Founding of San Jose
- When
- 1776–1777
- Where
- The Californias; Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe; Missions Santa Clara de Asís and San José
- Episodes
- 3
San Jose was founded on November 29, 1777, as the Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe by José Joaquín Moraga under orders from Viceroy Antonio María de Bucareli, becoming California's first civilian settlement and the first city founded in the Californias.
Episodes
- Californias Placed Under the Provincias Internas
In 1776, José de Gálvez incorporated the Californias into the Provincias Internas, an administrative division granting greater autonomy to Spain's borderlands.
- Enslavement of the Tamien People
From 1777 onward, most of the Tamien people were forcibly enslaved at Mission Santa Clara de Asís or Mission San José as baptized Catholic neophytes.
- Founding of the Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe
On November 29, 1777, José Joaquín Moraga founded the Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, the first civilian settlement in California.
Background and detail
Background. In 1776, the Californias were included as part of the Captaincy General of the Provincias Internas, a large administrative division created by José de Gálvez, Spanish Minister of the Indies, to provide greater autonomy for the Spanish Empire's borderlands. This administrative framework formed the context in which the pueblo was subsequently established.
Founding of the Pueblo. San Jose was officially founded on November 29, 1777, as the Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe by José Joaquín Moraga, acting under the orders of Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Viceroy of New Spain. It was California's first civilian settlement and the first city founded in the Californias.
Location and Later Legacy. The pueblo's name, Spanish for 'the Town of Saint Joseph of Guadalupe,' survives in the modern city, whose predecessor was eventually located in the area of what is now the Plaza de César Chávez. The settlement lies in the Santa Clara Valley on the southern shore of San Francisco Bay.
People involved
- José Joaquín Moraga · Founder of the pueblo, acting on viceregal orders
- Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa · Viceroy of New Spain who ordered the founding
- José de Gálvez · Spanish Minister of the Indies who created the Provincias Internas
Sources
- San Jose, California Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.