DAWN AND THE DONS 146
and seated his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, upon the Spanish throne. By 1810, this spirit had generated into open revolt, manifesting itself first at Buenos Ayres, and spreading over South America, then northward where it culminated in Mexican independence in 1821. An important factor in California’s loyalty to the crown was the attitude of the better informed Mission Fathers, who felt safe under the rule of Spain. What effect insurgent success might have upon the Missions, and upon Mission jurisdiction, they did not know, but remembering their early differences with local Governors, and their successful appeals to Spanish Viceroys, they were apprehensive of any change. The insurgent colonies, on the other hand, felt aggrieved at the steadfast loyalty of California. It was a thorn in their side. This feeling culminated in 1818 in an expedition, commissioned at Buenos Ayres, whose ostensible purpose was to bring California into the insurgent fold, or failing in this, to strike a blow at Spain through a loyal province. Buenos Ayres, in Argentina, was the seat of the insurgent movement, whence all its earlier activities were directed, and where had gathered patriots and pirates bent on freedom and loot. A rare assortment of maritime adventurers of all nations had been drawn here by the lure of piratical gain, and the insurrecto junta was not always discriminatingly careful as to whom letters of marque
were
issued.
It is not
surprising,
therefore, that the California expedition was entrusted
