SPANISH SETTLEMENTS ON 

 THE PACIFIC COAST 



BY CHARLES E. CHAPMAN 



Sometime Traveling Fellotv in Pacific Coast 

 History, N. S. G. W .JJniversity of California 



THE only enduring Spanish settlements on the 

 Pacific Coast north of Mexico were those of 

 California. Yet they have an interest greater 

 even than that of their own idyllic charm, for they 

 bore an important relation to the history of the 

 entire northwest coast, and indeed to that of the 

 United States. 



From the first, after Cortes had reached the Pa- 

 cific in 1522, Spain was one of the principal con- 

 tenders for the far northwest. The Cabrillo-Ferrelo 

 voyage (1542-3), that of Vizcaino (1602-3), and the 

 occasions when the Manila galleon passed the Cali- 

 fornia coast on the way to Acapulco were the only 

 known voyages of Spaniards to our Pacific Coast 

 prior to the occupation by them in 1769. Yet 

 there was little that Spain more keenly desired than 

 to possess herself of that coast, 'there was an 

 almost continuous stream of royal decrees calling 

 for its conquest, and considerable expenditure of 

 treasure to that end, though not until 1769 were per- 

 manent establishments made. Spain became just 

 strong enough in California to keep out the casual 

 voyagers of other nations. She did not develop her 

 holdings in such a way as to lead to discovery of 

 gold. Had she done so, it is doubtful whether the 

 United States would now have a foothold on the 

 Pacific Coast. With the development of California 

 would have come a like advance farther north: 

 Spain could not have held the land, and the United 

 States would not have been strong enough to take it, 

 but a stronger European power than Spain could 

 have entrenched herself and remained. 



Spain's failure to reach California earlier, and 

 to develop it after 1769 was due primarily to her 

 European entanglements and her poverty. Prom the 

 moment that Pedro III of Aragon (1276-85) started 

 on a career of conquest in Italy, Spain's retention 

 of her yet undiscovered colonies was doomed. All 

 went well until the sixteenth century; then, wars in 

 Europe for possessions outside of the Iberian 

 Peninsula began to call for more funds than Spain 

 itself could supply. The Americas were drained and 

 projects of development or conquest became second- 

 ary to Spain's policy in Europe. 



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