Matías de Armona also Don Matías de Armona was a

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Las Californias, serving from June 12, 1769, to November 9, 1770, during

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

colonial rule of

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 order to obtain an improvement in tax collection without waiting for royal approval, Jose de Galvez, visitor-general to New Spain, appointed Matias de Armona governor of the settled areas of Las Californias, which at that time included only the lower two-thirds of the Baja California peninsula. The appointment also freed up the current governor

Gaspar de Portolá Captain Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786) was a Spanish Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the first List of governors of California before 1850, governor of the Californias from 1767 to 1770 ...

to travel north as leader of the

Portolá expedition thumbnail, 250px, Point of San Francisco Bay Discovery The Portolá expedition was a Spanish voyage of exploration in 1769–1770 that was the first recorded European exploration of the interior of the present-day California. It was led by Gas ...

, whose aim was to establish

presidio A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...

s (forts) at

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 ...

and

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 ...

. At the same time, Franciscan missionaries led by

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 ...

established missions in those two places. Matías de Armona arrived in Loreto in June 1769, from Spain, along with his brother Francisco de Armona. Armona's offices remained in the capital of Loreto, and he did not have much power in the new "Alta" (upper) California areas, even though he was technically the civil governor of all of Las Californias. There was as yet no "civil" to govern in the new settlements, just military and missionary - each of which governed their own affairs. When Portolá left Monterey in 1770, he appointed his 3rd-in-command

Pedro Fages Pedro Fages (1734–1794) was a Spanish soldier, explorer, and first lieutenant governor of the province of the Californias under Gaspar de Portolá. Fages claimed the governorship after Portolá's departure, acting as governor in opposition ...

to be military governor of the new settlements. The military governor ruled from the Monterey Presidio, and Monterey became the new capital of Las Californias. Armona did not have his heart in the new appointment as governor, a job he did not want. Shortly after arriving in Baja, he set out for

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

to see visitor-general

José de Gálvez José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

, and remained absent from Loreto for a year. In that year, there were many troubles. There was small native revolt at Todos Santos.; also fever and

measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...

outbreaks. José de Gálvez, on tour of the missions, had ordered such harsh punishment to the native neophytes that Armona had Loreto locked down at the news.''The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft: History of the north Mexican states'', page 728, By Hubert Howe Bancroft After his replacement as civil governor of the southern areas by Felipe de Barri, Armona departed Loreto on April 19, 1771. Upon his return to the central areas of

, he made some recommendations that were put into place later: Missions were funded as promised; single male natives that traveled to learn a trade could return home after the training.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armona, Matias de Governors of the Californias Year of birth missing Year of death missing 18th-century Mexican people

See also

References