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The Discovery of San Francisco Bay: The Portolá Expedition of 1769-1770 / El Descubrimiento de la Bahía de San Francisco: La Expedición de Portolá de ... Miguel Costansó
On July 14, 1769 the Portola Expedition started off into an unknown country. They were the first Europeans to explore by land what is now California. In human history it is quite a short time from the Portola Expedition to the present day-- 223 years, some eight to ten generations. Most of what Miguel Costano saw has been transformed beyond belief and beyond imagining. But from the discovery site on Sweeney Ridge you can see Point Reyes and the white cliffs of Drakes Bay to the north-north-west, and the Farallon Islands to the west. And when you turn around you will behold the full sweep of the "magnificent estuary" that is San Francisco Bay, stretching toward the southeast.
- GenresHistory
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1992
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May 5, 2024After reading the journals of 1) the first European land exploration (1769), and 2) the first geological survey (1860-1864), of what is now the State of California, I can attest that it’s a good thing a desk job was available for me in the twentieth century. I would have deserted sometime during the afternoon of the first day on both expeditions. These guys were very, very tough.
The Spanish assigned Gaspar de Portola to lead a land expedition north from San Diego, and to report back on the economic and proselytizing prospects in California. Earlier reports from voyages back and forth to the Philippines from Mexico had ‘discovered’ Monterey Bay and the land north of San Francisco, but the coastal geography around the Golden Gate had obscured the very existence of the bay with the biggest potential. Portola’s expedition set off in July, expecting that a ship with provisions would meet them in Monterey.
Ensign Miguel Costansó kept a diary of the journey. It recounts the daily topography and distance traveled, the fertility of the land and availability of water. The group tried to travel along the coast, but occasionally they were forced inland. There was tough terrain over mountain ranges and through swampy areas that required using tools to clear paths and bridge marshes and gullies. The Portola Expedition couldn’t recognize Monterey Bay from the vastly exaggerated description they had been given, and pushed on all the way to San Francisco Bay before they turned back. They were starving, and many had been suffering from scurvy to the point of being invalids.
Costansó also recorded each Native American village they encountered. He cited population, diet, whether they were healthy or hungry, and their behavior on meeting the Europeans. Two things stand out: there were lots of native peoples, and they were extremely generous.
The Spanish were short of food from about midway on the northward trip, and half-starved all the way back. They had to rest frequently to let the sick and the starving mules recuperate. They never found the ship that had supposedly been sent to resupply them. Instead, villagers all along the way gave them atole (made of acorns), seeds, various kinds of fresh and dried fish, and roots. They provided guides and routes to the passes Portola was looking for. They later received disastrous payback for this kindness, to the point that Native Americans were almost wiped out by disease and overwork on mission farms.
But the Spanish still had bullets, and when they could they feasted on bear and geese. They saw tule elk and redwoods, which they wondered at.
Amazingly, everyone made it back to San Diego in the end.
The Spanish assigned Gaspar de Portola to lead a land expedition north from San Diego, and to report back on the economic and proselytizing prospects in California. Earlier reports from voyages back and forth to the Philippines from Mexico had ‘discovered’ Monterey Bay and the land north of San Francisco, but the coastal geography around the Golden Gate had obscured the very existence of the bay with the biggest potential. Portola’s expedition set off in July, expecting that a ship with provisions would meet them in Monterey.
Ensign Miguel Costansó kept a diary of the journey. It recounts the daily topography and distance traveled, the fertility of the land and availability of water. The group tried to travel along the coast, but occasionally they were forced inland. There was tough terrain over mountain ranges and through swampy areas that required using tools to clear paths and bridge marshes and gullies. The Portola Expedition couldn’t recognize Monterey Bay from the vastly exaggerated description they had been given, and pushed on all the way to San Francisco Bay before they turned back. They were starving, and many had been suffering from scurvy to the point of being invalids.
Costansó also recorded each Native American village they encountered. He cited population, diet, whether they were healthy or hungry, and their behavior on meeting the Europeans. Two things stand out: there were lots of native peoples, and they were extremely generous.
The Spanish were short of food from about midway on the northward trip, and half-starved all the way back. They had to rest frequently to let the sick and the starving mules recuperate. They never found the ship that had supposedly been sent to resupply them. Instead, villagers all along the way gave them atole (made of acorns), seeds, various kinds of fresh and dried fish, and roots. They provided guides and routes to the passes Portola was looking for. They later received disastrous payback for this kindness, to the point that Native Americans were almost wiped out by disease and overwork on mission farms.
But the Spanish still had bullets, and when they could they feasted on bear and geese. They saw tule elk and redwoods, which they wondered at.
Amazingly, everyone made it back to San Diego in the end.
February 1, 2017
A decent account of Expeditionary intent into America. My second ever, after Cabeza de Vaca's. Not the best quality of description of the fauna and natives, but still interesting to read about the areas of Southern California, how they came to be named, and a brief idea of what problems and triumphs an Expeditionary group of the times would have faced.
July 27, 2011
Portolá's expedition of the California coast in 1769 from the diary of Miguel Costansó, the engineer on the expedition. One side is in Spanish and the other is in English.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews