Luis Antonio Argüello
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Luis Antonio Argüello (; June 21, 1784 – March 27, 1830) was the first Californio (native-born)
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of Alta California, and the first to take office under Mexican rule. He was the only governor to serve under the
First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era, ...
(of 1821–1823) and also served as acting governor under the subsequent provisional government, which preceded the
First Mexican Republic The First Mexican Republic, known also as the First Federal Republic ( es, Primera República Federal, link=no), was a federated republic, under the Constitution of 1824. It was a nation-state officially designated the United Mexican States ( e ...
(of 1824–1835).


Biography

Argüello was born at Presidio of San Francisco (in present day
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
), Alta California, to
José Darío Argüello José Darío Argüello (1753–1828) was a Querétaro-born Californio politician, soldier, and ranchero. He served as interim Governor of Alta California and then a term as Governor of Baja California. Biography José Darío Argüello was born i ...
and Maria Ygnacia Moraga, members of one of the most distinguished and influential families in early California history. His father founded the
Pueblo de Los Angeles In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
, and served as Governor of Alta California and later of
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 August, 1806, Argüello succeeded his father as Commandant of California with the rank of
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
. In 1821, he launched an exploration of Northern California to investigate the rumors of "Foreigners" setting up a base. Argüello published his expedition diary, titled ''The Diary of Captain Arguello: The Last Spanish Expedition in California, October 17 - November 17, 1821''. He ordered retribution on hunters of the
Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty (russian: Под высочайшим Его Императорского Величества покровительством Российская-Американс ...
who were catching sea otters in San Francisco Bay.Owens, Kenneth N. ''Frontiersman for the Tsar: Timofei Tarakanov and the Expansion of Russian America.'' Montana: The Magazine of Western History 56, No. 3 (2006), pp. 3-21+93-94. There were numerous sea otter populations to hunt and a lack of Spanish military posts above San Francisco Bay made it hard for Argüello to stop this northern activity and the possibility of them trading with the
Spanish Missions The Spanish missions in the Americas were Catholic missions established by the Spanish Empire during the 16th to 19th centuries in the period of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. These missions were scattered throughout the entirety of ...
. His brother was Santiago Argüello, who was commandant of the Presidio of San Diego and '' alcalde'' (mayor) of ''Pueblo de
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
''. His sister
Concepción Argüello María de la Concepción Marcela Argüello y Moraga, commonly referred to simply as Concepción Argüello, or "Conchita" , (February 19, 1791 – December 23, 1857) was an Alta Californian noted for her romance with Nikolai Rezanov, a Russian ...
(1791-1857) was noted for her romance with
Nikolai Rezanov Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov (russian: Николай Петрович Резанов) ( – ), a Russian nobleman and statesman, promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California to three successive Emperors of All Russia ...
(1764-1807), a Russian promoter of the colonization of Alaska and California. Argüello and his second wife Maria Soledad Ortega de Argüello inherited his parents Spanish Rancho land grant of 1795 named
Rancho de las Pulgas Rancho de las Pulgas was a 1795 Spanish land grant in present-day San Mateo County, California to José Darío Argüello. The literal translation is "Ranch of the Fleas", probably named after a village of the local Lamchin people. The grant wa ...
, encompassing present day San Mateo, Belmont, San Carlos,
Redwood City Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a po ...
, Atherton, and Menlo Park. Though Luis never actually lived there, his widow and children settled there after his death. Josefa Arguello was one of his daughters, she married Eulogio de Celis, their son Eulogio F. de Celis became a predominant landowner in the San Fernando Valley. Luis Antonio Argüello died in
Yerba Buena Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to regi ...
(San Francisco) in 1830, and is buried at the
Mission San Francisco de Asís Mission San Francisco de Asís ( es, Misión San Francisco de Asís), commonly known as Mission Dolores (as it was founded near the Dolores creek), is a Spanish Californian mission and the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco. Located i ...
(Mission Dolores) cemetery.


Governor

In 1822,
William Edward Petty Hartnell William Edward Petty Hartnell (April 24, 1798 – February 2, 1854), later known by his Spanish name Don Guillermo Arnel, was a merchant, schoolmaster, and government official in California. He arrived in California in 1822 as a trader, where he ...
persuaded Argüello to grant him the right to do business in any port in Alta California, whereas other foreigners were restricted to Monterey and
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
.
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don (honorific), Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californios, Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of ...
was served as the personal secretary to the new Governor Luis Argüello, when news of Mexico's independence reached Monterey. Argüello enrolled Vallejo as a cadet in the Presidio company in 1824. After being promoted to
corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...
, Argüello appointed Vallejo to the ''diputación'', the territorial
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
. He was promoted to ''alférez'' (equal to a modern army second lieutenant). In 1823, he granted Rancho Los Corralitos in present-day
Santa Cruz County, California Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the San ...
to José Amesti. "Los Corralitos" means "the little corrals" in Spanish. The grant extended along Corralitos Creek north of Watsonville, and encompassed present-day Corralitos and Amesti. In 1823, Rancho Llano de Buena Vista, means "Good View Plain". in the
Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River, which geologically ...
was given by Argüello to José Mariano Estrada a lieutenant of the Mexican Artillery and in-law of Argüello.Ogden Hoffman, 1862, ''Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California'', Numa Hubert, San Francisco In 1823, Argüello gave a land grant of Rancho San Pablo, in present-day
Contra Costa County, California ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...
to Francisco María Castro (1775 - 1831), a former soldier at the San Francisco Presidio and one-time ''alcalde'' of the
Pueblo of San José San Jose, California, is the third largest city in the state, and the largest of all cities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, with a population of 1,021,795. Site chosen by Anza For thousands of years before the arrival of E ...
. The San Pablo grant covered what is now Richmond, San Pablo, and Kensington in western Contra Costa County. In 1823, Argüello gave a land grant of
Rancho Las Cienegas Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad * Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos * Ranchos, Buenos ...
, at a size of in present-day Los Angeles County, California to Francisco Avila Argüello was Governor at the time of the Chumash Revolt of 1824. Nearly a month after the initial revolt on February 21, 1824, a company of 100 Mexican soldiers, cavalrymen and priests, as well as a four-pound cannon, arrived at La Purisima Mission in the morning, intent on violently crushing the rebellion. Argüello, had had enough chaos in his country's new territory, and so had given the orders for the Chumash rebellion to be quelled with bloodshed, if necessary. In 1824, Rancho Bolsa de San Cayetano was a land granted in present-day
Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...
near
Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...
by Argüello to Ygnacio Ferrer Vallejo Rancho Bolsa de San Cayetano was an 8,896-acre (36.00 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1824 by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello to Ygnacio Ferrer Vallejo, and confirmed to his eldest son, José de Jesús Vallejo, by Governor José Figueroa in 1834. The name means "pocket of St. Cayetano". Pocket in this case usually refers to land surrounded by slough - in this case the Elkhorn Slough. The grant was bordered on the west by Monterey Bay. Rancho Moro Cojo, that became part of Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo, in present-day
Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...
was granted by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello in 1825. Antonio Maria Osio married Dolores Argüello, sister of Luis Antonio Argüello. In 1838, Osio settled in
Monterey 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 bot ...
. In 1839, Governor Alvarado granted Osio,
Angel Island (California) Angel Island is an island in San Francisco Bay. The entire island is included within Angel Island State Park, administered by California State Parks. The island, a California Historical Landmark, has been used by humans for a variety of purposes ...
, on the condition that Osio would set aside part of the island for a fort. However, Osio never took up residence there.
Francisco de Paula Marín Don Francisco de Paula Marín (1774–1837) was a Spaniard who became influential in the early Kingdom of Hawaii. Often called Manini, Marini or other variations, he became a confidant of Hawaiian King Kamehameha I. Marín acted as a jack-of-a ...
a
Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both i ...
who became influential in the early Kingdom of Hawaii, was a confidant of Hawaiian King
Kamehameha I Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiikui Kamehameha o Iolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea;  – May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Th ...
. Marín acted as a jack-of-all-trades, sometimes even acting as a physician, probably without any formal education, and is credited with introducing many agricultural products. Marín wrote to governor Luis Antonio Argüello about moving to Alta California, but was told his multiple wives would not be welcome in California. In Argüello's tenure one new mission was founded: Mission San Francisco Solano (California) on July 4, 1823 by Father Jose Altimira. This was the last of the 21 missions founded as the Mexican secularization act of 1833 put an end to the missions. Mission San Francisco Solano was also the northernmost mission and the only one started after Mexico gained independence from Spain. Argüello wanted a robust Mexican presence north of the San Francisco Bay to keep the
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
who had established
Fort Ross Fort Ross ( Russian: Форт-Росс, Kashaya ''mé·ṭiʔni''), originally Fortress Ross ( pre-reformed Russian: Крѣпость Россъ, tr. ''Krepostʹ Ross''), is a former Russian establishment on the west coast of North America i ...
on the Pacific coast from moving further inland and down the coast. General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don (honorific), Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californios, Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of ...
later closed the mission in 1834-1835, he took the roof titles for his own home, others joined in taking parts of the buildings and it turned to ruins, later being completely torn down. In need of a church for the town he made, in 1840 Vallejo had a small chapel built were the original parish church was.


Legacy

In
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the United States
liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...
SS ''Luis Argüello'' was named in his honor.


See also

* List of pre-statehood governors of California *
List of Ranchos of California These California land grants were made by Spanish (1784–1821) and Mexican (1822–1846) authorities of Las Californias and Alta California to private individuals before California became part of the United States of America.Shumway, Burgess ...
* For the various branches of the last name in both the Western Hemisphere and in Spain see also
Argüello Argüello () is a Spanish surname, most commonly associated with the early settlers in the cities of Granada, Nicaragua and of Córdoba, Argentina, as well as throughout Mexico and, in the United States, in what is now the state of California, th ...


References


Sources

*''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963. * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arguello, Luis Antonio Californios Explorers of California Governors of Mexican California 1784 births 1830 deaths People from San Carlos, California Politicians from San Francisco People of Alta California 19th-century American politicians Burials at Mission San Francisco de Asís