The Establishment of the Department of San Blas and Its Initial Naval Fleet: 1767-1770

Abstract

DURING THE reign of Carlos III, Spain exerted a mighty thrust of energy to conquer and colonize Alta California and other territory on the Pacific Coast.' Animating the zeal for renewed naval exploration were the need for security and for the maintenance of international prestige. Notwithstanding the timeless distractions of Indian rebellions and the problems which beset Jesuit projects for settling Lower California, the fundamental crisis involved the former factor: foreign penetration of the Lake.' '2 This motive originated in the Russian activities along the northwest coasts from 1740 to 1760. In 1763 Spanish officials finally learned the full significance of these movements. The Spanish minister in St. Petersburg informed his superiors that the Russians had organized stock companies for the commercial development of Alaska and that they had continually probed the coasts of North America, moving south toward California.3 Spain's initial preparations for exploring the Pacific Coast were designed to thwart Russia's activities and to assert the earlier claims of Spanish explorers of the 16th and 17th centuries. By 1767 Viceroy Francisco de Croix of Mexico had been informed about Russian movements and, in conjunction with Spain's Secretary of State, the Maraues de Grimaldi, he arranged a definite project for Spanish