Pedro de Alberní y Teixidor

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(Redirected from
Pedro de Alberni
)
In this
Spanish name, the first or paternal surname
is Alberni and the second or maternal family name is Teixidor.
Pedro de Alberni
9th
Governor of Alta California
In office
1800–1800
Preceded byDiego de Borica
Succeeded byJosé Joaquín de Arrillaga
Personal details
BornJanuary 30, 1747
Explorer, soldier

Pedro de Alberní y Teixidor;

Spanish soldier who served the Spanish Crown for almost all his life. He spent most of his military career in colonial Mexico. He is notable for his role in the exploration of the Pacific Northwest in the 1790s, and his later term as ninth Spanish governor of Alta California
in 1800.

Biography

Early life

Pedro de Alberni was born on January 30, 1747, to a

Miquelets (Catalan irregular troops
).

From Cádiz to New Spain

In 1767, the Company was sent on a transatlantic journey to the

Inner Northern Provinces of New Spain (Provincias Internas del Norte de Nueva España) from the natives' insurgences. These provinces ran from modern day Guanajuato to New Mexico and from Sonora to Texas
.

On May 2, 1767, the Company sailed from

Veracruz, the Company moved to Guaymas, Sonora, where they arrived in April 1768, after having crossed Mexico City, Tepic and San Blas. The trip took almost one year from Barcelona, where they had departed, to Guaymas
.

In Sonora and California

Shortly after their arriving in

Guadalajara. After that, Alberni was commander in the province of Nayarit
for seven years.

In 1772, the company was divided between the First Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia, which remained under the command of Captain Callis, and the Second, which was under the command of

Presidio of Monterey
, and Fages was appointed to succeed Portola as military governor in 1770. When Callis died in 1782, Alberni was named Captain of the First Company.

Way to the Pacific Northwest

Nootka Sound marked in Vancouver Island.
Reconstruction of Fort San Miguel.
A view of the Habitations in Nootka Sound. In: "A Collection of Voyages round te World ... Captain Cook's First, Second, Third and Last Voyages ...." Volume V, London, 1790, page 1767.
Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound. Volume I, plate VII from: "A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World" by Captain George Vancouver
.

In 1789, the

Nuu-chah-nulth chieftain Maquinna. Before the abandonment of Nootka was known, the King of Spain issued the Royal Order of April 14, 1789, requiring the establishment at Nootka to be maintained. In 1790, therefore, Nootka was reoccupied by an expedition under the command of Francisco de Eliza. Alberni's soldiers sailed with Eliza. At Nootka, they rebuilt and enlarged the artillery battery called Fort San Miguel.[1]

The seizure of the English ships sparked the

Nootka Controversy, which almost led to a war between Spain and England over the issue of sovereignty in the Pacific Northwest. Spain had sent a number of expeditions to the region, starting with the 1774 voyage of Juan Pérez
, in order to reinforce the Spanish claim to the entire west coast of North America.

In October 1789

Guadalajara. The soldiers began their march from Guadalajara on 1 January 1790. They sailed from San Blas with the Eliza expedition. The squadron was made up of three ships: the Concepción, under the command of Eliza, the San Carlos, under the command of Salvador Fidalgo, and Princesa Real, under the command of Manuel Quimper. They left San Blas on February 3, 1790, and arrived at Nootka Sound on April 5.[1]

During the trip to Nootka Sound, Alberni was confined to his cabin on the Concepción for 70 days as a result of a dispute with a high ranking Spanish officer. In the course of this disagreement, he defended the rights of his men, demanding they be adequately clothed and armed, as well as to be paid all of the back-pay owed them. Probably for that reason, he would not be appointed as

Governor of California
later on.

When Alberni arrived at Nootka he had to rebuild the artillery battery fortification that had been dismantled after Martínez left. The reconstruction of the battery was difficult. It was built on top of a rocky island—tall but small. Embrasures had to be built to support the guns. It then took four days to emplace eight large cannons. Later, six smaller cannons were also emplaced. The battery did not have enough space for the remaining eight large cannon Eliza had brought, so they were stored ashore.[2]

Alberni built

Juan de Fuca Strait
, along with Spanish explorers from other companies.

All the data that Alberni compiled was later used by

Marlbrough s'en va-t-en guerre, originally from the War of the Spanish Succession
. The lyrics of the song go:

Macuina, Macuina, Macuina,
He's a great prince, friend of us
Spain, Spain, Spain
Is friend of Macuina and Nootka

This song became so popular in the region, that José María Narváez heard it from the natives in the other side of Nootka Island and near Point Grey (Narváez arrived at what today is the city of Vancouver, one year before the English captain George Vancouver). Alberni's sojourn at Nootka coincided with a period of major activity of Spanish explorers and travelers from other nations in the region.

Return to Mexico

Once Alberni had accomplished his task, and after having been in the

Viceroy of New Spain Revillagigedo
, the title of Governor and Commander of Arms of Fort San Miguel in Nootka Island.

In July 1792 he was named lieutenant-colonel, and after his assignment in Nootka, he was sent to the

Guadalajara
for two years.

To California

In April 1796, by order of the

San Francisco
), until a new governor was assigned. He remained in California until his death.

Death

Alberni died of

México
. The only daughter they had predeceased him. Sergeant Joaquín Tico from the Volunteers of Catalonia was executor of his will.

Legacy

Alberni was a person with a strong, courageous, diplomatic character, who knew how to manage problems, even in difficult times. There are numerous places named after him in both Canada and Spain:

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7748-1367-9
    .
  2. ^ At the Far Reaches of Empire, pp. 144, 150-151

Further reading

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