Diego de Borica
| Diego de Borica | |
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-Variant.svg){kind=small} 8th Governor of Alta California
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In office 1794–1800 |
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| Preceded by | José Joaquín de Arrillaga |
| Succeeded by | Pere d'Alberní i Teixidor |
| Personal details | |
| Profession | Soldier |
Diego de Borica was a BasqueSpanish explorer and the seventh governor of Las Californias from 1794 to 1800, and is credited by some authors with defining Alta- and Baja-California's official borders. Others hold José Joaquín de Arrillaga responsible for designing that territorial division in 1804. He died on August 19, 1800 in Durango, Mexico.
Diego de Borica y Retegui was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz to a family holding ties with the one of Fermin Lasuén. In 1780 Diego de Borica married Maria Magdalena de Urquidi, a Mexican-Basque and direct descendant of one of the founders of Durango, Mexico.
As the governor, Diego de Borica and Father Fermín Lasuén determined that five more missions were needed in 1795 along El Camino Real. Borica sent expeditions from four different missions to find suitable new settlements that were no more than one day's travel as military escorts were necessary. By August 1796, Borica notified Viceroy Miguel de la Grúa Talamanca that no increase in troops was necessary. The first missionary site selected in 1796 was Mission San José near the pueblo of the same name.
During Borica's tenure as governor, five missions were founded: Mission San José (June 11, 1797]), Mission San Juan Bautista (June 24, 1797), Mission San Miguel Arcángel (July 25, 1797), Mission San Fernando Rey de España (September 8, 1797) and Mission San Luis Rey de Francia (June 13, 1798).
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