A Study of the Portola Expedition - 1769

Submitted by: Katy Roush
Endorsed by: Carolyn Haynes
Miami University

Date: April 10, 1998

Subject: History

Targeted Age Group: middle school to junior high (6th through 9th grades)

Time Needed: Two Weeks

Purpose:

"We set out from this port of San Diego on this day of the seraphic doctor, San Buenaventura, about four in the afternoon."  So began the diary of Father Juan Crespi upon leaving San Diego on the 14th of July, 1769, in search of Monterey.  I came upon his diary in looking for information on the Spanish Colonial period in California.  I had gone to elementary school in California and I never really learned about this period in its history.  It was certainly a very important period, simply because it was the period which got the ball rolling in California. Everything that has happened since then has been affected by the Spanish occupation and exploration of the west coast.

The purpose of this instruction module is to familiarize students with the period of history of California during the pioneering Spanish expedition led by Portola, and, more specifically, about the opinions and the reactions of both the Spanish and the Native people to one another.  The students will learn what life might have been like for a variety of different people during this time by stepping into their shoes for a couple of weeks.

Summary:

During the first week, students will take on the identity of a person on the Portola expedition.  Each day the students will be required to keep a  journal for their character.  For the second week, the students will, as a class, devise a list of questions for each character (the teacher may help in this to get things going).  Then the students who had the same character will form a group and answer the questions for that character. At the end of the week, the students will present their answers in a performative fashion.  During these two weeks, other smaller activities will provide the students with a greater understanding of the people involved and their situations.

The Simulation:

Groups of at least four students should be randomly chosen/assigned.  Within the groups there should be one Portola, one Father Juan Crespi, a Spanish soldier, and a Christian native.  Groups should consist of no less than four members, but more than four can be accommodated  by adding Soldiers and Natives.  I suggest that you do the character assignments at random as well, that way  the students all have an equal chance at getting a desirable, or less than desirable, role.  Each day a description of a situation along the journey will be read.  Each student will be required to keep a journal for their character, responding to that day's event.  Be sure that the students understand that this is the response of their character, and not necessarily their own.  They will receive some information on their character at the beginning of the exercise, but any further research should be encouraged.

The Expedition:

Portola and his group left the port of San Diego on the 14th of July, 1769.  They were traveling north in order to secure their territories in Alta California before the Russians did.  Their original  intent was to go as far as Monterey Bay and meet a supply ship there.  Unfortunately, the ship was lost at sea and never found.  The expedition completely missed Monterey Bay and ended up at San Francisco Bay, which they had not yet explored.

 Portola:  He was the leader of the expedition into Alta California (upper California).  He was made Governor of the Californias in 1767 when Don Carlos III of Spain issued the decree which expelled the Jesuits from the  missions and replaced them with the Franciscans.  The March of Portola was ordered because the King had heard that the Russians were advancing towards the northern coasts of California and he wanted to claim his territory before the Russians did.  Before becoming the Governor, Portola had been a dragoon captain for the Regiment of Spain.

Father Juan Crespi:  He was a Franciscan and a student of Father Junipero Serra, who selected him to be among the few Fathers who accompanied Portola on his expedition to Alta California.  He was the main diarist of the journey and kept excellent records.  He was the only Friar who traveled the entire journey, fifteen hundred miles, from Vellicata to the San Francisco Bay and back.

Spanish Soldier:  One group of soldiers in the expedition were the Catalonian Volunteers.  They were shipped over from Spain in order to help with the establishment of California.  Six accompanied Portola on his march from San Diego to Monterey.

Christian Native:   Fifteen Christian Natives marched in this expedition. They had come as laborers mainly from the missions of Lower California.

Outline of Simulation Experience

First day:

You are leaving San Diego on a march to Monterey.  It is July 14th, 1769.  In your group are Sergeant Ortega, twenty-seven soldados de cuera (leather jacket soldiers), Lieutenant Pedro Fages, six Catalan volunteers, Ensign Costanso, Fathers Crespi and Gomez, seven muleteers, fifteen Christian Natives, and two servants.

Journal entry:  Write about your character's fears and hopes for this expedition.

Second day:

August 4th, 1769.  It is the afternoon and you have reached a small valley.  After about 2 hours of marching you find a watering place consisting of two little springs that lie at the foot of a mesa.  You make camp near the springs where you have found a village of friendly Indians. They bring you presents of of baskets of sage and other seeds, small nuts, and acorns.  In return, you give them some glass beads.

Journal entry:  Write about your character's interaction with the friendly natives and your character's reaction to how they treated you and how you treated them.

Third day:

September 13th, 1769.  You have traveled down the beach for quite some time now.  You can see the range of mountains that you have been avoiding in front of you.  It looks as though they are blocking your passage and a way through them will have to be found.  You make camp here and send out some soldier-explorers to find a passage through.

Journal entry:  Write about your feelings about the trip at this point.  Do things look promising?  Do you think you might have to turn around and go back to San Diego without finding the bay of Monterey?

Fourth day:

October 11th, 1769.  The commander has ordered a halt.  Thefood supplies are beginning to run low and the party is suffering from an outbreak of scurvy.  The sick have all become worse overnight and more havebecome sick.  At this point, a lot of the people on the trip are ill.  The holy oils have been administered to three men are very seriously ill.

Journal entry:  What do you think should happen at this point? Should you stop until the sick are completely well?  Should someone be left behind to take care of them so that the expedition can continue?  Should you simply wait until they are well enough to continue?  Are you worried about becoming ill?

Fifth day:

November 11th, 1769.  Some explorers were sent out and have returned with the news that the territory they examined to the north and to the east is impossible to travel.  You are quickly running out of food. Portola calls a council of officers, which decides to turn back, feeling that, since the San Francisco bay was passed on November 4th, you all had passed Monterey and hope now that it will be discovered on the way back.

Journal entry:  Was this expedition a failure?  (note:  they did discover Monterey on the way back)  Why or why not?  What are your character's feelings on the decision of the council?

The Performance:

The initial part of this segment should probably be set up like an interview.  Have the students think of interview questions that they, students in modern day classrooms, would like to ask the characters from the past.  The questions should not be too general, but not so specific as to limit the responses to one sentence answers (in other words, these should not be "yes" or "no" questions).

Remind the students that these are questions that they will be answering and so they should ask
questions that can be answered.  Some examples of questions might be "why did the Catalonians volunteer for service in the Spanish troops?" and "who was Portola before he received his position as Governor of the Californias and how did he get there?"  Also, there should be about an equal number of questions for each character.  The students then should form groups according to the character they played during the simulation.  They should be given time during the week to research their questions and form their answers (some out of class work should be expected as well, but not too much).

Places to find information would be the internet, the school library and the public library.  At the end of the week, the students will be required to "perform" their answers.  This performance can take just about any form they are comfortable with, but it should not be reading answers off of a piece of paper.  Some students might choose to do a skit pertaining to their character, some might make up a song, some might still be more comfortable with the traditional report fashion, but, as a general
criteria, the more creative, the better.

**NOTE:  This activity could be used as an introduction to the use of a bibliography.  If you think it would be appropriate for your students, you could have them cite their sources on this part of the activity.

Other Activities:

*   If possible, a field trip could be arranged.  If your school is located near a mission or presidio site, this could be a great opportunity for the students to learn about the setup of a mission or presidio.  In San Diego a field trip to Old Town might be a good idea.  I know they have a Spanish-Colonial style house there and you might be able to arrange a trip to the site of the Silvas' house and/or the Presidio site.

 *  If the field trip is impossible, or for a terrific way to enhance the students' understanding of what life was like in a mission, I would suggest visiting the California Missions website at http://tqd.advanced.org/3615/

It has a virtual tour of a typical mission and a wealth of information about missions and the people that lived in them.

*   If you speak a language other than English, it doesn't matter what, you might come in one day, and without a warning, start speaking to the students in that language.  (If you do not speak another language, try to find someone, maybe a fellow teacher, who does and who would be willing to come in and work with your class).  In this activity, the teacher (you) would represent the Spanish and the students would represent the Natives.

When the Spanish arrived and took over the land, the Natives probably weren't quite sure what to do.  The object is to create a situation in which a person, who is obviously in charge, is trying to control a group of people when neither of them clearly understand the other.  Try to get them to do different things, like move around the room, using only the foreign language and gestures.  Once the activity is over, and it should last as long as you deem necessary, have the students get into groups and discuss their experience.  You could even have them write a small journal entry on it.

*   The Catalonian volunteers, when they first volunteered, had been told that they would be sent for guard duty in Havana, in what is now Cuba. They marched to Sevilla, in Spain, to be reviewed and receive their orders.
They were very surprised to find out that instead of being sent to Havana, they were to be sent to New Spain (California) as combat troops.  Some of the men did not like the idea of being sent to California instead of Havana and there was a bit of discussion as to whether or not they would accept their orders.  All but two were eventually persuaded to go.  An activity might be to spark a discussion in class about this decision, either as a class or in small groups.  Ask the students to examine the advantages and disadvantages of going or not going.  In the end, ask the students to decide whether they would accept the orders or not.

 *  In an essay by Odie B. Faulk, entitled "The Presidio:  Fortress or Farce," the typical design of a presidio is outlined.  Give the students the description given below, or a variation thereof, and have them design and draw their own presidio.
 "Located most often near good farming land and built on high ground, they were constructed on a pattern learned from the Moors.  Using local materials (principally adobe bricks), the presidios were built in a square or rectangular shape with walls at least ten feet high; the length of the sides ranged from two to eight hundred feet each.  On two diagonal corners,
round bastions (torreones) were constructed, rising above the wall and pierced with firing ports.  This arrangement allowed the soldiers to fire down the length of all four walls at attackers.  On the inside of the walls, buildings were constructed, the roofs of which were high enough to serve as parapets from which men could fire over the walls.  Included inside the presidio were storage facilities, a chapel, and rooms for the officers and men.  The only outside opening was the main gate."

 *  If you think it would be appropriate for your students (it may not be for all), you could have them read the book Zia by Scott O'Dell.  It gives a pretty good picture of what mission life might have been like for the natives living there.  It does take place after the Spanish colonial period in California, but I still recommend it for those teachers who would like to give the students a greater understanding of the situation of the natives in the missions.  This reading could also be used as a bridge to connect this section to another more modern section, such as discussions of the consequences of mission life and Spanish colonialization for the Natives.

Assessment:

The more the student steps into the shoes of their character, the more they will get out of this lesson plan and the better they should be graded.  The performances should be graded on creativity and the clarity of their responses to the questions that were asked of their characters.The journals should be graded on how well the student uses her or his character's viewpoint and how far they develop that character.  The students should be encouraged to develop a personality for their character.

Resources:

Here is a list of books that were used in the research for this curriculum.

Bolton, Herbert Eugene.  Fray Juan Crespi:  Missionary Explorer on the Pacific
 Coast 1769-1774.  AMS Press:  New York, 1971.

Eldredge, Zoeth S.  The March of Portola and the Discovery of the Bay of San
 Francisco.  The California Promotion Committee:  San Francisco, 1909.

Sanchez, Joseph P.  Spanish Bluecoats:  The Catalonian Volunteers in
 Northwestern New Spain 1767-1810.  University of New Mexico Press:
 Albequerque, 1990.

Weber, David J. (editor)  New Spain's Far Northern Frontier:  Essays on Spain
 in the American West, 1540-1821.  University of New Mexico Press:
 Albequerque, 1979.

I would recommend any of these books for further research or to gain a
better understanding of the expedition.

"I want to do something splendid before I go into my castle - something
heroic or wonderful that won't be forgotten after I'm dead."  - Jo, 'Little
Women'
 
 
 
 

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