Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: How many ships were involved in the Portolà expedition?
Gálvez placed Gaspar de Portolá, recently appointed governor of Las Californias, in overall command of the expedition. Second in command was Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada, commander of the Presidio at Loreto. Serra headed the Franciscan missionary contingent. Three ships were also assigned: two to follow the land march up the coast and keep the expedition supplied from the naval depot at La Paz (on the Baja peninsula), and another ship to connect La Paz with the mainland at San Blas.
For the most part, it was reported that interactions with Native American tribes in Alta California were peaceful and not too much conflict arose. Many were described as welcoming and helpful, as they offered guidance and supplies to the Spanish explorers. Friendly encounters with the native people had been a goal from the onset of the expedition. The Spanish brought many items and trinkets with which they traded for supplies and used to create peaceful relations. The fact that they used space to carry so many glass beads and other items, rather than food or more crucial supplies, in order to pacify the Native Americans shows how committed they were to creating peaceful relationships with the native people. The long-term goal was to create settlements, introduce farming, and convert the inhabitants to Christianity, so it was important that they had peaceful coexistence during the expedition.
To prevent Russia or Britain from establishing settlements in California in 1769, the Spanish Visitor General, José de Gálvez, under directions of the Spanish Crown, proceeded to plan a five part expedition to settle Alta California. Three ships with supplies and men were to go by sea and two expedition by land to start settling Alta California. Gaspar de Portolà volunteered to command the expedition. The Catholic Church was represented by Franciscan friar Junípero Serra and his fellow friars. All five detachments of soldiers, friars and colonists were to meet at the site of San Diego Bay. The first sailing ship, the "San Carlos", sailed from La Paz on 10 January 1769, and the ship "San Antonio" sailed on 15 February. The first land party, led by Fernando Rivera y Moncada, left from the Franciscan Mission San Fernando Velicata on March 24, 1769. The third vessel, the sailing ship "San José", left New Spain later that spring but was lost at sea with no survivors. With Rivera was Father Juan Crespí, famed diarist of the entire expedition. The expedition led by Portolà, which included Father Junípero Serra, the President of the Missions, along with a combination of missionaries, settlers, and leather-jacket (leather jackets made of several layers of leather could stop most Indian arrows) soldiers, including José Raimundo Carrillo, left Velicata on May 15, 1769 accompanied by about 46 mules, 200 cows and 140 horses—all that could be spared by the poor Baja Missions. Fernando Rivera was appointed to command the lead party that would scout out a land route and blaze a trail to San Diego. Food was short, and the Indians accompanying them were expected to forage for most of what they needed. Many Indian neophytes died along the way—even more deserted. On 15 May 1769, the day after Rivera and Crespí reached San Diego Portolà and Serra set out from Velicata. The two groups traveling from Lower California on foot had to cross about of the very dry and rugged Baja California peninsula. The overland part of the expedition took about 40–51 days to get to San Diego. All five detachments were to meet at San Diego Bay.
The abundant water available in the San Gabriel River basin, a rarity in arid Southern California, was noted by early Spanish explorers and made it an attractive place for Europeans to settle later on. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed past the mouth of the San Gabriel River in 1542; although he did not land here, he did make contact with the native Tongva, who rowed out in their canoes to greet the expedition. The first Spanish party to actually cross the river was the Portolà expedition, led in 1769 by Captain Gaspar de Portolà. Juan Crespí, a missionary traveling with the expedition, described their first impression of the San Gabriel River:
The Rivera expedition returned to the Presidio of Monterey via the coastal route first explored by the Portolà expedition of 1769. At the north end of Monterey Bay, Rivera and Palóu inspected the area around today's Santa Cruz, described by friar Juan Crespí (who accompanied Portolà) and recommended by Crespí as a future mission site. Palóu agreed, and on December 9 selected a location where Mission Santa Cruz was later founded by Fermín Lasuén, in 1791.
Duarte's history with Europeans dates back to 1769, when all land in California was claimed by the king of Spain. The first Europeans visited the San Gabriel Valley, including Duarte, during a 1769 expedition from San Diego to Monterey Bay commanded by Don Gaspar de Portolà. Accompanying Portolà was a Franciscan priest from Junípero Serra's order in Mexico, Juan Crespí, who served as the diarist of the expedition. Much of what is known of early California is known only from the detailed descriptions recorded by Crespi.
On February 15, Gálvez dispatched the "San Antonio", captained by Juan Pérez, from Cabo San Lucas; Franciscan friars Juan Vizcaíno and Francisco Gómez served as chaplains. With sailors plus cooks, carpenters and blacksmiths, the "San Antonio" carried a total of around 30 men. These ships left ahead of the land groups. The "San Carlos" and "San Antonio" were followed by an additional supply ship, the "San José", which was named after the patron saint of the Portolá expedition, Saint Joseph. The "San José" never reached San Diego and was presumed lost at sea.
In 1769, the Spanish Visitor General, José de Gálvez, planned a five part expedition, consisting of three units by sea and two by land, to start settling Alta California. Gaspar de Portolà volunteered to command the expedition. The Catholic Church was represented by Franciscan friar Junípero Serra and his fellow friars. All five detachments of soldiers, friars and future colonists were to meet on the shores of San Diego Bay. The first ship, the "San Carlos", sailed from La Paz on January 10, 1769, and the "San Antonio" sailed on February 15. The "San Antonio" arrived in San Diego Bay on April 11 and the "San Carlos" on April 29. The third vessel, the "San José", left New Spain later that spring but was lost at sea with no survivors.
The expedition's original assignment was to travel to the "port of Monterey" described by Vizcaíno and establish a settlement there. After that, the explorers were to continue north to locate Cermeño's "Bay of San Francisco", chase away any Russians encountered, claim the area for Spain and determine whether the bay would make a good port.
The first ship, the "San Carlos", sailed from La Paz on January 10, 1769 and a second, the "San Antonio" sailed from Cabo San Lucas on February 15. At the same time, the various elements of the land parties began to move
north from Loreto, Baja California Sur. The land expedition was assembled at Velicatá, where Serra established his first new mission. From there, Portolá's plan called for splitting the land expedition in two. The lead group, charged with building a wagon trail and pacifying the natives, was led by Captain Fernando Rivera y Moncada, and departed from Velicatá on March 24. With Rivera was the priest Juan Crespí, diarist for the Franciscans. The expedition led by Portolá, which included Junípero Serra (the President of the Missions), along with a combination of missionaries, settlers, and leather-jacket soldiers, including José Raimundo Carrillo, left Velicata on May 15. Junípero Serra founded two more missions during the expedition: San Diego de Alcalá on July 16, 1769 and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on June 3, 1770.
Rivera reached the site of present-day San Diego in May, established a camp in the area that is now Old Town and awaited the arrival of the others. Because of an error by Vizcaíno in determining the latitude of the San Diego Harbor, the ships passed by it and landed too far north before finding their way back. The "San Antonio" arrived on April 11 and the "San Carlos", the first ship to leave La Paz, having met with fierce winds and storms on the journey, arrived on April 29. A third vessel was to follow with supplies, but it was probably lost at sea. The land expedition of Portolá arrived on June 29. After their arduous journeys, most of the men aboard ship were ill, chiefly from scurvy, and many had died. Out of a total of 219 who left Baja California, little more than 100 now survived.
Upon hearing about the king’s desire to explore Alta California, New Spain's "visitador" (inspector general) José de Gálvez organized an exploratory expedition and placed Governor Portolá in overall command. The plan called for a joint land-sea movement up the Pacific coast. The job of the ships was to keep the land contingent supplied with provisions and to carry communications between them and New Spain. Portolá decided to travel by land.
Ever since the voyages of Christopher Columbus, the Kingdom of Spain sought to establish missions to convert the pagans in "Nueva España" ("New Spain") to Roman Catholicism to save souls and to facilitate colonization of these lands. However, it was not until 1741—the time of the Vitus Bering expedition, when the territorial ambitions of Tsarist Russia towards North America became known—that King Philip V felt such installations were necessary in Upper California. In 1769, "Visitador General" José de Gálvez sent the expedition of Junípero Serra and Gaspar de Portolà to found missions and presidios at San Diego and Monterey (see Timeline of the Portolà expedition), thereby securing Spain's claim to the Pacific Coast harbors recommended by Cabrillo and Vizcaino. Two groups traveled from Lower California on foot, while a pair of packet ships (bearing supplies) traveled up the coast from the Baja California Peninsula.
Many ships were wrecked in and around San Francisco Bay. During the centuries San Francisco Bay with its strong currents, rocky reefs and low fog conditions has become a place of more than a hundred shipwrecks. Ever since San Francisco Bay was discovered during land expedition by Gaspar de Portolà in 1769, it has been one of the most popular harbors.
In 1769 the Portolà expedition, a group of Spanish explorers led by Gaspar de Portolà, made the first written record of the tar pits in California. Father Juan Crespí wrote, "While crossing the basin the scouts reported having seen some geysers of tar issuing from the ground like springs; it boils up molten, and the water runs to one side and the tar to the other. The scouts reported that they had come across many of these springs and had seen large swamps of them, enough, they said, to caulk many vessels. We were not so lucky ourselves as to see these tar geysers, much though we wished it; as it was some distance out of the way we were to take, the Governor [Portola] did not want us to go past them. We christened them "Los Volcanes de Brea" [the Tar Volcanoes]."
The Portolà expedition () was a Spanish voyage of exploration in 1769–1770 that was the first recorded European land entry and exploration of the interior of the present-day U.S. state of California. It was led by Gaspar de Portolà, governor of "Las Californias", the Spanish colonial province that included California, Baja California and other parts of present-day Mexico and the United States. The expedition led to the founding of Alta California and contributed to the legitimacy of Spanish territorial claims in the disputed and unexplored regions along the Pacific coast of North America.
The Salinas river was first sighted by Europeans on September 27, 1769. This first European contact with the river was recorded by the Spanish "colonizing expedition" of Gaspar de Portolà. As was the practice of the Spanish government in the New World at the time, soldiers and priests were then typically sent out on such colonizing expeditions. Accordingly, the Portolá expedition included Franciscan priests, who soon thereafter established two missions along the banks of the Salinas river (then referred to as el Rio de Monterey.)
Ships of the class were in commission between 1889 and 1919. For most of their service, the ships were in the Pacific, patrolling the coasts of North and South America, Hawaii, and the western Pacific. "Yorktown"-class ships saw service in many of the conflicts involving the United States from the 1890s through World War I, with all three ships seeing action during the Philippine–American War. was involved in the 1891 "Baltimore" Crisis in Chile, participated in the China Relief Expedition carried out in the wake of the Boxer Rebellion, and served as a convoy escort in World War I. was a part of Admiral George Dewey's fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War.
Prior to 1786, the Ramaytush band of the Ohlone people had a settlement on the site, the village of Pruristac. Evidence of the village remains by a shell midden, located near the present day park ranger building. The Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolà camped nearby in 1769, ~ to the west from 31 October through 3 November, during the Portolà expedition in upper Las Californias Province of New Spain. Journals from the expedition record of his group's meetings with the villagers, but give no indication that they visited the village.
The commanding officers prepared to dispatch the "San Antonio" back to Lower California New Spain, to report to viceroy De Croix and "visitador" Gálvez about the expedition. On July 1, just as the ship was about to sail, the Portolá/Serra party arrived in San Diego in good health, with 163 mules loaded with supplies. Desiring to push the sea expedition north to Monterey — as Gálvez had instructed — Portolá offered captain Vicente Vila of the "San Carlos" 16 of his own men to work the ship on its voyage to Monterey. But Vila had lost all his ship's officers, his boatswain, coxswain of the launch and storekeeper — and none of the men offered by Portolá had experience as sailors. Vila refused to sail under such conditions. So Portolá decided to place all available sailors aboard the "San Antonio", which set out for San Blas on July 9, with a very small crew. Carrying important letters from Serra, Portolá and others, the "San Antonio" reached San Blas in just three weeks. On that voyage, several more sailors died.
The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolà expedition, passed through the area on its way north, camping at one of the lakes north of town for five nights, on October 10–14, 1769. Many of the expedition soldiers were suffering from scurvy, so progress was slow. While the sick recuperated, scouts led by Sergeant Ortega went ahead to find the best way forward. On the fifth day, Franciscan missionary Juan Crespi, traveling with the expedition, noted in his diary that, "This afternoon the explorers returned. The sergeant reported that he had gone ahead twelve leagues without getting any information of the harbor that we are looking for, and that he went to the foot of a high, white mountain range."
On November 28, the party crossed the Monterey Peninsula south to Carmel Bay. A week later, while waiting for two Baja Christian Indians who got separated from Rivera's group, the expedition leaders discussed their next moves. They still did not believe they had found Vizcaíno's port of Monterey. On December 7, they decided to return to San Diego without waiting any longer for the missing men, or for a supply ship. On December 10, Portolá ordered his men to plant a large wooden cross where passing ships could see it, with a letter describing the expedition's travels buried at its foot. Crespí quoted part of the letter: "The cross was planted on a hill on the edge of the beach of the little bay which lies to the south of Point Pinos (pine-covered headland)."
The city of Portola in Plumas County, the town of Portola Valley in San Mateo County, and the Portola neighborhood of San Francisco were named after Portolà. A number of schools in California were also named after him, including Portola Hills Elementary School in Portola Hills, Portola Elementary School in San Bruno, Portola Junior High School in El Cerrito, Gaspar de Portola Middle School in Tierrasanta, Portola Middle School in Tarzana, and Portola Middle School in Orange. The school in Orange is close to the spot where the expedition crossed the Santa Ana River, and the school has a 60-foot mural depicting the Portola Expedition.
The Portolà expedition was the beginning of a push by Spain to explore the northwestern frontier of Las Californias, and to establish both military outposts and missions. The move was intended to counter what were thought to be colonial designs by Russian traders from Alaska and the British fur companies in the Pacific Northwest. (See: Fort Ross, Russian-American Company, Hudson's Bay Company) The Portolà expedition was organized by the "Visitadór Generàl" of New Spain, José de Gálvez, following up (belatedly) on previous maritime expeditions, most notably that of Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1602-3, who visited and described many points along the coast, including Monterey Bay, Portolà's primary destination.
In 1769, the expedition led by explorer Gaspar de Portolà reached the Los Angeles area of California overland from Baja California. Accompanying him were two Franciscan Padres, Junípero Serra and Juan Crespí, who recorded the expedition and identified locations for a proposed network of missions, along which the royal highway ("El Camino Real") was eventually built.
On September 24 and December 17, 1769, the Portolà expedition crossed the river which they named Rio de las Truchas (Spanish for "trout"), saying "We pitched camp on the bank of a small river containing much running water, which, in several pools or eddies, held a considerable number of trout, and other species of fish." Nacimiento, meaning "source of the river" in Spanish, was also given to the river by Father Juan Crespí of the Portolà expedition September 21, 1769. Later the river was referred to as Nacimiento by Juan Bautista de Anza who on April 16, 1774, crossed the river and assumed wrongly that Nacimiento had been named for the nativity, also a Spanish translation.