While patriots fought against the British in the American Revolution 250 years ago on the East Coast, people in the San Diego region were on a parallel track of new beginnings and their own rebellion.
Local historian and University of San Diego professor David Miller told KPBS’s Amita Sharma recently that in some cases, both coasts were motivated by one key event: The French and Indian War.
Set the scene for me, David. It's 1775. The American Revolution has just started on the East Coast. What had happened recently in the San Diego region?
Miller: It was a few years before in 1769 that the Spanish first arrived in San Diego in a permanent way. They'd been here very briefly with Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542. But 1769 is the first permanent Spanish settlement, above what is now Old Town and the Presidio Hill, the establishment of the Presidio. And the mission had moved to its present location up in Mission Valley. And it was a fairly small Spanish settlement. It was a mix of Spanish soldiers and civil officials. And then over at the mission, a couple of padres, friars and of course a mix of the native Kumeyaay people — some who lived around the Presidio, some who lived at the mission and the vast majority who lived out in their traditional villages and towns around the county.
So in 1775, on the East Coast, the people living in the colonies were waging war against the British for independence. Indigenous people in the San Diego region were getting started on their own revolt. Tell me about that.
Miller: Yes. So at almost the exact same time, in November of 1775, the Kumeyaay, specifically the Kumeyaay who lived south of the San Diego River, the Tipai, organized a revolt against the Spanish. And so on Nov. 4 and 5, they sent soldiers to surround the Presidio and occupy the Spanish soldiers to keep them at bay, while another contingent went over to the mission itself and actually attacked it, burned it down, dragged one of the fathers, Father Jayme, out down to the San Diego River where they murdered him. But this was all in the big picture, a response to Spanish colonial presence in San Diego. Not to draw too many parallels, it's certainly different — but while the Americans are responding in their own way to English colonial realities, the Kumeyaay were responding to the Spanish colonial realities.
What's the connection between the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the Kumeyaay Revolt, and the founding of San Diego?
Miller: So the French and Indian War is one of those events you learn about in high school that everybody forgets about. But it's really important to the beginnings of the American Revolution. The result of the French and Indian War was that essentially Britain was ascendant in North America. And the French left for the most part. And it set the conditions that would eventually lead to the American Revolution, specifically over issues of land, the presence of British troops, and taxes. At the exact same time, it sets the conditions for what's going to become the establishment of San Diego. Remember, the Spanish had been here in 1542, but left. There was no permanent Spanish settlement here in San Diego. But as a result of the French and Indian War and the reshuffling of global powers, the Spanish realized they needed to have a stronger claim on their lands in Alta California, in case the British got any ideas. So to reassert their power, there was a bit of reorganization, and basically, it was a two-pronged attack. The Spanish sent a civil military presence and they sent a religious presence. And the result of that was the founding of San Diego and the Presidio, the mission, and then the 21 missions that were up and down the coast of California.
What is your sense about what people on the East Coast knew about what was happening here in San Diego at the time?
Miller: I suspect not much, just given distances and times and the ability to get information across those distances. But what's interesting is the other direction: Many of the people in San Diego were aware of what was happening on the East Coast. And so the Spanish soldiers at the Presidio collected money and funds to donate to the Spanish military that were then used in the Spanish alliance with the Americans against the British. There's also some speculation that they might have coerced some of the Kumeyaay living at the missions to actually give some money and resources as well. But the short version is you have Spaniards in San Diego contributing to the American cause through the Spanish in their alliance against the British.
I've worked as a reporter in San Diego for a very long time now, and what's always stood out for me is any time there is a big national story, there's always a San Diego connection. And what you've just recited to me about local history tells me that tie has existed for some time now, right?
Miller: Yes, absolutely. As a historian here in San Diego, I spend a lot of my time trying to convince people that our history matters, that we have a history. We have a long history. San Diego is just as old as the U.S., certainly European history. Obviously, it's older in terms of Native Americans. But what you see is a lot of the things that are happening on the East Coast that we take to be fundamentally part of American history, U.S. history, are shaping events here in San Diego, and that they're happening in some cases simultaneously. So San Diego history is unique. We have our own history. But it is always connected to these broader national and global histories.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
