Celebrating 250 Years: Juan Bautista de Anza Expedition and United States Semiquincentennial
In 1776, many of the newly established California missions were in danger of collapsing due to food shortages and Indigenous resistance to missionization. The man chosen to lead settlers north was Lt. Col. Juan Bautista de Anza.
In 1776, many of the newly established California missions were in danger of collapsing due to food shortages and Indigenous resistance to missionization. Father Junipero Serra — president of all the California missions — argued that the missions required Spanish and Hispanicized settlers from New Spain to support them. The man chosen to lead them north was Lt. Col. Juan Bautista de Anza, who had already established an overland route from New Spain to Alta California in 1774, forging friendly relations with the Quechan (Yuma) people along the way. The De Anza Expedition set out with 240 colonists...