Tales of Mexican California Pt. 1

In the first episode of this series, we explore the memoirs of Antonio Franco Coronel, a significant figure in Southern California's Mexican past.  

Coronel takes us through his reminiscences of the struggles the controversial Híjar-Padrés Colony faced in early California. 

He describes the hardships encountered by the colonists, the betrayal by Don Mariano Vallejo's troops, and the political tensions between Mexican leaders over California's future. 

Coronel's narrative also offers a different perspective on the controversial secularization of missions and the role of the colonists in California's development. 

00:00 Introduction to Antonio Franco Coronel's Memoirs

01:38 Who Was Antonio Coronel?

02:44 Coronel's Early Life and Journey to California

05:01 The Colonization Efforts and Challenges

08:26 The Journey to Monterey and Sonoma

12:21 Struggles and Dissolution of the Colony

18:18 Reflections on the Mission Secularization

20:51 Conclusion and Next Steps

Transcript

Damian Bacich: 0:00

In Sonoma, we were sheltered in the Mission Quadrangle, the rest of which was occupied by Don Mariano Vallejo, military commander, and his troops. We got very little support from the government for our colony and had to overcome many difficulties before even a small plot of land was under cultivation. We went along in this way, hoping things would get better and the government would make good on its promises. But When we least expected it, Vallejo's troops surprised us, took our arms, and arrested the whole colony, ordering us back to Monterrey at once Today we're beginning a series based on the memoirs of Antonio Franco Coronel. Now Coronel is somebody I quoted in the last series on Father Jose Maria del Real, the last Franciscan at Mission Santa Clara. Coronel, if you recall, mentioned running into Father Real in the gold fields in the San Joaquin River in 1848. And he had seen Father Real with, with a bunch of gold. Now, who was Antonio Coronel? Coronel was a very important figure in, particularly in Southern California. He was somebody who spent a lot of time in Los Angeles, was a booster for maintaining and preserving the memories of the California culture. in Southern California. He was involved in local and state politics after the war. A lot of his, his recollections were the inspiration for the famous novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson, which talked about the Spanish and Mexican period and was meant to sort of shine a light. on the injustices being suffered by Native Americans in California. A lot of his belongings after he passed away went to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. So he, he left a big legacy. in Southern California. Just briefly, he was born in 1817 in Mexico City and actually came to California in 1834. He wasn't born in California. He came to California in 1834 with the Ijar Padres colony, which you might recall from the memoirs of Carlos Ijar, who also arrived in California in 1834 and also left recollections for Hubert Howe Bancroft's project. So he came to California from Mexico in 18 He died in 1894 and his his name is also on one of the historic buildings in the Los Angeles area where he used to live. And his memoirs were translated into English. by Dois Nunes whose version I'm going to be reading from. Nunes was a historian of the Spanish Mexican eras in California, translator and a professor at the University of Southern California. So I will be referring to the version that was translated by Dois Nunes, and I will probably also quote some of the footnotes, places where Nunes elaborates on certain things or tries to correct things that Antonio Coronel says. So, as always, these are, important documents, these memoirs, for the history of California. While at the same time, they are not necessarily rigorously historical. They're the, the memories of somebody recounting what he recalls perhaps decades after they occurred. So take that for what they're worth. And as always, you know, it's important to do your own research, understand better the context and the actual details of the things that are recorded. So without further ado, let's get into these recollections of Antonio Coronel's tales of Mexican California.

RODECaster Duo Main Stereo: 4:59

And Tonio Franco. Cornell resident of the property known as Coda, Nils mansion. About a mile south of the city of Los Angeles came to California with his parents. Don't Ignacio COTA, Nan. And Donya Francisco Romero. The Coronet and several brothers and sisters. And here begins. narration. We arrived as part of the HUD and positives colony in 1834. On the warship Modelos. Commanded by Don Lucas, man. So. Landing in Monterrey. My worthy father held the position of head school master of the colony. We stayed sometime in Monterey during the dispute between general Figueroa. And Don Jose Medea. He heard with regard to the civil command of the territory. Senior rehab. Was both civil leader and director of the colony. And senior Jose Maria Perez. It was both military commander. And vice director. But the rest was a native of Pueblo. And closely associated with my family. Since a child. I was intimate friends of his sisters. Brothers and cousins. His parents. Who were skilled workers had died. And the family lived in great poverty. Address dedicated himself to his education. First primary school. Then mathematics. And other branches of military engineering. All this time. My parents helped them along as much as they could. As a cadet. And then as an Ensign in the Corps of engineers, When he had attained this rank. Or possibly that of Lieutenant. He first went to California with Lieutenant Colonel. the governor. He was with ECI. for his term of office. Like his superior. He was a man of extreme Republican and liberal ideas. Which he imparted to the young men of the principle families of the territory. This arouse the antagonism of the old Spanish friars. Who were monarchists and absolutists of the old school. During his stay in California. But the rest devoted himself. To the study of the geography and topography of the country and its resources. He was the first to publish in Mexico. The facts about the mineral and agricultural wealth of California. And it's climate. He predicted a brilliant future for the territory. As the most fertile, rich and helpful. In the whole Republic. The arrival of Delmon Welby. Victoria in 1831 to replace a Chan DIA. Change the situation. As I said before, But the rest is progressive ideas. And his influence on the younger generation where anathema to the friars. They promptly dominated Victoria's policies. In consequence, but address. Who had been an assistant inspector of troops? Was unable to remain in the country. Victoria shipped him back to Mexico.

Damian Bacich: 8:23

From that time on, he dedicated himself exclusively to organizing a colony to immigrate to California, and warning the central government to take action before it lost, quote, the most precious pearl in Mexico's crown, as he prophetically feared. Even before the colony was organized, under the auspices of the Cosmopolitan Company, Padres was incessantly recruiting families for California, my own among them. He also tried to get the government to send political exiles on the theory that it would be good for the exiles and good for the country. In consequence, when the colonists arrived, there were several political exiles among them. These were decent people of good social position, who for purely political reasons had run afoul of the government, and were punished as severely as though they were criminals. There were also a few opponents of the dictator Santana, escaping political persecution. Now you remember that Antonio Lopez de Santana was the president of Mexico during the The whole war over Texas and the, Mexican American war. So Santana plays an important role in the history of California as well. Now returning to Coronel's account. In 1832 or 1833, Don Juan Bandini went to Mexico as California's delegate to the National Congress. A progressive, like Padres, also determined to develop, to develop the territory. He was a powerful ally for the colonial dream. And here Juan Bandini was actually a Peruvian born Californio and he spent a lot of his time in San Diego. In fact, the Bandini name is, is is all over Southern California and especially San Diego. So back to Coronel. Together they achieved their goal. It was also helpful that the vice president and acting executive, Gomez Farias, was a strong liberal and took a lively interest in the project. Approved by Congress, the convent of San Camilo in Mexico City was appointed for the colonists to gather. The interest and enthusiasm was so great that if the government had had the money, it could have sent to California more than a thousand families of moderate social status who understood the advantage of immigrants Common Mexicans in their ignorance believed California was impossibly remote, populated for the most part by barbarous Indians called Mecos. Anyone fool enough to go there was sure to suffer great trials and fall victim to savages. When the colonists were ready to set out in covered wagons and the coaches of well off families, some of the mob tried to stop them from leaving. But the wagons were escorted by armed and mounted colonists, and the government provided a squadron of cavalry. We journeyed through the republic without any more obstacle than the then lack of money, which delayed us in Guadalajara and Tepic. Señor Ijar had to mortgage his handsome estate near Guadalajara in order to cover the expenses of the expedition. From Tepic, we went to San Blas, where we found the Corvette Morelos, also the Bark Natalia, which belonged to a company of the colonists. It was said that the Natalia was the selfsame ship in which the Emperor Napoleon I escaped from Elba in 1815. Now there's a footnote here where the translator says that the thing about Napoleon was not really true, but that at that time, lots of stories, apocryphal stories about things that Napoleon were supposed to have said or done were circulating. And so this is one of them. Most of the single men and skilled workers boarded the Natalia. Also traveling on it were Ijar, Buenaventura Araujo, Horacio Serrano, Arguello, and others. The government employees and their families embarked on the Corvette, including Padres, Don Luis del Castillo Negrete, a lawyer, Don Zenon Fernandez, and Don Ignacio Coronel and their families. The Licenciado Romero, Mariano Bonilla, and his two brothers, Agustin Olvera, Jose Abrego, and others whose names I don't remember now. At sea we endured a terrible storm. The tiller was lashed, the sails taken in and furled, the fire doused, everyone was kept on rations of ship's biscuit and cheese for four days. We almost wrecked at Point Conception in the high winds and were saved by a miracle. Point Conception is off the coast of Santa Barbara. All the passengers were below decks except a boy named Vidal and myself. We happened to be in the bows looking at the storm because we had already picked up a lot of seamanship. The second in Lt. Ascona. was the watch officer. Captain Monso, who had never navigated the coast before, had been on deck a short while and told Ascona to keep good watch because we were very near land. Soon after, Monso went to his cabin. Vidal pointed out to me a rock just visible in the thick mists. I yelled, Land ho! to Ascona, who might have seen the rock at the same moment I yelled. He immediately ordered a change of course, and all hands on deck. The sailors turned out, and almost all the passengers helped to work the ship, finally reaching safety after a near escape, which frightened us all very much. Luckily, the ladies didn't realize the danger at the time, only believing we were getting to the end of the voyage. But after the storm, we were becalmed for four or five days, finally reaching the port of Monterey. The 24th of September, the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, if I'm not mistaken. Monterey was too small to have lodging houses, but as soon as news of our arrival got around, the residents decided to parcel out among their houses the families in the Corvette. They went right to the beach to receive us and take us home with them. There were a very few empty rooms in the Presidio where some families were billeted as well. We had a friendly and hospitable reception on all sides. The first news we had was that General Santana had sent a special messenger overland with new orders for General Figueroa, not to transfer military or civil powers. This gave rise to a dispute between Figueroa and Padres on the one hand, and with Ijar on the other. The upshot of it was that Ihar of office, except as directors of the colony under the command of General Figueroa. They were assigned Sonoma as the place to settle, and Figueroa offered to carry out the provisos of the law relating to colonization. Almost all the colonists set out for Sonoma on horseback or in ox carts. They crossed San Francisco Bay, by the Strait of Carquines, in a launch manned by Indians from Mission San Jose, and a small boat. In Sonoma, we were sheltered in the Mission Quadrangle, the rest of which was occupied by Don Mariano Vallejo, military commander, and his troops. We got very little support from the government for our colony and had to overcome many difficulties before even a small plot of land was under cultivation. We went along in this way, hoping things would get better and the government would make good on its promises. But When we least expected it, Vallejo's troops surprised us, took our arms, and arrested the whole colony, ordering us back to Monterrey at once. Later, we found out that Figueroa had gotten the idea from Vallejo that we were conspiring against the government. I was a boy of about 16, but since my father was one of the principal and most active colonists, I was aware of all that went on. And I am perfectly satisfied there was no such conspiracy. And if it was, it existed only in Vallejo's imagination. The colonists were all too busy trying to clear the small plots the government had granted them. In the evenings, Padres and other leaders gathered at my house to play music, sing, and enjoy themselves. They talked about the progress of the colony, but there was never a word of conspiracy, nor anything like it. Or, I would have known about it. Perhaps the events in Southern California, and the part played by some of the colonists there, caused Figueroa to treat us badly, as a precaution. After the order of expulsion, most of the group went to Monterey, and some stayed at San Jose, Santa Clara, San Juan, etc. Everyone obliged to live as best he could without any help from the government. The colony was dissolved, the settlement was abandoned, and the leaders banished as disruptive elements in the peaceful territory, or so it was said. They were sent off in the frigate Santa Rosa. Dr. Torres, Apelategui, Gonzalez, Romero the lawyer, Nicanor Estrada the cavalry captain, Araujo, and others. It has often been said that the Cosmopolitan Company had a private understanding with Vice President Gomez that when the colony had taken over California, the territory would be independent of Mexico. This idea, according to what I have been able to ascertain, occurred to Santana because he mistrusted and feared Gómez as a liberal. Since the colonists were all liberals too, Santana imagined Gómez was trying to set up a base of power for ulterior motives. The chief opposition to the colony was Gómez. was from the customs administrator, Don Angel Ramirez. The posthumous publication of Figueroa's version of the dispute as the Manifesto of General Figueroa, to my knowledge, contains several inaccuracies that ought to be corrected. The failure of the colony was due firstly to the distrust between Santana and Gomez. Santana's orders to Figueroa were simply to refrain from turning the civil government over to Ixal, with no provision for anyone to carry out the instructions for the establishment of the colony as projected. This occasioned the controversy between Ixal and Figueroa, but all disagreements aside, the fact was that the property of the missions was the only actual wealth in California at that time, coveted by the greedy. The communications cited in the manifesto were pure guesswork, disproven by the end results. The pretended philanthropy toward the Mission Indians, to teach them morals, educate them, and assign them the worldly goods belonging to them, was exposed by subsequent events, as all the world is aware. The missions fell into the hands of administrators, most of them the same men who formed the territorial assembly and had constituted themselves as saviors of the indigenous peoples and defenders of their interests. And here what Coronel is referring to is the whole plan to secularize the missions and the main reason given by those who wanted to do it. was that this was supposed to be an issue of justice for the native people returning lands to them that had actually belonged to them. And according to Coronel, it was all actually a ruse. The result was complete abandonment of the poor neophytes, encouragement of vice, and neglect of even the scraps of religious education given them in the time of the Padres. In this way, more than 20, 000 workers who would have been useful in developing the country and the farms, which at that time were the only resources, all vanished. Most of the administrators were poor when they started, but in no time they were the owners of the most valuable ranches formerly belonging to the missions. with great herds of horses and cattle, and the missions were poor. Thus, I hope to knock down the Castle of Cards, all unproved theory erected by General Figueroa and the Territorial Assembly. Posterity will judge between them by the end results. I don't want to justify or exalt the views and intentions of the directors of the colony. But if their intentions were bad, why did they bring intelligent, educated men with their families, when a bunch of hooligans would have been cheaper and more suited for the purpose? The Mexican government, or rather, Santana, broke his promises, abandoned the colonists so far away they could never get home again, where they could subsist only with the greatest difficulty. As an indication of how useful the colonists were to the country, even so, when they were scattered, they held government jobs, started industries, and taught at school. Many prominent Native sons owe them what little knowledge and education they have. And here, we'll finish up this part of Antonio Coronel's narration. Next time, we'll go further into his exploits in Alta, California. But you can see one of the things that he wants to do is to, is to give a different version of some of the events that had been narrated by politicians in Alta California and in Mexico and sort of which had given the Ijar Padres colony a very bad reputation. And so he wants to show that the people that came in the last colonizing expedition to Alta California in 1834 were not, a group of ne'er do wells who caused damage in the territory, but who were actually upstanding people who were trying to bring about, the betterment of the territory. And he also calls out what he considers to be the hypocrisy of the people who wanted to bring about the secularization of the missions by saying that they were fighting for the rights of the native people whereby in his view they were only fighting to fill their own pockets. So, Thank you for this. I hope you enjoyed it. We will continue in the new year with more interviews and with more episodes from the early history of California. As always, I I wish you the best and hopefully you will keep also your own investigations going into this really interesting time period.