Читать книгу Uncertain Destiny - Randy Krinsky - Страница 6

The Journey Begins

The journey of Salvador Rodriguez and his family, my family, to Texas began years earlier in 1689 when a Spanish expedition located the destroyed French colony of Fort Saint Louis near what is today Inez, Texas. Spain had long claimed ownership of that territory as part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. However, the Spanish government had not tried in earnest to settle the area. That all changed after the discovery of Fort Saint Louis. Fearing encroachment by the French presence in neighboring Louisiana, Spain decided to colonize Texas and set up missions.

Due to resistance by the native tribes, Spain abandoned colonizing efforts for the better part of two decades, until 1716.1 Understanding that the French still posed a threat to Spanish land claims, Spanish authorities intended to strengthen their claim to Texas by stepping up settlement efforts and establishing several more missions and a presidio. The Spanish viceroy, Don Fernando de Alencastre, first duke of Linares, directed Martín de Alarcón, then governor of Coahuila y Tejas, to ultimately establish a mission in what is today San Antonio.2

Alarcón set out on an expedition and ended up near the banks of the San Antonio River. He met with a Franciscan priest, Fray Antonio de Olivares, and with the help of local Payaya Indians, construction began on the Misión de San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo), so named after Saint Anthony of Padua and the new viceroy of New Spain, Don Baltasar de Zúñiga y Guzmán, marquess of Valero.3,4 On May 1, 1718, Alarcón ceded ownership of the completed mission to Fray Antonio de Olivares. Four days later, Alarcón commissioned the building of the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar roughly three-quarters of a mile away on the west side of the San Antonio River. Work also began on the Acequia Madre de Valero, the irrigation canal that would divert and control the flow from the San Antonio River, vital for crops and as a water supply to the area.5,6

The new settlement soon became a target for raids by the Lipan Apache Indians. The missionaries attempted to convert the East Texas Native Hasinai tribe but failed; however, this did lead to friendly relations between the tribe and the Spanish. The Hasinai, or the Tejas, from the Caddo word for friends, as the settlers called them, were the enemy of the Lipan Apache, who now shifted their hostilities toward the Spanish.7 Repeated raids by the Apache took its toll on the livestock, with approximately one hundred animals taken annually.8 Spain reasoned that an increased settler population willing to defend their property would deter Apache raids and reduce the costs of sending additional soldiers to the presidio.9

On February 14, 1719, José de Azlor y Virto de Vera, the marquess of San Miguel de Aguayo, proposed a plan to Spain’s King Felipe V. Four hundred families should be resettled in the New Spain province of Texas. The families should come from colonies such as the Canary Islands, Galicia, or Havana. The king agreed, and his plan was approved. A notice was sent asking for two hundred families to volunteer from the Canary Islands.10

Most of those that volunteered, forty-four to be exact, were from the island of Lanzarote. This was chiefly because Juan Leal Goráz was head of the cabildo11 of Teguise, which was on Lanzarote. Goráz had been charged by the captain general of the Canary Islands with the daunting task of gathering potential emigrants to satisfy the king’s plan. The remaining volunteers were assembled from the other islands of La Palma, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and Fuerteventura.

Lanzarote, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, sits in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 78 miles (125 kilometers) off the coast of the African coast. Mother Nature was harsh toward Lanzarote. The island was birthed from volcanic upheavals, and the landscape was left rocky and rugged. Only the sturdiest of inhabitants could call it home. As nature would have it, the first islanders became known for being just as robust as their home. The first Spanish to visit the island referred to the islanders as Guanches. The Guanches were a light-skinned, light-haired people. The inhabitants of the other islands, some referred to as Majoreros, were dark-skinned with dark hair. The Spaniards conquered the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century, leading to an intermixing of Spanish and native islanders. Roman Catholicism spread over the islands, replacing the indigenous superstitious rites and beliefs of the Majoreros and Guanches.12

One of the Catholic elders, Father Diego, spoke to a group of islanders and expressed his hope that many would volunteer. Though the final destination of the first emigrants to New Spain was unknown, it was his desire that they would settle near one of the newly completed missions near the San Antonio River. He believed the location would be idyllic, and the land was reported to be rich and fertile. The water from the river was clean, and a nearby stream could also be used for irrigation. This water supply could furnish the missions and the settlers with all they would need for successful farming and the raising of livestock. If Father Diego’s grand vision for the new settlement wasn’t enough to convince the islanders, he would also attempt to appeal to their sense of pride:

You ought to enlist as volunteer settlers in Texas if for no other reason than to uphold the tradition of these ancient islands, which have been the starting point of every important voyage of discovery or development in the western world up to this moment.13

He would go on to recount how Christopher Columbus had stopped at Grand Canary Island in 1492 on his way westward into the unknown. Hernán Cortés also made port in the Canaries in 1504 on his way to Hispaniola. Even the English continued to the west using the Canaries as a launching point, with Captain Christopher Newport carrying the settlers from the Virginia Company on their way to establish the settlement of Jamestown in 1607. He would continue that the journeys of Columbus and Cortes brought glory to the Spanish kingdom but that the English were there only to strip the lands of their riches and dishearten the unfortunate Indians.

The Lord be praised that the country open to you in the province of Texas is far removed from that occupied by the English. The French country, however, borders New Spain on the east, and our great sovereign’s main purpose in colonizing the new province of Texas is to check invasions of Frenchmen upon Spanish territory. The forces of the French in Louisiana are small, and you need have no fear that the Spaniards will again allow them to enter New Spain. I urge you to accept our great King’s offer to colonize in Texas.14

The chosen destination for the intrepid new settlers would be a small villa on the banks of the San Antonio River. Approximately thirty-eight soldiers and their families called the villa home, along with a few hundred natives, mostly from the Coahuiltecan tribe who lived at the Mission San Antonio de Valero. The Franciscan monks at the mission, along with two other missions in the area, tended to the religious conversion of the natives. The area missions were also responsible for overseeing the tending of the cattle, a forerunner of the ranching industry that would boom in the area in the years to come. These new settlers from the Canary Islands would be undertaking a whole new way of life.

By late January 1730, twenty-five families, most of which were from the island of Lanzarote, had volunteered. They would set sail from Santa Cruz, on the island of Tenerife, on March 27. Don Bartolome attended a special mass and appealed to the volunteers to be bold and loyal in hopes of finding peace and prosperity in their new homes. After calling out the last names of each of the volunteers, Don Bartolome went ashore and watched as the ship, the España, moved from the port. Don Bartolome bowed his head and kneeled. He crossed himself as the ship drew into the distance.15

The journey was long and arduous, and by June 1730, the twenty-five families from the Canary Islands had reached Havana, Cuba. Ten families chose to remain in Havana, while the rest continued their journey. After a year over sea and land, the weary travelers finally landed in Veracruz on July 19, 1730.16 They traveled to Mexico City and then northward to Cuautitlán, an ancient Aztec village. It was there that Don Francisco Domingo de Lana, chief alcalde, or mayor, welcomed the islanders and allowed for them to rest and resupply. Under authorization from Don Juan de Acuña, the marquess de Casa Fuerte, Viceroy of New Spain, himself under orders from the king of Spain, made ready provisions for the new settlers to aid them in completing their journey. An official letter, dated November 9, 1730, signed by Don Francisco and attested to by royal official Don Manuel Angel de Villegas Puente, indicated that on November 6, he oversaw the distribution of clothing, arms, and other supplies. As it pertains to the Rodriguez family, he lists the dispersal as the following:

Salvador Rodriguez received two shirts, two white trousers, two jackets, two cravats, a cape, a riding coat, two pairs of woolen socks, two pairs of shoes, and a hat. He was given two horses, a saddle with stirrups and saddlebags, a bridle with headstall and reins, a jáquima17 with its halter, two sheepskins, and a pair of spurs with their straps. He was issued a pair of boots, a broad cavalry sword, a belt, a knife, a gun with its holster, a girdle with its powder flask and corresponding gunpowder, balls and flints, a mattress, two sheets, a pillow with pillowcase and covering, a quilt, a packsaddle, and a copper pot with a lid (which also served as a frying pan).

María Perez Cabrera received two shirts, two white petticoats, two jackets, two handkerchiefs, two pairs of silk stockings, two pairs of understockings, two pairs of shoes, a petticoat made of serge (durable twilled wool), a white cloak, a shawl, and an upper petticoat. Like Salvador, she also received two horses, a saddle with saddlebags, a bridle with reins and headstall, a jáquima with its halter, and two sheepskins.

Patricio Rodriguez received two shirts, two pairs of white trousers, two jackets, two cravats, a cape, a riding coat, two pairs of woolen socks, two pairs of shoes, a hat, and a blanket. He also was issued two horses, a saddle with stirrups and saddlebags, a bridle with reins and headstall, a jáquima with its halter, two sheepskins, a pair of spurs with their straps, a pair of boots, a broad cavalry sword, a belt, a knife, a gun with holster, a girdle with its powder flask, and corresponding gunpowder, balls, and flints.18

As a group, the islanders were issued, for use as seen fit by Juan Leal Goraz, two axes, two hoes, two machetes, two small crowbars, ten saws, ten adzes,19 ten chisels, twenty plowshares, ten comales,20 and ten field tents.21

On November 8, 1730, under the authority of the viceroy, Don Juan, marquess of Casa Fuerte, a representative undertook an official accounting of the islander families. At that time, they consisted of fifteen families and four single men who were grouped together officially as the sixteenth “family.” The total persons listed numbered fifty-six.

The Rodriguez family was officially listed as the eighth family and consisted of Salvador and Maria Rodriguez, both aged forty-two, and their son, Patricio, aged fifteen. The others listed were the families of, in order, Juan Leal Goraz, Juan Curbelo, Juan Leal, el Mozo Antonio Santos, Joseph Padron, Manuel de Niz, Vicente Álvarez Travieso, Francisco de Arocha, Antonio Rodriguez, Joseph Leal, Juan Delgado, Joseph Cabrera, Maria Rodriguez-Provayna, and Mariana Meleano. The sixteenth family was made up of the four adult, unmarried men: Phelipe Perez, Joseph Antonio Perez, Martin Lorenzo de Armas, and Ignacio Lorenzo de Armas. Each of the fifty-six persons making up the sixteen families was paid eighteen pesos, equivalent to two months of advanced wages.22

The islanders remained in Quantitlan until November 15, when they continued on their challenging journey towards their new home on the San Antonio River. The Spanish government had mapped out their traveling route, leading them through San Luis Potosi to the villa of Santiago del Saltillo de la Nueva Vizcaya, where they arrived on January 28, 1731. Captain Don Mathias de Aguirre greeted them. Having found the group of weary settlers to be short of provisions, losing their horses to exhaustion, and loaned mules returned to their owners, he notified the group that he had been authorized by the viceroy to restock their supplies adequately. In total, eighty-six horses were given to the group, alongside seventy-seven mules, loaded with provisions to sustain them for the rest of their journey. Of those mules, twenty-seven were loaded down with meat, biscuits, and other foodstuffs; also, four mules were used to carry four cargas de arganas, or panniers.23 Additionally, sixteen yokes of oxen were given, one for each family and one for the group of single men collectively referred to as the sixteenth family.24

They continued on their journey traveling north ever closer to their new home, stopping at the Presidio of San Juan Bautista on the Rio Grande where their exhausted horses were left behind. As they grew nearer their destination, the sound of bands of Indians could be heard yelling in the distance. One particular night, near the end of their journey, the islanders were awoken by the sound of frightened horses and restless oxen. Indians had entered the camp of the sleeping travelers and were making away with horses. This raid, believed to be perpetrated by Karankawa tribesmen, took its toll on the frightened islanders. The women and children were frantic, and the men alarmed. That same night, a request was made by messenger to Captain Juan Antonio Pérez de Almazán of the Presidio at San Antonio de Béxar, requesting he send soldiers with haste. Captain Almazán dispatched twenty cavalrymen to guard the new settlers and escort them the final night and day of their journey.

In the early morning hours of March 9, 1731, the islanders began to undertake the last few miles of their trek from the Canary Islands to San Antonio de Béxar. By approximately 11:00 a.m., the wide-eyed new settlers had finally crossed the San Pedro Creek and made their way through the stockade gate that surrounded the fort, today known as San Antonio’s military plaza. It had been nearly a year since they left their homes in hopes of a new start in a new home.25

The new settlers, led by Juan Leal Goraz, presented themselves to Captain Almazán. They checked in the equipment they had been issued by Captain Aguirre previously in Saltillo. Captain Almazán received the supplies and stock goods from them as detailed in a letter received from Captain Aguirre. As a group, the settlers returned all the tools and implements, and Salvador Rodriguez, along with the heads of the other families, checked in all the equipment he and his family were issued, except for seven horses. Those horses were thoroughly worn out and had been left behind in various locations along the route.

Don Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos, governor of the Spanish colony of Texas, ordered that the new settlers quarter in whatever housing may be available once they arrive at the presidio. He further ordered that current residents should assist in the caring for and tending to the islanders’ horses, oxen, and other animals until such a time that the new settlers had been taught how to tend to their livestock on their own. Every effort was to be made to ensure that the new settlers and their stock enjoyed all bounty of their lands and received all the assistance they would need to make a successful transition. Each of the fifty-six settlers would also receive four reales per day, roughly fifty cents, for the period of one year to help cover the costs of food and supplies as needed. This was so decreed by the governor and put into writing in a letter dated November 28, 1730, addressed to Captain Almazán.26

This letter, sent by Bustillo to Almazán, also contained a decree by the marquess de Casa Fuerte, Viceroy of New Spain. This viceroyal decree, also dated November 28, 1730, as read by the captain, honored the settlers, proclaiming them and their descendants, from that point on, as Hijos Dalgo, landholding nobility commonly known as hidalgos, “with all the honors and prerogatives that all landed nobles and knights of these kingdoms of Castille should have and enjoy, according to the laws and privileges of Spain.” This allowed for Salvador Rodriguez and his son to be known by the style Don Salvador and Don Patricio.27

The site of their new homes was found and planned on a low, flat hill not far from the presidio. The settlement would be named La Villa de San Fernando, in honor of Don Fernando, a Spanish prince, and the future King Ferdinand VI.28

On July 20, 1731, Juan Leal Goraz, as the eldest and most respected of the settlers, was appointed the first regidor, or councilman. Salvador Rodriguez was named the fourth regidor of a group of councilmen that totaled six. A system was devised to have an alcalde to administer justice and administrate the villa. Within two weeks, on August 1, an election was held, and Goraz was formally elected alcalde. This was historic as it was the first election in the first civil settlement in the Spanish province of Texas, creating the administration of the first municipality “legally and officially recognized by the highest authority in New Spain.”29

With their newfound status as hidalgos, the other residents of the villa begrudged the islanders, or Isleños, their status and privileges.30 The Isleños, accustomed to farming, were not very proficient with horses and knew nothing of ranching. Their reluctance to build fences was often the cause of many quarrels with their neighbors as their livestock would sometimes trample through their fields.31 By the early 1740s, the divide between the original settlers and the new Isleños narrowed as intermarriage and the necessity for closer community economic bonds became apparent. Additionally, original settlers were soon allowed to serve in municipal roles and as regidors.32

By December 31, 1788, the first formal census was conducted and referred to the municipality as the Villa de San Fernando, with the villa, surrounding settlements, the mission (commonly referred to now as the Alamo), and the presidio collectively known as San Antonio de Bexar. In 1832, Spain was ousted from Mexico, and Texas was divided into five separate regions with San Antonio de Bexar as the capital of the entire Texas province. Soon after, in 1836, the Republic of Texas Constitution reorganized the old settlements into counties, with San Antonio de Bexar lending its name to the new Bexar County. The county seat was to be the villa, which had now grown. The area’s name was simplified to San Antonio on June 5, 1837, and later, on December 14, 1837, became officially the city of San Antonio.33

In 1971, the Texas State Historical Survey Committee, later renamed the Texas Historical Commission, authorized a historical marker to be placed in the main plaza, between San Fernando Cathedral and the Bexar County Courthouse. It denoted the site where the Isleños completed their five-thousand-mile journey and made a new home.

The Isleños, including Don Salvador and his family, founded what would ultimately become the seventh largest city in the United States. Though the journey was arduous and the life they volunteered for was hard, they willingly chose to leave their island and start a new life in what would be a new world for them. Today, all Isleños are remembered for the sacrifice they made and the legacy they left.