José Bandini (1771–1841) was a Spanish and Mexican sea captain and early settler of

San Diego, California 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 ...

Early life and marriage

José Bandini was born in

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, Spain, and most likely had at least some (if not all) broadly Italian ancestors who had emigrated to Spain when most of the country was part of the empire. In 1793 he settled in Lima, Peru, where he married twice, first to Ysidora Blancas and, after her death in 1801, to Manuela Mazuelos. He had several children including Manuel Antonio Bandini Mazuelos who became Archbishop of Lima and

Juan Bandini Juan Bandini (1800 – November 4, 1859) was a Peruvian-born Californio public figure, politician, and ranchero. He is best known for his role in the development of San Diego in the mid-19th century. Early history Bandini was born in 1800 in Lima ...

, a well-known political figure in the Mexican and American eras of California.

Naval service

Bandini served as a lieutenant on the Spanish vessel, ''Nymphia'', at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

in 1805. He first visited California, then part of Spain, in December 1818 as captain of the ship ''Reina de los Ángeles'', bringing military supplies and troops from San Blas to Alta California's capital,

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

to defend against the

corsair A corsair is a privateer or pirate, especially: * Barbary corsair, Ottoman and Berber privateers operating from North Africa * French corsairs, privateers operating on behalf of the French crown Corsair may also refer to: Arts and entertainme ...

Hippolyte Bouchard Hippolyte or Hipólito Bouchard (15 January 1780 – 4 January 1837), known in California as Pirata Buchar, was a French-born Argentine sailor and corsair (pirate) who fought for Argentina, Chile, and Peru. During his first campaign as an Arge ...

. Two years later he and his crew took an oath of allegiance to Mexican revolutionary leader

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...

and took part in the Mexican War of Independence.

Settlement in California

In 1822 Bandini was granted military retirement with the rank, capitán de milicias, by the newly independent Mexican government. Soon afterward he settled in San Diego where, as Richard Henry Dana described in ''

Two Years Before the Mast ''Two Years Before the Mast'' is a memoir by the American author Richard Henry Dana Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage from Boston to California on a merchant ship starting in 1834. A Two Years Before the Mast ...

'', "he built a large house with a court-yard in front, kept a great retinue of Indians, and set up for the grandee of that part of the country." In 1828 Bandini wrote ''Descrision de l'Alta California'' (translated to English by Doris Marion Wright as ''A Description of California in 1828''). In it he described the territory's people, its land and resources, and the state of its commerce. At the time the Mexican government had decided that foreign trade with California would only be allowed through the port of Monterey. Bandini believed this would stifle California's economic growth so he concluded the ''Descrision'' by proposing that imports also be allowed at the port of San Diego while California's exports (almost entirely hides, tallow, and wheat) be allowed anywhere along its coast. His son,

, used the Descrision as the basis of a report he wrote for the Comisaría Principal de la Alta California in 1830. José Bandini died in San Diego in 1841.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandini, Jose History of San Diego People from San Diego 19th-century Spanish naval officers Mexican military personnel Viceroyalty of Peru people Sea captains 1771 births 1841 deaths