A presidio (jail, fortification)[1] was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word praesidium meaning protection or defense.
In the Mediterranean and the Philippines, the presidios were outposts of the Christian defense against Islamic raids. In the Americas, the fortresses were built to protect against raids by pirates, rival colonial powers, and Native Americans.
Later in western North America, with independence, the Mexicans garrisoned the Spanish presidios on the northern frontier and followed the same pattern in unsettled frontier regions such as the Presidio de Sonoma, at Sonoma, California, and the Presidio de Calabasas, in Arizona.
In western North America, a rancho del rey or king's ranch would be established a short distance outside a presidio. This was a tract of land assigned to the presidio to furnish pasturage to the horses and other beasts of burden of the garrison. Mexico called this facility "rancho nacional".[2]Presidios were only accessible to Spanish military and soldiers.
Few presidios were established in the present-day desert frontier regions in northern Mexico to control and confine the existing rebellious indigenous tribes.[3] Captured indigenous warriors were confined and enslaved at the presidio.[4] Presidios was used to protect the colonial silver ship from rebellious raids from Indians in Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, mainly in Zacatecas and Guanajuato, starting new settlements.
Aguascalientes
The Presidio de las Bocas and later Presidio de las Bocas de Gallardo, founded in 1570 in Asientos. Today reconverted into the hacienda de Santa María de Gallardo.
The Presidio de Ciénega Grande, founded in 1570 in Asientos. Today reconverted into the hacienda Ciénega Grande.
The Presidio de San Bartolomé (?–1710), located 20 km east of Parral. Replaced by flying squadron operating from the Post of Valle de San Bartolomé (1710–?).
The Presidio de San Carlos de Cerro Gordo, founded in 1772 in Manuel Benavides.
The Presidio de Nuestra Señora de las Caldas de Guajoquilla, founded in 1752 in Jiménez
The Presidio de San Fernando de Carrizal (1758–?)
Coahuila
The Presidio del Santísimo Sacramento del Valle de Santa Rosa, founded in 1780 in Santa Rosa de Múzquiz
The Presidio San Juan Bautista del Río Grande, founded around 1703 in San Juan Bautista, now the present-day Guerrero, Coahuila
The Presidio San Antonio Bucareli de la Babia, founded in 1774 in Cuatro Ciénegas
The Spanish North African presidios are listed here in geographical sequence, from West to East, and including neither Spain's Atlantic settlements in the Moroccan far South (e.g. Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña) nor outposts gained after 1830 (e.g. the Chafarinas Islands).
Mehdya, Morocco (La Mamora or San Miguel de Ultramar), 1614–1681
The Presidio San Augustin, founded in 1565, which developed into the city of St. Augustine, ceded to Great Britain in 1763, regained 20 years later, and transferred to the United States in 1821
The Presidio San Mateo, founded in 1565 on the ruins of Fort Caroline near today's Jacksonville, recaptured and destroyed by the French in 1568
The Presidio Ais, founded in 1565 on the Indian River Lagoon, abandoned after one month
The Presidio Santa Lucia, founded in 1565 near Cape Canaveral, abandoned four months later
The Presidio San Antonio de Padua, founded in 1566 at Calos, capital of the Calusa, abandoned in 1569
The Presidio Tocobaga, founded in 1567 on Tampa Bay, destroyed by the Tocobagas within ten months
The Presidio Tequesta, founded in 1567 on the site of what is now Miami, abandoned in 1568
The Presidio Bahía San José de Valladares, founded in 1701 on St. Joseph Bay, captured by French in 1718
The Presidio San Marcos de Apalachee, founded in 1718 at the existing port of San Marcos, which developed into the town of St. Marks, ceded to Great Britain in 1763, regained 20 years later, and transferred to the United States in 1821
The Presidio Bahía San José de Nueva Asturias, founded in 1719 on St. Joseph Point, abandoned when Spanish regained Pensacola Bay area from French in 1722, Spanish relocated to Presidio Isla Santa Rosa Punta de Siguenza (see below)
The Presidio Isla Santa Rosa Punta de Siguenza, founded in 1722 on Santa Rosa Island, destroyed by a hurricane in 1755, Spanish relocated to Presidio San Miguel de Panzacola (see below)
The Presidio San Miguel de Panzacola, founded in 1755, which developed into the city of Pensacola, ceded to Great Britain in 1763, regained 20 years later, and transferred to the United States in 1821
Georgia
Source:[7]
The Presidio Guale, founded in 1566, abandoned three months later
The Presidio Santa Cruz de la Cañada, in Santa Cruz
South Carolina
The Presidio Santa Elena, founded in 1566 on Parris Island, destroyed by Native Americans in 1576, re-established in 1577, abandoned in 1587[7]
Texas
The Presidio Fuerte de Santa Cruz del Cibolo, founded in 1734 and re-established in 1771 near Cestohowa, Texas in Karnes County, Texas, (between San Antonio and Goliad).
^"presidio — Diccionario de la lengua española, Edición del Tricentenario". RAE (in Spanish). Retrieved October 28, 2017.
^"Ranchos of California: Extracts from: Grants of land in California made by Spanish or Mexican authorities, by Cris Perez Boundary Determination Office State Lands Commission Boundary Investigation Unit August 23, 1982. Berkeley Library website". Archived from the original on February 2, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
^"Spanish policymakers also decided to set up a line of presidios stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This presidial line was very close to today's international border between Mexico and the United States." Reséndez, Andrés. The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America (p. 198). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.
^"As the eighteenth century unfolded, military garrisons and soldiers superseded the missions as the lynchpins of Spain's efforts to stabilize the frontier. With the new approach came new forms of coercion. The word “presidio” captures the dual purpose of garrison and prison." Reséndez, Andrés. The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America (p. 205). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.
^ a b cSheridan, Thomas E. (26 May 2016). Landscapes of Fraud: Mission Tumacácori, the Baca Float, and the Betrayal of the O'odham. University of Arizona Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-8165-3441-8.
^"San Felipe de Gracia Real de Terrenate – Tumacácori National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
^ a b cChilders, Ronald Wayne (2004). "The Presidio System in Spanish Florida 1565–1763". Historical Archaeology. 38 (3): 24–32. doi:10.1007/BF03376651. JSTOR 25617178. S2CID 160809833.
References and further reading
Gerald, Rex E. (1968). Spanish Presidios of the Late Eighteenth Century in Northern New Spain. Santa Fe, NM: Museum of New Mexico Press.
Javellana, Rene, S. J. Fortress of Empire. Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1997.
Moorhead, Max L. The Presidio: Bastion of the Spanish Borderlands. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1975.
Williams, J. S. "Appendix: Presidios of Northern New Spain". Historical Archaeology 38, 2004.