Thank you very much.

David K - 6-13-2020 at 07:53 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Luis Avery  
I want to write a research paper on Junípero Serra's Mission of 1768 and your information is very valuable to me. Thank you very much.


de nada!

Do you mean, the 'mission' of coming to the California peninsula in April 1768 and assuming control of the Jesuit founded missions ast the Franciscan president?

I am happy to assist with what sources I have. His diary was most interesting as he kept pretty good log of the activities of the time.

Here a Serra's diary from the 1769 journey to San Diego from Loreto (this article skips over the days spent at Missions San Borja and Santa María, unfortunately): http://sandiegohistory.org/sites/default/files/journal/v59-4...

There is another one online that does have the time at those missions and his direction to create a better El Camino Real up to Santa María and a cargo trail from Gonzaga Bay (Antelope Spring Trail) to bring cargo to Serra's first mission, San Fernando de Velicatá. It meets El Camino Real, a few miles north of Santa María.

David K - 6-13-2020 at 08:46 AM

Portola's Diary of 1769-1770 is here: https://archive.org/details/diarygaspardepo00tegggoog/page/n...

4x4abc - 6-13-2020 at 10:38 AM

here is everything you need, Luis: http://archivohistoricobcs.com.mx/

David K - 6-14-2020 at 11:54 AM

Thanks for the link to the Spanish language site! There is actually much more, than what is offered there for doing mission-era research.

I have a pretty complete reference list of historic sources, in English, in my book. Many of these titles are not easy to come by and that alone was one reason for me to write my book which uses the letters written by people alive during the mission age, whenever possible, to learn the who, what, when, and where of the 27 missions on the California Peninsula.

Too many books written before mine simply repeated the writings of earlier, modern writers of the 1900s. Too often an error was repeated from author to author. There are historic details in my book not ever published in an English language book before.


This reference list in my book are some of the Baja books I own and go to for details on Baja's past...






In addition, since I made this list in 2015-2016, I have added a wonderful book to my library that looks at Padre Kino's activities with great detail on the attempts to colonize California in 1683, at La Paz and San Bruno, as well as his discovery that California was not an island: 'The Rim of Christendom' by Herbert Eugene Bolton, 1936 (reprinted in 1984).

[Edited on 11-29-2022 by David K]

David K - 9-15-2020 at 01:32 PM

Serra's diary entries for Mission Santa María and his 'cargo trail' to Gonzaga Bay (Antelope Spring Trail) that were omitted from the the diary published by the SanDiegoHistory.org site are in this post:

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=90006

From 1769:

On the first day of May, in the evening, I set forth from the Mission
of San Borja, and arrived at the place called "the Beginning." {El Principio} There, night having already come on, I received mail, which on account of the inconvenience of the place and the hour, was returned without reply, simply as a sign of having fulfilled its commission.

On the 2nd I got from the foregoing place to that of Juvay {Yubay}, and from there I did not sally, because I had arrived tired, altho' there was time to have walked a little in the evening.

On the 3rd I arrived at the old Mission of Calomofue {Calamajué}, where I tarried all the evening and celebrated Mass the following day with the ornaments I had already asked of the Mission of Santa Maria.

On the 4th, which was the day of the Ascension of the Lord to the
Heavens, I celebrated Mass in that deserted Church, a ruinous/anz/ [hut of palisades], and employed the rest of the morning in answering all the back letters: and the mail set forth a little after midday for the Mission of San Borja. I set forth from this spot, and arrived at that of San Francisco {San Francisquito, a waterhole just downstream/ north of Las Arrastras}.

On the 5th I rose good and early, and by a most grievous road, which
they call [that of] the Caxon {Cajon},* arrived at about half-past eight of the morning at the Mission of Santa Maria de los Angeles. Here I encountered the Senior Governor with the Father Fray Miguel de la Campa; and part of the Retinue had already gone on ahead to Vila Catha [Velicatá], for the recuperation of the beasts, which there had grass that they lacked here. We were mutually glad to see ourselves already joined to begin anew our peregrination through a desert land populated only with Infidelity, with innumerable Gentiles.
* Cajon, a great box; a " box-canyon.

On the 6th, while they should bring from the beach of San Luis Gonzaga
the cargo of Maize and other provisions which had arrived there on the
Canoe "San Xavier" for this expedition—in which [bringing] some 4
days were spent—and finish the fixing of the Aparejos and harness for the
beasts of burden—the Father Campa, the Senor Governor and I, accompanied by the Soldier Salgado, the escort of that Mission, examined its watering places and arable lands, estimated the conveniences it offered in its vicinity for pasture and watering-places for beasts, and the other matters a Mission needs. And it did not seem to us so bad as they had
very differently painted it to us. So that though I had before been entirely
inclined that the Mission should be moved from there on account of what
they had reported to me concerning it, now that I saw it I remained firmly
addicted to the spot and to the contrary opinion. And thus I wrote it to
the Most Illustrious Inspector-General, and to the Father-Reader Palou
who had to administer it as President of the Missions who had to remain
in my absence.

On the 7th, which was Sunday, I said High Mass and preached to those
Neophytes, [who were] the poorest of all. In the evening I went to the
new discovery of a road {Serra's Cargo Trail} to the beach of San Luis {Gonzaga} and we found it to be a half shorter than the one which until now had been traveled; and that although it was rough, being through rocky hills, they say the other is worse besides being longer. And we found the convenience that just midway it had a handsome watering-place, until now unknown, with plenty of pasture for the passage of the beasts. And because a handsome antelope was caught there, and we saw the dexterous method of hunting them, the place and water were called " of the Antelope." [del Verrendo] I went with the idea of [seeing] if that water might serve for some cultivation, but saw that [it could] not, because there is not in all those surroundings any level land. And so it can serve for the aforesaid [i. e., for watering stock on the road], and to put some beasts there sometimes. But in crossing, both going and returning, we passed an arroyo, less than half [maybe] quarter of a league [a league =~2.5 miles} from the Mission, of which I will speak later.

On the 8th, 9th and 10th we continued in said Mission, partly to await
the cargo, partly to give the Senor Governor the last arrangements for our
March. From that Mission I took Ornaments to celebrate [services] on
the road—Chalice, chasuble, and everything necessary, of which I gave in-
dividual account to Loreto, in order that it might be repaid to this Mission,
as it is so poor. And I took my farewell from those poor [people] with
pain at having to leave them for the time without a Minister, altho' with
the hope that their orphanage should not endure for a great while.

On the 10th in the morning we set forth from the Mission, we two
Fathers with the Senor Governor. And after a short bit, entering upon
the arroyo of which I have already made mention, and following it for
more than a league, we saw it all most leafy with the innumerable palms,
grass and water which it contains throughout, and that it offers various
declivities to which the water could be applied for irrigation, and to people
it with fruit trees and some sowing; and in fine that it can give much
utility to the Mission. The water can be dammed at a sufficient altitude;
and so I do not find any impediment which might delay this improvement
and benefit. Leaving the arroyo, we pursued our journey, and arrived to
make noon at the arroyo called San Antonio. And in the evening we
traveled a little less than two leagues and arrived at the place called San
Nicolas.

On the 12th we arrived at the place called la Poza de agua dulce ["sweet-
water well"]. By the road we saw various little ranches of Gentile Indians,
and recent tracks of them. But not one, little or big, let himself be seen;
their retreat mortifying my desires to talk to them and caress them.

On the 13th, considering that if we went at the gait of the pack-train, we
would have to make two other Days' Journey to arrive, and that the second of them would be the day of Pentecost, I prayed the Senor Governor that we might go ahead in light order to accomplish the road in one day which the pack-train had to make in two. Thus it was done; and we two Fathers with the said Senor and one soldier, and the pages, traveling all the day, arrived at the fall of evening at Vila Catha {Velicatá}, where the number of soldiers that were there received us with much content. Likewise we saw various little houses and tracks of the Indians, but of themselves not a one. All this stretch of country is even [less] supplied than the rest of the Californias for the poor sustenance of its inhabitants; since from Santa Maria unto here, inclusive, I did not see even a single tree of pitahayas, neither
the sweet nor the sour—but only now and then a cactus, and a rare garambullo. The most are candle [cactus] {cirio/boojum}, a tree useless for everything, even for fire.


[Edited on 9-15-2020 by David K]

Ken Cooke - 9-15-2020 at 05:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  


Too many books written before mine simply repeated the writings of earlier, modern writers of the 1900s. Too often an error was repeated from author to author. There are historic details in my book not ever published in an English language book before.

David,

What kinds of errors have you identified, and how were you able to correct these errors? I was able to purchase Taraval's
The Indian Uprising in Lower California 1734-1737 today on Amazon. In terms of popularity, this books ranking was #6,904,594 in comparison to the Top 100 of current literature.

David K - 9-15-2020 at 08:40 PM

Mission names and dates, mostly. I used the original writings of the padres whenever possible. In 1960, a wonderful resource on the Dominican padres was written, but unpublished, in English. My book is the first English one with these new revelations about the Dominican mission history. I also unconfused the difference between mission location changes and new missions.
If you have my book, as this is all mentioned in it. Let me know if you need me to send you a copy, on the house.