Right - Viceroy Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo - Public Domain; Left - Sebastian Vizcaino Engraving - Public DomainThe Viceroy of New Spain, Don Gaspar de Zúñigay Acevedo, Count of Monterrey, commissioned Sebastián Vizcaíno to locate safe harbors in Alta California.
December 1602
VIZCAÍNO NAMES MONTEREY
Statue of Father Antonio de la Ascencion. Museum of Man, Balboa Park, San Diego by Stephen Bay - Licence aquired through Alamy Stock PhototsSebastián Vizcaíno entered a bay he named “Monterey” in honor of the Viceroy. His men built a shelter under a “great oak near the shore,” where Carmelite Priest Father Antonio de Ascención celebrated Mass.
Motin de Esquilache attributed to Francisco Goya, Public DomainAfter King Carlos III expelled the Jesuits from New Spain, Father Serra became the “Father Presidente” of the Baja California missions.
Don Fernando Rivera violates Church asylum at Mission San Diego de Alcalá on March 26, 1776 (cropped); Taken from p. 75 of San Diego Mission by Engelhardt, Zephyrin (1920). Public DomainCaptain Fernando Rivera y Moncada departed with the overland advance party.
April 1769
ARRIVAL IN SAN DIEGO
By RightCowLeftCoast - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64336323The ships arrived in San Diego; many sailors died of scurvy while waiting for Rivera’s party, which arrived on May 14.
May 1769
MAIN BODY DEPARTS FOR ALTA CALIFORNIA
Ohlone and expedition members viewing San Francisco Bay from Sweeney Ridge on November 4, 1769. Dennis Ziemienski, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/articles/portolaexpedition.htmPortolá and Father Serra followed with the main body, including livestock and pack mules.
July 1769
PORTOLÁ HEADS TO MONTEREY
JUNÍPERO SERRA (1713-1784). Originally, Miguel José Serra. Spanish missionary in America. Father Serra with Gaspar de Portola's expedition at San Diego, California in 1769. Courtesy of GRANGER / GRANGER — All rights reserved.Portolá left for Monterey with 63 men, including Father Juan Crespi, following the coast before turning inland at Ragged Point.
https://www.irvinestandard.com/2019/history-in-our-midst/ (the usage of this image on this website is soley for educational purposes)The party camped at El Estero near Monterey
December 1769
ABANDONING THE SEARCH
Portola Crespi Cross Marker, Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2013, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=68862 (the usage of this image on this website is soley for educational purposes)Unable to find the port, they left two crosses on the beach and returned to San Diego.
1770
SPANISH SETTLEMENTS ESTABLISHED
Estracto de noticias del puerto de Monterey, de la missión, y presidio, https://kids.kiddle.co/Image:Estracto_de_noticias_del_puerto_de_Monterrey.jpg Public Domain“Estracto De Noticias,” a five-page report by Don Gaspar de Portolá and Miguel Costansó confirming that a Spanish settlement had been established at Monterey, California. The first page is mentioned in the essay.
March 19, 1770
RENEWED HOPE FOR THE PORTOLÁ EXPEDITION
Original Artwork: Father-Presidente Serra gives thanks for the arrival of the supply ship ''San Antonio'' in San Diego Harbor on March 19, 1770. From ''Mission San Diego'' (1920) by Zephyrin Engelhardt, p. 35. Public Domain; Enhanced image by Symposium Creative Agency LLCOn the feast of St. Joseph, the supply ship San Antonio arrived off the coast of San Diego, bringing much-needed help to the struggling Portolá expedition. The ship’s arrival renewed the spirits of the expedition members, ensuring the continuation of their efforts to establish Spanish settlements in Alta California.
April 16, 1770
VOYAGE TO MONTEREY
COSTANSÓ, MIGUEL DE. 1741-1814. Original Manuscript Map of Coastal California Signed ("Miguel de Costansó"), Carta Reducida del Occeano Asiatico ó Mar del Sur... https://www.bonhams.com/ (the usage of this image on this website is soley for educational purposes)Under the leadership of Father Junípero Serra and engineer Miguel Costansó, the ship San Antonio set sail from San Diego, heading for Monterey. This voyage marked a crucial phase in Spain’s colonization of Alta California, as the expedition aimed to establish a permanent mission and presidio at Monterey Bay.
May 24, 1770
ARRIVAL AT MONTEREY BAY
Original Artwork: Léon Trousset, “Léon Trousset, Father Serra Celebrates Mass at Monterey, 1877,” Santa Clara University Digital Exhibits, accessed March 7, 2025, https://dh.scu.edu/exhibits/items/show/2259. Public Domain. Enhanced image by Symposium Creative Agency LLCGaspar de Portolá's overland expedition successfully reached Monterey Bay, confirming that the area was suitable for settlement. A few days later, the San Antonio arrived by sea, marking the long-awaited convergence of land and naval forces. Their arrival established the foundation for Spanish control over the region.
June 3, 1770
THE FOUNDING OF MONTEREY
Original Artwork: Father Serra Celebrates Mass at Monterey (oil on canvas). A depiction of Junípero Serra celebrating Mass in Monterey, California on 3 June 1770. The painting depicts Father Serra at the altar surrounded by the members of the Gaspar de Portolà expedition. The altar is placed beneath the Vizcaíno-Serra Oak. The original painting is held in the Carmel Mission museum. Public Domain; Enhanced image by Symposium Creative Agency LLCOn Pentecost Sunday, Father Junípero Serra celebrated a solemn High Mass beneath a large oak tree near the bay. This was the same location where Sebastián Vizcaíno's expedition celebrated Mass 168 years earlier. During the event, Captain Portolá formally claimed Alta California for Spain by raising the Spanish flag, accompanied by the sounds of cannon fire, ringing bells, and the cheers of the assembled expedition members.
July 9, 1770
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY
Ferdinand Magellan's fleet; Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan's fleet of five ships after their departure from Spain on September 20, 1519; wood engraving, 19th century. Public Domain; Enhanced image by Symposium Creative Agency LLCWith Monterey secured as a Spanish outpost, Portolá and Costansó departed for Baja California, entrusting Lieutenant Pedro Fages with command of the newly founded Presidio of Monterey. This event marked the beginning of Monterey’s role as the capital of Spanish and later Mexican California.
May 1771
APPROVAL TO RELOCATE MISSION SAN CARLOS BORROMEO
Image: “16 21 0440 Carmel Mission (cropped) (cropped)” used under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. No rights reserved. Source courtesy of the public domain.Father Junípero Serra received official approval to relocate Mission San Carlos Borromeo from the Presidio of Monterey to a more suitable site near the Carmel River. The new location, chosen for its fertile land and distance from the military garrison, allowed Serra to better carry out his missionary work among the local Esselen and Rumsen Ohlone people. This move marked a significant step in the establishment of permanent religious and cultural presence in Alta California.
Illustration of the Presidio of Monterey, 1773, as described by Lieutenant Pedro Fages. Originally published in “A Description of California’s Principal Presidio, Monterey, in 1773” (translated and edited by Reverend Maynard Geiger, O.F.M.), The Historical Society of Southern California, Vol. XXIV, No. 4, 1942, pp. 327–336. Drawing prepared by Mr. Alan Brown, University of Arizona, Tucson. Image appears on page 329. Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes under the Fair Use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107).In 1773, Lieutenant Pedro Fages documented the layout of the Royal Presidio of Monterey, describing it as a fortified square measuring roughly 50 varas per side (about 140 feet). Within its perimeter stood essential military barracks, storehouses, and dwellings for both soldiers and settlers—forming the early foundation of Spanish colonial presence in Alta California.
Felipe de Neve. Date unknown. Public domain. Source: Bailén Diario.Under the administration of Governor Felipe de Neve, Monterey was officially designated the capital of both Alta and Baja California. This marked a pivotal moment in the region’s colonial development, elevating the Royal Presidio’s strategic importance as the administrative, military, and political center of Spanish authority in the Californias.
1778
SOLDADO DE MONTEREY AND MUJER DE UN SOLDADO BY JOSE CARDERO
Soldado de Monterey and Mujer de un Soldado. Reproduction of drawings, originals by José Cardero during the Malaspina expedition to Monterey. Courtesy of the Royal Presidio Chapel Heritage Center, Monterey, California. Photo by Jennifer Ann Lucido, 2012. Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes under the Fair Use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107).Spanish artist José Cardero, who later joined the Malaspina Expedition, a scientific exploration of the Pacific led by Alessandro Malaspina, created a visual record of colonial California by illustrating the daily life and attire of its inhabitants. His drawing of a soldado de cuera (leather-jacket soldier) stationed at the Monterey Presidio, along with his wife, provides valuable ethnographic insight into Spanish military dress and domestic life in Alta California. These depictions are among the earliest visual representations of colonial society in the region, helping to contextualize the blending of military, civilian, and indigenous elements in frontier life.
August 28, 1784
DEATH AND BURIAL OF FATHER JUNÍPERO SERRA
Cenotaph of Father Junípero Serra at Carmel Mission. Digital image by Leon Worden. Source: SCVHistory.com. Used under Fair Use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107) for educational and non-commercial purposes. The original image may be subject to rights held by the photographer or source.August 28, 1784, marked a significant event in the history of California-the death and burial of Father Junípero Serra. The Franciscan missionary, who founded nine of the twenty-one California missions, breathed his last at Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel. His burial beneath the sanctuary of the mission's stone church, alongside Fathers Juan Crespí and Fermin Lasuén, was a solemn moment that marked the end of a pivotal era in the Spanish evangelization of Alta California. Yet, it was not the end of his legacy, as the mission system continued to expand under his successors, carrying forward the weight of his influence.
1785
“SERRA'S VIATICUM” BY MARIANO GUERRERO
Serra’s Viaticum (1785) by Mariano Guerrero. Source: news.okstate.edu. Photographic reproduction of the painting. No copyright or authorship information for the digital image was provided by the source. Image used under Fair Use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107) for educational, non-commercial purposes. No copyright claimed.Painted just a year after Father Serra's passing, Mariano Guerrero's 'Serra's Viaticum' is a testament to the reverence and piety that surrounded the missionary. The painting captures the solemn moment when Father Serra received the Last Rites from his close friend and fellow missionary, Father Francisco Palóu. The work, composed in the European devotional style of the period, portrays Serra in humble repose, emphasizing his piety and missionary sacrifice. It stands as one of the earliest known artistic commemorations of Serra's life and sanctity, a testament to the enduring influence of his legacy.
