José Antonio Roméu (1742? – 1792) was sixth Spanish governor of
Alta California, from 1791 to 1792.
Career
While serving as a captain in the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
army in 1782, José Antonio Roméu led a retaliatory action after the
Quechan
The Quechan (or Yuma) ( Quechan: ''Kwatsáan'' 'those who descended') are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the Mexican border. Despite th ...
Yuma Massacre
Fort Romualdo Pacheco also called Fuerte de Laguna Chapala was a Mexican (Mexico consumed his independence in 1821 from Spain) fort built in 1825 and was abandoned a year later in 1826. The fort was 100 feet square with thick stone and adobe wall ...
of 1781. In 1781, the
Yuma tribe attacked and damaged the
Spanish Arizona mission settlements of
San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer and
Puerto de Purísima Concepción, killing Lieutenant Governor Fernando Rivera, the mission Father of the
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
mission, and others. Roméu was the military leader on this action against the tribe. The Spanish were unable to defeat the Yuma, and the tribe remained in control of the land for the following seventy years. The event closed the
Anza Trail
The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is a trail extending from Nogales on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, through the California desert and coastal areas in Southern California and the Central Coast region to San Francisco.htt ...
, crippling the overland population growth of the Yum colony.
Pedro Fages stepped down as governor and departed
Monterey, California in April 1791. The capital of Monterey also served as the main port of entry into California.
In 1791 Lieutenant Colonel José Antonio Roméu was asked to replace Fages. Roméu, his wife Doña Josefa, and daughter first travelled to
Loreto, Baja California Sur
Loreto is a city and municipal seat of Loreto Municipality, Baja California Sur, on the West Coast of Mexico. Located on the Gulf of California, the city had a population of 20,385 inhabitants in 2019. Loreto is a regional economic and cultura ...
arriving on March 17, 1791. In Baja his health turned poor. He had
chest pains
Chest pain is pain or discomfort in the chest, typically the front of the chest. It may be described as sharp, dull, pressure, heaviness or squeezing. Associated symptoms may include pain in the shoulder, arm, upper abdomen, or jaw, along with na ...
that caused difficulty sleeping and
indigestion
Indigestion, also known as dyspepsia or upset stomach, is a condition of impaired digestion. Symptoms may include upper abdominal fullness, heartburn, nausea, belching, or upper abdominal pain. People may also experience feeling full earlier t ...
. Roméu arrived at Monterey in 1791, he was very ill and barely able to do his job. He led in a time of peace and worked well with the
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California ( es, Misiones españolas en California) comprise a
series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. Founded by Catholic priests ...
and
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
padres. During Roméu's tenure as governor, two missions were founded:
Mission Santa Cruz
Mission Santa Cruz (''La Misión de la Exaltación de la Santa Cruz'', which translates as the Mission of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross), was the twelfth of twenty-one Spanish missions in California (today's U.S. state), established by the Fr ...
(August 28, 1791) and
Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (October 9, 1791). By March 1792 he was bed ridden. He served just one year before passing away on April 9, 1792. His funeral and burial interment were at
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo
Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo, or Misión de San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, first built in 1797, is one of the most authentically restored Catholic mission churches in California. Located at the mouth of Carmel Valley, Californi ...
. In October 1792 his wife and daughter returned to Mexico.
[Upper California. pt. I. General history, page 456, By Zephyrin Engelhardt]
See also
*
New Spain
*
Las Californias
The Californias (Spanish: ''Las Californias''), occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican sta ...
*
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
*
History of California through 1899
Human history in California began when indigenous Americans first arrived some 13,000 years ago. Coastal exploration by the Spanish began in the 16th century, with further European settlement along the coast and in the inland valleys following ...
*
List of pre-statehood governors of California
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romeu, Jose Antonio
Governors of the Californias
Spanish generals
18th-century Spanish people
Year of birth uncertain
Burials at Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo
1792 deaths
Californios