Echeandía's long apologia DEFENDING his 6 Jan 1831 secularization bando (a major statement of liberal-secularization ideology, n38–50+): (a) legal argument — the 1813 Cortes decree has TWO aspects, ecclesiastical (Divine Worship) vs. temporal government (binding on the CIVIL authorities) — so as Jefe Político he was *obliged* to secularize the temporal side; (b) quotes his 1825 instructions licensing gradual liberal reform ('las ventajas del Sistema liberal… con prudencia'); (c) walks the bando article-by-article; (d) indicts mission abuses — neophytes 'deprived of personal liberty and the fruit of their labor'; (e) ⭐⭐⭐ his stated 6-year goal: 'convertir en hombres libres y propietarios á los 8,000 forzados indígenas reducidos en las 21 Misiones,' then civilize the gentiles — growing the population & securing the borders 'sin necesidad de colonizar por esta parte con extranjeros' (whose loyalty 'nunca será tan segura'; cf. New Mexico & Texas 'bastante temible'); (f) rebuts the federal charge (Doc 27) that he usurped the Indians' faculty — his bando's Art. 2 had the ayuntamiento name the administrators; acted w/ the Diputación's consent, 'in favor of los reducidos'; (g) ⭐⭐⭐ 'los bienes de las misiones son de los reducidos en ellas' (mission property belongs to the neophytes — the ground for distributing it to them; invokes Neve's 1781 Reglamento); (h) a 2nd population figure — ~13,000 reducidos ≈ ⅘ of the Territory (vs the 8,000 'forzados'); aim to 'arruinar de una vez el poder de los Misioneros'; ties in Herrera's fiscal abuse + friar-royalism/Solís revolt (ends n57 — a ~35-page apologia, tomo pp.131–166)
| Date | 1834-05-17 (exact) |
|---|---|
| From | José Mª Echeandía (San Diego) |
| To | Gov. Figueroa |
| Series | State Papers, Missions and Colonization |
| Tomo | II |
| Original tomo page | p.131–166 |
| Savage copy page | 39–58 |
| Scan leaf | n38–57 |
| Document type | abstract (corr.) |
| Source | Savage abstract |
Read this leaf on the Internet Archive ↗ · leaf n38–57
José Mª Echeandía (San Diego) to Gov. Figueroa, 1834-05-17, State Papers, Missions and Colonization, II, p.131–166, Archives of California, C-A 53, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.Cite the document by series, tomo and original tomo page, as the literature does; the C-A number locates it in the repository. To cite this catalogue entry itself, use https://archivesofcalifornia.com/record/ca53/ca53-d32.html