THE FOUNDATION DATE OF MISSION LA PAZ. AN ENIGMA TO UNRAVEL.

 




In our Californian land, the influence of the Jesuit period was decisive for the consolidation of the Spanish Crown's dominion and the entry of the Culture of this nation into our lands. Only the unbreakable faith and stubbornness of the Company's missionaries could rival the aridity of our peninsula and the hostility of its inhabitants. Slowly, starting in 1697, the missionaries ventured into the depths of ancient California and founded the famous missions, through which they planned to convert the Californians to the religion they held and change their entire way of life. However, it was not always easy to accurately date the founding of these mission enclaves, as we will see in the case at hand, which is the mystery of the founding date of the Mission of Our Lady of Pilar de La Paz.

Undoubtedly, all California historians have had to rely on the texts left to us by the Jesuit Missionaries to have a reference for the different events that took place during the 70 years they remained on this peninsula (1697-1768). Fortunately, there are repositories in our country where a large amount of reports that the Ignatians constantly and permanently submitted to their hierarchies within the Company have been concentrated. These repositories include the General Archive of the Nation, Old Fund of the Franciscan Library, Franciscan Fund, Public Library of the State of Jalisco, etc. At the international level, the General Archive of the Indies (Seville, Spain), Jesuit Fund (Rome, Italy), Bancroft Library in Berkeley, California, etc., are also available.

Before continuing with this journey in search of the exact date of the establishment of the Mission of La Paz, it is important to contextualize the reader. To define the foundation of a Mission, a whole process was carried out that involved budgets, personnel that would be assigned for its operation, and even the name that the establishment would bear. As we know, the Jesuits arranged a viceregal authorization with Marquis José Sarmiento y Valladares to be able to move to California and start the conversion of the natives. The mentioned authorization was not easy to obtain, but since the Ignatians offered to carry out this spiritual conquest without asking a single penny from the Spanish Crown, this is what tilted the balance in their favor. However, this offer represented a great challenge throughout the time they remained in California since they had to devise ways to obtain enough money to sustain the missions. From the beginning, they achieved this by requesting "donations" from the charitable and pious souls among the wealthiest citizens of New Spain. Not without great difficulties, they were gradually able to obtain enough money to start and expand their odyssey in the Californias.

Once the money that guaranteed the support of a mission was available, the place where it was going to be established was carefully planned, ensuring that it was a highly populated settlement with abundant water and land for agriculture, even if it was modest. Later, it was determined which priest would have the high honor of traveling to the selected location and building the incipient buildings (temple, barracks, parade ground, warehouses, housing for the priest and soldiers, etc.) that would give rise to this new mission outpost. Finally, the departure date, the people who would accompany the priest on his journey, and the best route to reach the designated place were agreed upon. The selected sites were almost always known in advance (2 or 3 years prior), but they always waited until they had sufficient economic support and the necessary personnel to start the foundation of these centers, which guaranteed their successful permanence over time.

At the port site of La Paz, this place had already been explored since 1533 with the failed and disastrous expedition of Fortún Jiménez. Two years later, Hernán Cortés arrived at the site, which he tried to establish permanently for almost 12 months but in the end had to withdraw without success. In 1683, an attempt was also made to establish a new mission, which would be named Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Las Californias, and despite the fact that for 2 months a force commanded militarily by Isidro Atondo and Antillón, and spiritually by Eusebio Francisco Kino, remained at the site, they had to abruptly abandon it. In 1716, the priest Juan María de Salvatierra had organized an expedition through the "Guaycura Nation" seeking a passage to reach the port of La Paz and establish a mission, but the bellicose nature of the Californians in that area prevented him from doing so.

It was not until the first day of November 1720 that the priests Jaime Bravo and Juan de Ugarte, aboard the schooner "El Triunfo de la Santa Cruz", decided to undertake the definitive establishment of a mission in the port of La Paz. Ten days later, priest Clemente Guillén would join them, who would travel by land to find his fellow friars.

On these dates of the expedition's departure, all historians agree, who as I mentioned before, have relied on the writings inherited from the Jesuit missionaries, both the 3 who participated, and their Ignatian brothers who were aware of this adventure. However, discrepancies about the date of the Mission's foundation have been the subject of differences, which I will explain below.


The historian and professor Pablo L. Martínez, in his book "History of Baja California," mentions the following about this particular: "The mission of La Paz was founded on November 4, 1720, if the day of the founders' arrival must be taken as the date of the foundation, the Fathers Ugarte and Bravo, who had left Loreto on the "El Triunfo de la Cruz" sailboat on the 1st day of the aforementioned November. Once the appropriate place was chosen "on a high hill that overlooks the beaches, within short shotgun range of the water supply, and with hard and level ground, with a very spacious table," the clearing began, which was finished in four days." In another of his books entitled "Californian Ephemera: 1533-1933," our author reaffirms this same date as the anniversary of the founding of the Mission of La Paz. As we can see, Martinez is categorical about the date of the foundation; however, I have to make the following consideration. Almost none of the Missions founded in California take the day of this important act as the day when they arrive at a site. As far as I know, the only Mission founded on the same day of arrival at a place was the Mission established by E. F. Kino in the port of La Paz in 1683. Generally, on the first day of arrival, the settlers dedicated themselves to rest, to recognize the site to choose the best place to build the church, barracks, warehouses, and even stables for the animals that accompanied them. Clearing the land and erecting all these buildings, however fragile and simple they may be, took them several days, so declaring the day of the expedition's arrival at a place as the day of the Mission's foundation was an extremely rare exception.

Another of the learned researchers who expressed the date of the founding of the Mission of La Paz was Dr. Michael W. Mathes, who in his book "The Missions of Baja California 1683 - 1849" says the following: "The Bay of La Paz, discovered by Fernando Cortes in 1535 and named as such by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1596, was explored by Admiral Isidro de Atondo y Antillon in 1683 and Father Juan Maria de Salvatierra in 1716, both in search of a suitable site for a mission. The site of the Mission Nuestra Senora del Pilar de la Paz was chosen by Fathers Juan de Ugarte and Jaime Bravo on November 13, 1720, who had left Mission Nuestra Senora de Loreto, two hundred and thirty-three kilometers to the north, aboard El Triunfo de la Cruz. Endowed by the Marquis of Villapuente, the mission was founded on December 3 by Fathers Ugarte and Bravo, and three days later the arrival of Father Clemente Guillen contributed to the success of the foundation. Although highly dependent on the service of El Triunfo de la Cruz to supply itself, the mission extended to incorporate visits to San Blas, Angel de la Guarda, and San Hilario." Here we can see the large discrepancy, of almost one month, between the date established by Pablo L. Martinez and Dr. Mathes, however, there are weighty elements, which I will briefly describe, for Dr. William Michael to conclude this December date.

Also, historian and cartographer Carlos Lazcano Sahagun in an article published in the newspaper "El Vigia" and entitled "Missions of the Californias X: Our Lady of Pilar de La Paz Airipi" expressed the following about this important date: "On November 13, 1720, Fathers Juan de Ugarte and Jaime Bravo left by boat from Loreto towards the Bay of La Paz in order to make a new attempt to establish a mission in the bay. The navigation was done on "El Triunfo de la Cruz," the first ship built in California. Thus, thanks to the sponsorship of the Marquis of Villapuente and the better disposition of the Guaycura, on December 3 of that year, Fathers Bravo and Ugarte were able to found the mission of Our Lady of Peace, in a place that the Indians called Airipi. A few days after the establishment, Father Clemente Guillen arrived at the mission by land, who opened the first land route between the missions of Loreto and La Paz, which greatly helped to consolidate this nascent mission." As can be seen, both Mathes and Lazcano agree on the same date of the founding of this mission.

The professor and historian Leonardo Reyes Silva provides us with the following information in his book "3 Illustrious Men of South California" regarding the foundation of the mentioned mission: "There are three valuable documents about the establishment of the Mission of La Paz in 1720, written by Fathers Jaime Bravo, Juan de Ugarte, and Clemente Guillén, rescued by Doctor Miguel León Portilla, which appeared in a book published by the government of South Baja California in 1989 under the title "Testimonios sudcalifornianos". In the introduction, Dr. León-Portilla states: Father Juan de Ugarte, who at that time held the position of visitor, entrusted the mission to the newly ordained priest, but already a veteran in these missions, Father Jaime Bravo.

Thus, they left the port of Loreto on November 1, 1720, on the sloop built on the peninsula, "El Triunfo de la Santa Cruz." In just two and a half days, they reached the great bay. On November 3, they disembarked, and the next day, without taking any rest, after raising the first huts, the Mission of Our Lady of the Pillar of La Paz was formally founded."

The professor and historian Jaime Holmos Montaño narrates in his book "Chronological Notes of South Baja California and Los Cabos" this information: "November 4, in La Paz, the Mission of Our Lady of the Pillar of La Paz, Airapí, was founded by Fathers Juan de Ugarte and Jaime Bravo. The latter led the mission for eight years until he was called to Loreto to assist Father Píccolo, who was very old and ill."

The emeritus professor and historian Gilberto Ibarra Rivera, in his book "La Paz, Mexican City and Port: Origins, Historical Process, and Emblematic Symbols," comments the following on this matter: "After the foundation of Loreto, it took two decades and three years for the Jesuits to advance south and finally establish the mission of La Paz, which happened on November 3rd, 1720, with the dedication to Our Lady of the Pillar of La Paz, patroness of the port, established among the Guaycura group."

Now, it is time to analyze primary sources of history, the writings of the Jesuits who participated in this widely cited event. Fortunately, the three priests who played a leading role in this adventure of founding the Mission of Our Lady of the Pillar of La Paz wrote relations in which they recounted how this event took place.

Father Juan de Ugarte narrates this event in the "Letter from Father Visitor Juan de Ugarte to the Most Excellent Marquis of Valero, Viceroy: Foundation of the Mission of Our Lady of the Pillar, in the Port of La Paz. March 15, 1721." This document does not include dates and is simply a general account of what the priests did from the day they left Loreto until March 1721.

Father Clemente Guillén also left a relation entitled "Expedition by Land from San Juan Malibat Mission to La Paz Mission in the Californian Gulf, year 1720, by Father Clemente Guillén," and although it is a very detailed document in terms of dates and events, it is of little help in establishing the date of the foundation of the Mission since when he arrived in La Paz on December 6, it is very likely that the mission was already founded.

Finally, the priest Jaime Bravo offers us the most complete account, and apparently it is the one that all the historians of the 20th century have relied on to conclude the probable dates of the foundation of the mission in La Paz. The document by Father Bravo is titled "Reason for the Entry into the Port of La Paz: Conquest of the Guaycura Nation and Foundation of the Mission of Our Lady of the Pillar in California, 1720, by Father Jaime Bravo". In this document, the Ignatian priest comments that indeed, in the afternoon of November 3, 1720, they arrived at the port of La Paz and that from that day until the 6th, they dedicated themselves to clearing a plot of land near the beach, but he also notes that they found a "very suitable spot for founding the mission, on top of a hill".

The other days were spent constructing some barracks and a warehouse, as well as exploring nearby places by land and visiting the Cerralvo, San José, and Espíritu Santo islands in search of natives who could be catechized.

Father Bravo mentions that while one part of his men went to explore, another part began to clear the "high hill" they had found, and he concludes the following: "At the same time the canoe arrived, we were moving the entire train of barracks and other things to the hill that had been cleared. And everything was composed on that day, and on the following day of the glorious Apostle of the Indies, San Xavier, the three barracks were armed inside a stockade of mesquite, with its parade ground and its surrounding huts built by the sailors, a kitchen, and a corral, all together dominating the entire bay, palm grove, and vast plains, with an admirable view.


On the same day, after the masses, the banner of our redemption, the Holy Cross, made of two very straight and strong palms, was raised, and the main one was eleven yards high, with the corresponding arms, made by a good carpenter, and with real tackle and pulleys, in which the sailors were proficient. It was planted in a hole that was deep enough, and since it is high and clear, it can be seen from many leagues out to sea."

Finally, it is the priest Jaime Bravo who offers us the most complete account, and apparently it is the one on which all the historians of the twentieth century have based themselves to conclude the dates on which the mission of La Paz was probably founded. The document by Priest Bravo is entitled "Reason for entering the port of La Paz: conquest of the Guaycura Nation and founding of the Mission of Our Lady of the Pillar in California, year of 1720, by Father Jaime Bravo." In the aforementioned document, the Ignatian comments that, indeed, in the afternoon of November 3, 1720, they arrived at the port of La Paz, and from that day until the 6th, they dedicated themselves to clearing a plot of land near the beach. However, he also specifies that they found a "very suitable place to found the mission, on top of a hill." They spent the rest of the days building some barracks and a warehouse, as well as exploring nearby places by land and visiting the Cerralvo, San José, and Espíritu Santo islands in search of natives who would come to be catechized.

Priest Bravo mentions that while some of his men were exploring, another group began clearing the "high hill they had found," and he concludes the following: "At the same time the canoe arrived, we were moving all the train of barracks and other things to the cleared hill. And everything was settled on that day, and on the following day of the glorious Apostle of the Indies, San Xavier, the three barracks were armed within a shelf trench of mesquites, with its parade ground and its surrounding shacks made by the seafarers, a kitchen, and a corral, all together dominating the entire bay, palm grove, and vast plains, with an admirable view.

On this same day, after mass, the banner of our redemption, the Holy Cross, made of two very straight and strong palms, was hoisted, and the main one was eleven yards high, with what corresponds to its arms, made by a good carpenter, and with royal tackle and pulleys, in which sailors are knowledgeable, it was planted in a deep hole, and since it is high and clear, it can be seen from many leagues at sea."

The day on which the "glorious Apostle of the Indies, San Xavier" is celebrated is December 3rd, so it is very likely that all the events that Bravo describes that took place that day led Dr. W. M. Mathes to conclude that it was not November 3rd, but December 3rd, 1720, the day on which the Mission of Our Lady of the Pillar of La Paz Airapí was "formally" founded.

Here, I would like to clarify the following. On various websites and documents circulating inside and outside our state, it is said that the current Cathedral of the City of La Paz (located on Revolución de 1910 street between Independencia and 5 de Mayo) corresponds to the temple of the "Mission" that Jaime Bravo and Juan de Ugarte founded in 1720. This is completely false. This temple, which we now see in the city's historic center, began construction in 1861 and was completed in its primary phase four years later. The site where it was erected is also not the place where the Mission of Our Lady of the Pillar is believed to have been. All of this is documented in the Historical Archive of Baja California Sur "Pablo L. Martínez."

As a general conclusion, we can say that according to the documents currently known about the events that occurred on the dates when the priests Bravo, Ugarte, and Guillen arrived at this port of La Paz, they do not explicitly define a specific date to decree the founding of the Mission at the site, as is the case, for example, in the founding of the Mission of Our Lady of Loreto. The best conclusion we can reach is that November 3 (not November 4, as Pablo L. Martinez claims) was the date of the arrival of the group of settlers who came to found a Mission at this port of La Paz.

Bibliography:

Pablo L. Martínez. “Historia de la Baja California”

Dr. Michael W. Mathes. “Las Misiones de Baja California 1683 – 1849”

Carlos Lazcano Sahagún. “Misiones de las Californias X: Nuestra Señora del Pilar de La Paz Airipí”

Leonardo Reyes Silva. “3 hombres ilustres de sudcalifornia”

Jaime Holmos Montaño. “Apuntes cronológicos de Baja California Sur y los Cabos”

Gilberto Ibarra Rivera. “La Paz, ciudad y puerto mexicano. Origen, proceso histórico y símbolos emblemáticos”

Juan de Ugarte. “Carta del padre visitador Juan de Ugarte al excelentísimo seño Marqués de Valero, Virrey. Fundación de la misión de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, en el puerto de La Paz. Marzo 15 de 1721”.

Clemente Guillén. “Expedición por tierra desde la Misión de San Juan Malibat a la Misión de La Paz en el seno Califórnico, año 1720, por el padre Clemente Guillén”

Jaime Bravo. “Razón de la entrada al puerto de La Paz: conquista de la Nación guaycura y fundación de la Misión de Nuestra Señora del Pilar en California, año de 1720, por el padre Jaime Bravo”.

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