Francisco Palóu (, ; 1723–1789) was a Spanish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

missionary, administrator, and historian on the Baja California Peninsula and in

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva 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 was made a separat ...

. Palóu made significant contributions to the Alta California and Baja California mission systems. Along with his mentor,

Junípero Serra Saint Junípero Serra Ferrer (; ; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784), popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Roman Catholic, Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Francis ...

, Palóu worked to build numerous missions throughout Alta and Baja California, many structures of which still stand today. A member of the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

, Palóu became "Presidente" of the missions in Baja California, and later of missions of Alta California. Palóu's work in the Spanish mission system spans from his early 20s to his death, at the age of 66. According to biographer/translator Herbert E. Bolton, "Fray Palóu was a diligent student, devout Christian, loyal disciple, tireless traveler, zealous missionary, firm defender of the faith, resourceful pioneer, successful mission builder, able administrator, and fair minded historian of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

." Palóu is particularly noted for his pious biography of Serra, and for his multi-volume early history of Spanish Empire exploration and occupation of

the Californias The Californias (), occasionally known as the Three Californias or the 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 states of Baja California a ...

Biography

Francesc Palou was born in Petra,

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, where he joined the

. Together with

, he traveled to

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

in 1740 and served as a missionary in the

Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda () is an Ecoregion, ecological region centered on the northern third of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo and San Luis Po ...

region of

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

. When the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

were expelled from Baja California in 1768, the Franciscans under Serra were sent to replace them. Palóu was assigned to the mission of San Javier. The following year, Serra went north to find the new mission province of Alta California, and Palóu succeeded him as head of the Baja California missions. When the

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

took over the peninsular Baja California missions in 1773, Palóu, being Franciscan, moved on to Upper California, marking the geographical boundary between the two orders' fields. He assisted in the exploration of the site of San Francisco and administered

Mission San Francisco de Asís The Mission San Francisco de Asís (), also known as Mission Dolores, is a historic Catholic Church, Catholic church complex in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the complex was founded in ...

. When Serra died, Palóu was briefly acting head of the Baja California missions, but soon returned to central Mexico.

Missionary travels

As a missionary of the

Spanish colonization of the Americas The Spanish colonization of the Americas began in 1493 on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) after the initial 1492 voyage of Genoa, Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus under license from Queen Isabella ...

, Palóu traveled and proselytized in the

Spanish colonial empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It a ...

. His extensive travels left him knowledgeable of world matters, and well-respected as a scholar. Coming from simple beginnings, Palóu was born in 1723 at Palma, on the Island of Majorca, and began religious work early in his life as he entered the

around the age of seventeen in 1739. After developing a mentor/student relationship with

, they both eagerly joined the Spanish mission system in Alta California. They, along with several other missionaries, reached

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, New Spain in 1749. Palóu worked in New Spain for many in missions such as Sierra Gorda. He was later recalled, along with Serra, to work in the San Saba region of Texas. However, the biggest part of Palóu's journey would not begin until 1767, when he and fourteen other Franciscan friars were sent north to extend their efforts and replace many of the Jesuit missionaries who had been previously expelled from Spain. Much of Palóu's life would be spent in

, and many of his notable endeavors occurred there as well.

Alta California missions

Palóu and the other friars reached Loreto in Lower California in the spring of 1768. Palou was given control of Mission San Francisco Javier. The following year, Junipero Serra left for Alta California to proceed with the further establishment of missions in that region. This left the office of "president" or superior of all missions in Lower California for Palóu to control until 1773. When the Lower Californian missions were turned over to the Dominican missionaries, Palóu was able to rejoin his brethren and mentor in Upper California. He first went to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, then continued onwards to

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo (English language, English: The Mission of Saint Charles Borromeo of the Carmel River), first built in 1797, is one of the Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property, most authentica ...

(in present-day Carmel), which Serra had been using as his headquarters. Palóu greatly assisted in the placement of friars and recorded historical data, the only surviving account of some aspects of the early California missions.

Expeditionary travel and later career

In 1774, Palóu accompanied Captain Rivera's expedition to the Bay of San Francisco, and on December 4 planted the cross on a hill he named "Lobos" (wolves), which sits in clear view of the

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by ...

and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The name lives on as Lobos Creek, within the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...

. The Rivera expedition returned to the Presidio of Monterey via the coastal route first explored by the Portolà expedition of 1769. At the north end of

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. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via California S ...

, Rivera and Palóu inspected the area around today's Santa Cruz, described by friar

Juan Crespí Juan Crespí, OFM (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Joan Crespí''; 1 March 1721 – 1 January 1782) was a Franciscan missionary and explorer of The Californias, Las Californias. Biography A native of Majorca, Crespí entered the Franciscan ord ...

(who accompanied Portolà) and recommended by Crespí as a future mission site. Palóu agreed, and on December 9 selected a location where Mission Santa Cruz was later founded by Fermín Lasuén, in 1791. Palou returned to Lobos in 1776 with the

De Anza expedition Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a Novohispanic/Mexican expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as on ...

and, on June 28, offered up the first mass at the future site of Mission Dolores, which Palóu founded but a few weeks later. Palóu remained at the new mission until he was called to give his mentor and close friend, Junípero Serra, his last rites in 1784 at Mission San Carlos. With Serra's death, Palóu became the acting ''presidente'' of the Upper California missions until the formal appointment of Lasuén as successor to Serra. Palou remained at Mission San Carlos until failing health and old age led him to retire in 1785 to the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico. He was elected guardian of the college and held this office until his death in Mexico, where he had completed his biography of Serra,Palóu's ''Life of Serra''
/ref> most of which he had written while still in California.

Legacy

Francisco Palóu played many key roles and offices vital to the establishment of several of the missions in California and many of those in Mexico. He compiled a standard history of the California missions from 1767 to 1784 in his "''noticias''" as a four-volume set. He also wrote of his teacher, Junípero Serra. Both works provide key information about early California and the missionary system established there.

Works

* Palou, Francisco. 1926. ''Historical Memoirs of New California''. Edited by Herbert E. Bolton. 4 vols. University of California Press, Berkeley. * Palou, Francisco. 1955. ''Life of Fray Junípero Serra''. Edited by Maynard J. Geiger. Academy of American Franciscan History, Washington, D.C. * Palou, Francisco. 1994. ''Cartas desde la península de California (1768-1773)''. Edited by José Luis Soto Pérez. Editorial Porrúa, Mexico City. * Palou, Francisco. ''Noticias de la Nueva California'' (Volume II). Translated by Miguel Venegas. California: University Microfilms Inc., 1966.

References

External links

Francisco Palou Catholic Encyclopedia article

* Lauter, Paul and others, eds. The Heath Anthology of American Literature (Fourth Edition). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.
Noticias De La Nueva California, online edition (Spanish) at HathiTrust Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palou, Francisco 1723 births 1789 deaths People from Palma de Mallorca Spanish Franciscans History of Baja California Religious workers from California Priests of the Spanish missions in California Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries 18th-century Spanish people Franciscan missionaries in New Spain Junípero Serra