Sidebar by Ed Quillen
History – August 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
Juan Bautista de Anza was born in July, 1736, in Sonora, Mexico. His father, captain of the presidio at Fronteras, was also named Juan Bautista de Anza. Anza is a Basque name which means “pasture in the dwarf elder trees” and describes areas in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains of Spain. His father was killed fighting the Apaches in 1740. Anza joined the militia in 1751, and became a cadet in the cavalry in 1754 at Fronteras, Sonora, Mexico. He was soon promoted to lieutenant and then captain, and was in charge of the presidio at Tubac, Sonora, Mexico (now in Arizona) in 1759. He was soon distinguished for his military skills.
At the time, Spain was concerned that northern California might be cut off unless a land route was developed from Mexico. Anza volunteered for the job, and in 1774 led a trip from Tubac to Monterrey and back. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and in 1774 led a colonizing expedition to San Francisco Bay.
They left Tubac on Oct. 23, 1775 and founded the presidio of San Francisco in 1776. The expedition included 300 people and 1,000 head of livestock; only four people died en route, and there were nine births, so Anza arrived with more people than he left with.
In 1778 he was named governor of New Mexico, and upon his arrival in early 1779, he began planning the Comanche campaign that led him into Central Colorado that summer. His defeat of the Jupe Comanche in two battles southwest of modern Pueblo led to a peace treaty that endured for many years.
The next year, he led an expedition to find a route between Santa Fé and Arizpe, Sonora. In 1786, he asked to be relieved as governor; it was granted the next year. He commanded the Fronteras and Tucson presidios before dying suddenly at his home in Arizpe (where he is buried in the cathedral) on Dec. 19, 1788.
