José Antonio Castro (1808 – February 1860) was a

Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...

politician, statesman, and general who served as interim Governor of Alta California and later

Governor of Baja California The governor of Baja California represents the executive branch of the government of the state of Baja California, Mexico, per the state's constitution. The official title is "Free and Sovereign State of Baja California" (''Estado Libre y Soberan ...

. During the Bear Flag Revolt and the American

Conquest of California The Conquest of California, also known as the Conquest of Alta California or the California Campaign, was an important military campaign of the Mexican–American War carried out by the United States in Alta California (modern-day California), t ...

, Castro led Mexican forces as the Commandante General of

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

Biography

José Castro was a ''

'', born in

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

when it was under Spanish colonial rule. His father José Tiburcio Castro was a soldier, member of the ''Diputación'' (territorial legislature), mayordomo (administrator) of

Mission San Juan Bautista Mission San Juan Bautista is a Spanish mission in San Juan Bautista, San Benito County, California. Founded on June 24, 1797 by Fermín Lasuén of the Franciscan order, the mission was the fifteenth of the Spanish missions established in presen ...

after it was secularized, and grantee of

Rancho Sausal Rancho Sausal was a Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California, given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to José Tibúrcio Castro. An additional grant was made by Governor Pío Pico in 1845. The name i ...

. As a young man, Castro was a vocal and active supporter of Californian self-rule and full independence from Mexico. His first public office was as secretary to the Monterey ''ayuntamiento'' (town council). In 1830, Castro was arrested for his opposition to the Mexican governor of

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

. By 1835 he was ''Vocal Primero'' (First Member) of the legislature and acting governor. Along with his brother-in-law

Juan Bautista Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) was a Californio politician that served as Governor of Alta California from 1837-42. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independe ...

, he was a vocal proponent of California-born governors and sought a semi-independent status for Alta California.

Rebellions against Gutiérrez and Micheltorena

A long period in which far-away Mexico City neglected California and sent up scandalous and incompetent governors culminated with six chief executives taking office in Monterey in 1836 alone. In November, 1836, Castro helped lead the overthrow of newly appointed Mexican Governor

Nicolás Gutiérrez Lieutenant Colonel Nicolás Gutiérrez was twice Acting (law), acting governor of the northern part of The Californias, ''Las Californias'' (what had previously been Alta California) in 1836, from January to May and July to November. Gutiérr ...

. An end to the rebellion was negotiated, and Alvarado became the legitimate governor from 1837 to 1842. Castro served under Alvarado as Lieutenant-Colonel of militia. Once again he was appointed First Member of the Diputación as well as Prefect of the District of Monterey. In 1839, governor Alvarado granted him

Rancho San Justo Rancho San Justo was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Benito County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José Antonio Castro. The lands of the rancho include current day Hollister. History General José Castro ...

, which included the settlement surrounding Mission San Juan Bautista. The grant followed the

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

of the mission by the Mexican government in 1833, which privatized former mission lands. Castro built an adobe house on San Juan Bautista Plaza in 1841. He used the house as an administrative base for his military operations, and as a residence for his secretary. Back in 1840, Alvarado had arrested about one hundred Americans in California and transported them to San Blas, an action that sparked an international diplomatic incident known as the " Graham Affair". By 1844–45, Castro was a leader of the new revolt against Governor Manuel Micheltorena, once again becoming Commandante General under new governor Pio Pico.

Conquest of California

During the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846 and the American

that followed, Castro was the commanding general of Alta California's forces during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. When California joined the United States in August 1846, Castro left for Baja California, taking up residence in Sinaloa. Castro returned to Alta California in 1848.

Post-Conquest and later life

In February 1848, after the Mexican–American War ended, José Castro opened his adobe

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

in San Juan Bautista to an Irish settler, Patrick Breen. Breen and his family were surviving members of the

Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in th ...

. They arrived at San Juan Bautista nearly a year after surviving their arduous journey over the Sierra Nevada. The Breens were the first English-speaking Americans to live in the town. Castro allowed them to live at the house until one of Patrick Breen's teenage sons made a fortune as a gold miner and purchased the house from Castro in 1854. Castro left California for

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 ...

in 1853 where he was appointed governor and military commander. Castro never surrendered his Mexican citizenship nor military rank. In February 1860, Castro was killed by Manuel Márquez, in an incident variously described as an assassination or a barroom brawl.

Legacy

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's Castro Street, and the

Castro District The Castro District, commonly referred to as the Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood throug ...

are named after him. The

José Castro House The José Castro House ( es, Casa José Castro), sometimes known as the Castro-Breen Adobe, is a historic adobe home in San Juan Bautista, California, facing the Plaza de San Juan. The Monterey Colonial architecture, Monterey Colonial style hou ...

in San Juan Bautista is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. The town of San Juan Bautista was briefly known as San Juan de Castro in the 1830s, owing to the prominence of Castro's family in that town.

References

''This article incorporates content in the public domain from the U.S
National Park Service
an

''

External links

Bancroft, Hubert Howe, History of California Vol. 4 (1840-1845), A. L. Bancroft & Company, San Francisco, 1886. p.751 Pioneer Register and Index: Castro (Jos‚)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Jose Californios Governors of Mexican California Governors of Baja California Mexican generals Mexican military personnel of the Mexican–American War People of Mexican California Ranchers from California 1808 births 1860 deaths People of the Conquest of California Mexican people of the Mexican–American War Castro District, San Francisco Namesakes of San Francisco streets History of Baja California 19th-century American politicians People from Monterey, California People from San Juan Bautista, California