Enlisted soldiers carried out the common tasks associated with military life. Today there are a number of places you can visit to experience the military legacy of Alta California. Through the mid-1770s, the total number of soldiers among the three presidios (Santa Barbara would not be founded until 1782) and the missions was not more than 80. The pueblos provided food for the presidios. I wasnt aware of mining at Carmel, but it is worth following up on. I cant find a record or their marriage. Missions were NOT often placed Buildings were contained by walls eighteen feet apart, the roofs of which were high enough to serve as parapets from which men also could fire over the walls. Some people live in luxury apartments that were formerly the U.S. Marine They also acted as police, backing up native officials in punishing crimes or enforcing laws at the missions. For the most part, no Indian people lived at presidios, although sometimes they could be employed as workers. In this way, some soldiers were able to establish an independent life for themselves and their families after they retired. I chair the group and we are based in Old Town San Diego, California State Parks. / That is a great compliment. An excellent resource for understanding the items that made up the daily lives of soldiers and their families in Alta California. For individual correspondence, there are a number of archives, such as the Monterey County Historical Society, History San Jos, as well as county historical societies. Glvez decided the best way to do that was to establish a series of military bases or presidios in far-flung Alta California. Officers were profiteering by selling inferior goods to the soldiers at inflated prices, and morale was shot through with insubordination. Pleasure to see your website on Presidio. I am working on an Imagined Oral History of her. The forts were typically square or rectangular with some walls ten feet high. You can visit the Presidio of San Francisco, which was still a U.S. Army installation until a few years ago, and is now operated by the National Park Service. Thank you, John. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. What was the Difference Between Missions and Presidios? - Missions provided food and water to soldiers and taught religion to soldiers who worked at the presidios. Monterey June 3, 1770. 1 and Presidios 142 About 700 more colonists lived in the Spanish province of Nuevo Santander, which included part of what is today South Texas. The Spanish divided Alta California into four military districts according to the locations of the four presidios. Soldiers would sometimes escort the padres on their travels amongst far-flung native villages or travel with Indians from the mission to recover those who had abandoned the mission. While in Monterey, dont miss the Royal Presidio Chapel, which is the oldest stone building in California. Finally, if you havent been in touch with Los Californianos (www.loscalifornianos.org), I would recommend contacting them as well. js.async = true; The word presidio comes from Latin, the language of the Romans. When Spanish soldiers arrived in Alta California, it wasnt with the aim of discovering gold or toppling great empires, like the conquistadors 250 years earlier. An excellent introduction to presidios and their functions throughout the Spanish borderlands. The presidio site was dedicated by Despite the efforts of Rub and other high officers on the northern frontier, soldiers stationed in the fifteen presidios and capital cities of San Antonio and Santa Fe were never able to conquer the Comanches, Apaches, Navajos, and other nomadic warring tribes for two reasons.