To provide food for the soldiers, civilian towns called pueblos were founded near the presidios. Several incentives were used to attract civilians from colonial provinces in Mexico to settle the pueblos. The government provided free land, livestock, farm equipment, and an annual allowance for supplies to families that relocated to the pueblos. Settlers were also exempt from all taxes for five years after relocating. In return, the settlers were required to sell their excess agricultural products to the presidios. The area was fertile and agricultural enterprises succeeded, usually producing a surplus that the missionaries used for trade. In spite of the fertility of the region, missionaries had trouble attracting families and women to the pueblos. The growth in the population of "Californios" occurred because of a high birth rate and low infant mortality rate among those hardy enough to colonize New Spain.
The third pueblo to be founded in California was the Villa de Branciforte. It was founded in 1797 near the present day city of Santa Cruz. It was the least successful pueblo. Although the governor tried a new idea by recruiting retired soldiers and their families, no soldiers wanted to move to Villa de Branciforte. Men who had been convicted of petty crimes elsewhere in New Spain and banished to California eventually settled the pueblo. The pueblo was doomed from the beginning; funding for founding the town was not adequate and Mission Santa Cruz missionaries objected to its location because it bordered mission lands. One of the first public works projects was the construction of a racetrack and the Villa de Branciforte became a headquarters for gambling and illegal trade. In 1818, pirates attacked the mission and citizens of the pueblo joined in the looting. The Santa Cruz Mission never recovered and was in ruins by 1851, in part due to an earthquake that occurred in 1840 (Wright 1992).
Pueblos were non-military and locally governed. The governor of New Spain appointed the first municipal officials, but citizens elected subsequent officials. The alcade was the highest non-military governing official of a pueblo. The alcade was subordinate only to the governor's appointed military representative in the pueblo, the comisionado. The growth of these agrarian communities was driven initially by mission surpluses and later by the benefit of the coastal climate. American trading ships and other foreigners were attracted to the area in the early 1800s because of the region's bounty.
Wright, R.B., ed. 1992. California Mission History [Web page]. Hubert A. Lowman [cited November 6, 2003]. View on-line source.
Rawls, J.J. 2000. California History Online [Web site]. California Historical Society [cited October 22, 2003]. View on-line source.
Kessel, J.L. 2002. Spain in the Southwest: A Narrative History of Colonial New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and California. University of Oklahoma Press. 462 pp.