Viceroy Bucareli, then in command of the colony, made the orders he
considered necessary for California, but his orders would have had but
little effect or would have followed the slow process of all official
business, had not an outside incident given them force.
Count de Lacy, then Minister Plenipotentiary of Spain to St. Petersburg,
communicated to the court in Madrid, that the Russians were exploring
the coast of America. He corroborated his statement with copies of the
newspapers of the Russian capital[41]. This news with the corroborating
proofs was sent to Bucareli with the Royal edicts of April 11th and
September 23, 1773.
The result of this information was to give a better organization to the
maritime department of San Blas and better regulations for California.
It was also ordered that a settlement should be made at San Francisco;
that better means of communication be established between San Diego and
Monterey, and that an expedition should be sent to ascertain if the
Russians had made settlements on the coast of California.
[41] Manuel Orozco y Berra, Apuntes Airs. la Historia de la Geografia an
Mexico, Anales del Ministerio de Formento de la Republica Mexicana Tomo
VI, p. 269. Documents in the Archives of the Indies, Seville.
The Log of the San Carlos
Alias Toison De Oro (Golden Fleece)
Under Command of
Lieutenant of Frigate of the Royal Navy Don Juan Manuel de Ayala
From the Port of San Blas to the Port of San Francisco
-
The First Ship to Enter the Port of San Francisco. Transcript of a
Certified Copy of the Original, now in the Archives of the Indies, at
Seville, Spain[42].
-
On the 19th of March, 1775, Lieutenant of Frigate, Don Juan Manuel de
Ayala had the schooner under his command anchored near the white rock in
the harbor of San Blas, waiting the sailing of the frigate Santiago to
the west coast of California, when the commander of the expedition, Don
Bruno de Ezeta, ordered him to deliver to Lieutenant of Frigate, Don
Juan de la Bodega y Cuadra, the command of his schooner and take command
of the packet boat, San Carlos, as her captain, Don Miguel Manrique, was
sick and unable to make the voyage. Ayala obeyed the order and waited
until the morning of the 21st, for the return of the launch which
carried his predecessor to San Blas. He made everything ready on board
to follow the frigate and schooner and he asked the commander of the
expedition, Don Bruno de Ezeta, to take in his frigate some brown sugar
and provisions which he could not accommodate in his boat except on deck
where they were liable to be damaged.
