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The Basque Governors of California by Jon Bilbao The role of the Basques in the history of California has never been studied, in spite of the many Basque names that appear in California records of business, maritime and ranching activities. The records also show that many Basques held high positions in the government and the missions. A good example of the importance of the Basque role in California is provided by the number of native Basques who ruled California in the name of the Kings of Spain. During the last 30 years of Spanish rule in California, from 1792 to 1822, all the governors were native Basques. The first Basque Governor was Jose Joaquin Arrillaga, born in Aya (Guipuzcoa) in 1750. He was a professional soldier (as was actually the case with high authorities in the Spanish Administration), with the rank of Second Lieutenant in 1778, Captain in 1783 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1792, when he was named acting Governor of California. He was a very popular fellow and a good friend of the Franciscan fathers, especially Father Francisco Xavier Lasuen (a Basque from Vitoria, Alava) who was president of the missions. The soldiers called him “Papa Arrillaga,” because he was present at every baptism or wedding of upper class California society. When the King of Spain named Diego Borica Retegui Governor of California in 1794, Arrillaga’s rule ended. Borica, also a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Spanish Army, was from Vitoria (Alava). He was in charge of the Presidios of Chihuahua before becoming Governor of California. Borica was older than Arrillaga. He had a long and distinguished military career in Mexico. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in Nueva Vizcaya under General Jacobo Ugarte Loyola, a well known Basque general who fought in 1787 against the Apache tribes that were endangering the northern Apache tribes that were endangering the northern Mexican frontier. Borica was a rich man who was married to a Basque lady, Maria Magdalena Urquidi. He appears in the historical literature of California as “a jovial bon vivant.” Governor Borica, like Arrillaga, was a good friend of Father Lasuen. In Vitoria both families knew each other, for Borica’s sister, Bernarda, used to send news of the Lasuen family to her brother. This is how Lasuen discovered that his family in Vitoria was in financial trouble. Borica used to end his letter to Lasuen with the Basque words, “Agur, agur” (goodbye, goodbye). Borica’s poor health forced him to resign his position as Governor to seek medical treatment in Mexico City. He left California at the end of 1799 and went to his haciendas in Durango (Nueva Vizcaya). He never arrived in Mexico City; in July 1800 he died at Durango. With Borica’s departure Arrillaga was named again acting Governor of California, and eventually the King of Spain made him permanent Governor. He died at the mission of Soledad in 1814, still a bachelor. When Arrillaga died, the Commander of Santa Barbara, Captain Jose Arguello, was named acting Governor. He governed until Lieutenant-Colonel Pablo Vicente Sola was named Governor in December of the same year. Governor Sola was from Mondragon (Guipuzcoa), where his family (on his mother’s side) had an estate called the “Mayorazgo de Zaraa,” as well as a palace right in the center of the town (N°56 Calle del Medio). The first Sola, probably the Governor’s father, a military officer who married Teresa Salinas of Mondragon, was from Obanos (Navarra). Governor Sola also had a brother, a Franciscan, Father Faustino Sola, who had been in California years before (1786-1790). Father Sola died in Mexico in 1820 at the College of San Fernando. Sola was California’s last Spanish Governor. In 1822, a Mexican Basque, Agustin Iturbide, who was president of the Board of Regency (Junta de Regencia) in Mexico, declared Mexico’s independence from Spain. But Iturbide, not satisfied with independence alone, formed the Mexican Empire, and made himself Emperor Agustin the First. Governor Sola, for whatever reasons (perhaps just because Agustin the First was a fellow Basque), supported the Empire and was made diputado (representative) from California to Mexico. His position did not last long. Iturbide lost his imperial crown in March 1823, and with Iturbide’s defeat, Sola was banished. During the Mexican period of California history, from 1822 to 1848 (when it was incorporated into the United States), only Mexican-born officials were allowed to have positions in the Government. Thus, we do not find native Basques as governors of California, but we do find Mexican Basques: Jose Maria Echeandia, born in Yucatan, was Governor from 1825 to 1831, and Manuel Micheltorena served as Governor from 1842 to 1845. We could say, then, that the present Governor of Nevada, Paul Laxalt, is the sixth Basque Governor in the American West. |
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