Fages expedition to San Francisco Bay (1772)

In 1772 Pedro Fages, the acting Spanish governor based at Monterey, set out north with Father Juan Crespí on a second overland expedition toward San Francisco Bay. Following his easier 1770 inland route, Fages pushed past his previous stopping point on the bay's eastern shore and saw the bay's entrance, the Golden Gate, for the first time.

Episodes

Background and detail

Background. Pedro Fages, a Spanish soldier and explorer, had been left in charge of the Presidio of Monterey as lieutenant-governor of California Nueva after Portolá's 1770 departure, and with Monterey far from Governor Felipe de Barri he ran Alta California as acting governor. In November 1770 he had already led a land expedition from Monterey to San Francisco Bay, reaching its eastern shore.

Route and Companions. Rather than follow Portolá's difficult coastal trail around Monterey Bay to Santa Cruz, Fages had found an easier route through present-day Salinas and the Santa Clara Valley. Father Juan Crespí, who had accompanied Fages on the 1770 spring expedition from San Diego to Monterey, was again with him on the 1772 journey north.

Outcome. On the 1772 expedition Fages advanced beyond his 1770 stopping point on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay and personally saw the bay's entrance, now known as the Golden Gate. During the party's return, messengers from Monterey met Fages and Crespí to inform them of an emergency.

People involved

Sources

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