José Joaquín de Arrillaga: The Last Governor of a Lost Frontier Born in Aia, Spain, in 1750, José Joaquín de Arrillaga’s life was inextricably linked to the burgeoning Spanish colonial enterprise in Alta and Baja California. He wasn't a flamboyant conquistador or a celebrated military leader; rather, he was an officer of quiet competence and unwavering loyalty, a figure who witnessed the slow but inexorable shift of power on the North American West Coast – a shift that ultimately led to Mexican independence and the end of Spanish rule. Arrillaga’s story is one of adaptation, diplomacy, and t…