When it comes to San Francisco history, William Richardson is not exactly a popular name. Today, it is time to shed some light on this individual mostly forgotten by history. William Anthony Richardson via Wikicommons William Anthony Richardson, as I had previously covered in this blog , is an officer on a British whaling ship Orion . His exact position is either first officer or fourth mate, it doesn't really matter, only that he's not the captain. In 1822, his ship arrived in today's San Francisco Bay, just as Mexico had won its independence, and reversed the long-standing Spanish policy of isolation. Instead, the Mexican ports will be open to trade... as long as it gets its fair share in taxes and transactions are properly recorded. Richardson met Maria Antonia, as imagined by Bluewillow Mr. Richardson was sent ashore as he has a knowledge of Spanish, and he was promptly escorted by soldiers to see their Comandante, Ignacio Martinez, who invited him to the fiesta he wa...
An exploration of San Francisco Chinatown typically NOT covered by tours