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

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

Career

See also

References