The Archaeology of Ethnogenesis: Race and Sexuality in Colonial San Francisco

2. Spanish-Colonial San Francisco

41 SPANISH-COLONIAL SAN FRANCISCO 2 On July 26, 1776, a caravan of 193 men, women, and children arrived at a small plateau at the northern edge of the San Francisco peninsula. Defined on its east and west by two valleys containing spring-fed creeks, the plateau was somewhat sheltered by a bank of hills rising sharply to the south. The site commanded an impressive view of the San Francisco Bay and of the Yelamu Ohlone village of Petlenuc,1 which stood on the bayshore only a few minutes’ walk to the north. The expedition of military settlers had been traveling together for nine months. Some families had been in transit much longer, having first journeyed from their home villages to the expedition’s gathering point at the Presidio of Tubac, in present-day southern Arizona. The most arduous part of the journey was the five-month trek from Tubac to the Presidio of Monterey (map 1). The travelers faced constant pressure to continue moving forward, on horseback and on foot, in order to pass through the Sonoran and Colorado deserts during the cooler winter months. This timing was necessary not only for the safety of the human members of the expedition but also so that their livestock—hundreds of horses and mules and nearly a thousand head of cattle—would have adequate pasturage along the way. Thirst and hunger were not infrequent. Further, the expedition feared being attacked by the native communities whose lands they were traversing. But the military settlers’ encounters with indigenous peoples were peaceful, perhaps because it was clear that the colonists were just passing through. In fact, the travelers rarely stopped to rest, and when they did, it was for only one or two days, primarily when a woman was giving birth. By the time the party reached El Presidio de Monterey on March 10, 1776, it had gained four infant settlers and lost one adult woman in childbirth. Most of the settlers rested in Monterey for three months, to recover from the journey and pasture their livestock. Meanwhile, the expedition’s leader, Juan Bautista de Anza, formed a scouting party composed of his second-in-command, José Joaquín Moraga; Franciscan priest Pedro Font; eleven soldiers; and seven servants. On March 23, 1776, they left Monterey and traveled north to the San 42 Historical and Archaeological Contexts map 1. New Spain, ca. 1776, including the Interior Provinces and the route of the Anza expedition. The lighter shaded area indicates the approximate limit of actual colonial settlement. Adapted from Mason 1998:19. Francisco peninsula. Because their primary goal was to choose sites for the Presidio and mission, they traveled widely throughout the area to identify the locations of Native Californian villages and to find sources of timber, firewood, pasturage, and water. By this point, Native Californians in the San Francisco Bay area were increasingly familiar with the Spanish-colonial soldiers and priests. Between 1769 and 1775, Bay area tribes had encountered four land-based colonial exploration parties: the 1769 Portolá expedition, the 1770 and 1772 Fages parties, and the 1774 Rivera expedition.2 In 1775, the San Carlos had anchored in the bay for forty-four days, while preparing a maritime chart of the region’s waterways. During their stay, the crew of the San Carlos visited several local villages, some of which prepared feasts for the strange newcomers. To reciprocate, the sailors oªered gifts and invited some villagers aboard ship. In addition to these early direct encounters, native peoples living around the San Francisco Bay were undoubtedly aware of the 1770 establishment of the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos in the areas immediately south. Consequently, when Anza’s scouting party entered the region in March 1776, news of its arrival spread quickly. Some local people sought out the colonial explorers, oªering gifts of firewood, food, and water. Others brandished weapons and threatened the colonists but stopped short of directly attacking them. When visiting indigenous communities, the explorers usually distributed gifts of glass beads and cloth and often received gifts of food in return. At times, these early exchanges revealed points of similarity between local villagers and the newcomers. Soldiers described native food in familiar terms—cakes of acorn flour and deer meat resembled tamales, and gruels of ground seeds were similar to the corn-based atole (porridge) that was a staple of the colonial diet. Yet at...