On the eve of the American Revolution, the Spanish sought to control the Pacific coast of today's United States against British and Russian incursions. Juan Bautista de Anza, a third-generation frontier soldier of New Spain, shepherded 198 emigrants and their escorts and 1,000 head of livestock on the first overland colonizing expedition from Sonora, Mexico into Alta, or Upper, California. This expedition led to the founding of the Presidio of San Francisco and missions San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) and Santa Clara de Asís.Anza's expedition and the route it established are commemorated by the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.

Background

By the 1770s, the Spanish had been in the New World for 200 years. Their empire included the present-day western states, Florida, and the Philippine Islands. Still, they needed to secure the Pacific coast from Russian and English influence. Expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá in 1769 created only small settlements in Alta California. By 1773, there were two presidios and five missions, but the total Spanish population was about 70. Settlement and supply of Alta California was difficult: the small ships that could make the arduous sea voyage from San Blas, Mexico, could not carry cattle or many people. The land route through Baja, or Lower, California was treacherous, and Baja California itself was too poor to support northern settlement. To ensure possession of Alta California, the Spanish needed a new overland route originating in Sonora. This situation prompted Juan Bautista de Anza, among others, to pursue opening an overland route from Sonora to California. Anza was Captain of the Royal Presidio at Tubac, Sonora (now southern Arizona). In 1774, he proved that an overland route was possible by financing his own successful exploratory trip. Planning to return with emigrants and a herd of livestock, he charted watering spots and pasturage, and established contacts with native tribes along the route.

The Colonizing Expedition

In 1775, the Viceroy of New Spain authorized Anza to command an expedition escorting soldiers and their families to occupy and settle the port of San Francisco. Anza began to enlist volunteers in the large city of Culiacán, where poorer people might be likely to accept the rigors of an arduous trek to start a new life. Recruits gathered at the Presidio of San Miguel de Horcasitas, Sonora's provincial capital. Anza chose as his lieutenant José Joaquín Moraga. Friar Pedro Font, a Franciscan missionary, was picked as expedition chaplain for his ability to read latitudes. The final staging area was Tubac. Apaches had driven off the entire herd of 500 horses three weeks prior to the expeditions arrival, forcing it to continue with no fresh mounts. Food supplies included six tons of flour, beans, cornmeal, sugar, and chocolate, loaded on and off of pack mules every day. Materials from cooking kettles to iron for making horseshoes added more tonnage. The commander and his servants had a tent, as did Padre Font and his assistants. The families, cowboys, muleteers, and soldiers shared ten tents among them.

Over 240 people set out from Tubac on October 23, 1775. The first night out, the group suffered its only death en route when María Manuela Piñuelas died from complications after childbirth. Her son lived. Two other babies born on the trip brought the total number of settlers to 198. Of these,over half were children 12 years old and younger.

The expedition continued down the Santa Cruz River to its junction with the Gila River. While they camped, Anza, Font, and a few soldiers visited Casa Grande, already known as an ancient Indian site. They followed the Gila to the Colorado River crossing, one birth occurring along the way. Crossing the Colorado, they were assisted by Olleyquotequiebe (Salvador Palma), chief of the Yumas (Quechan), whose tribe had befriended Anza on his 1774 trek.

As the route headed through the sand dunes and deserts of southeastern California, the journey became more difficult. To better secure forage and water during one of the coldest winters on record, Anza divided the expedition into three groups, each traveling a day apart to allow water holes to refill. They regrouped near what is now Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. On Christmas Eve, they welcomed another birth and reached Mission San Gabriel Arcángel on January 4, 1776. From there they followed known trails through Indian villages along the coast of California, visiting Mission San Luís Obispo de Tolosa and San Antonio de Padua, to arrive at Monterey and nearby mission San Carlos Borromeo del Carmelo on March 10. Anza then took a small group to explore San Francisco Bay, where he chose sites for the presidio and the mission. Following orders to explore the "River of Saint Francis," he traveled the east side of San Francisco Bay before turning south to return to Monterey.

On April 14, 1776, Anza left Monterey for Mexico City and a later appointment as governor ofNew Mexico. In June, Lieutenant Moraga brought the settlers from Monterey to San Francisco Bay to build the presidio and found the mission.

The Significance

Anza successfully opened an overland route of emigration and supply from Sonora to the missions and settlements of Alta California. He confirmed that San Francisco Bay was a great harbor. The soldiers and families that Anza escorted brought with them their language, traditions, and diverse New World Hispanic culture. The backgrounds of all soldiers and settlers were carefully recorded as español, mulato, or mestizo. Almost all expedition members were born on this continent and had mixed European, African, or Indian parentage. These influences changed the lives of the Native Americans and shaped the development of Arizona and California.

The route Anza opened supplied the settlements of Alta California long enough for them to become established. In 1781, the Yumas revolted against Spanish rule and closed the route during the rest of the colonial period. In later years, Anza's trail served the military, settlers, cattlemen, 49ers and other desert travelers.

In 1990, Congress acknowledged the significance of the Anza expeditions by establishing the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. The Department of the Interior's National Park Service (NPS) administers the Anza Trail in a public/private partnership in cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies; interested groups; and private landowners. Through technical and limited financial assistance, the NPS guides the preservation, development, and enjoyment of the trail. Management of trail resources and rights-of-way remains with individual landowners, nonprofit groups, and federal, state, and local agencies.

Planned NPS activities include marking an auto tour route; marking a recreational trail; conducting historical and archeological research; providing resource protection; developing wayside exhibits, trail brochures, guidebooks, and other publications; and working with museums to interpret Anza Trail history.

Several local groups in Arizona and California conduct annual celebrations to commemorate the dates that the Anza expedition passed through their areas. Learn more about the interesting story of Juan Bautista de Anza by visiting sites along the trail.

Today, you can experience the trail by hiking or horseback riding along the Anza Trail between Tumacácori National Historical Park and Tubac Presidio State Historic Park in Arizona, or in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California. You can find information at those locations and at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Mission San Gabriel, the Presidio of San Francisco, and other sites along the way that already recognize the exploits of Juan Bautista de Anza.