Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
priests established
21 missions between 1769 and 1833 in
Alta California
Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
, accompanied by military outposts. Their goal was to
spread
Spread may refer to:
Places
* Spread, West Virginia
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film.
* ''$pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers
* "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/T ...
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
among the local
Native Americans, as well as to affirm
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, and later
Mexican, claims to the region.
Overview
To facilitate overland travel, the mission settlements were situated approximately 30 miles (48 kilometers) apart, about one
day's journey
A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible, ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance.
In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the dis ...
on horseback, or three days on foot. The entire trail eventually became a 600-mile (966-kilometer) long "California Mission Trail."
Rev. Lasuén successfully argued that filling in the empty spaces along
El Camino Real with additional outposts would provide much-needed rest stops where travelers could take lodging in relative safety and comfort. Heavy freight movement was practical only via water. Tradition has it that the padres sprinkled
mustard seeds along the trail to mark it with
bright yellow flowers.
Today a growing number of people, calling themselves California Mission Walkers, hike the mission trail route, usually in segments between the missions.
Walking the trail is a way to connect with the history of the missions. For some it represents a spiritual pilgrimage, inspired by Jesuit priest Richard Roos' 1985 book, Christwalk.
The loosely organized group is attempting to formalize the route and establish markers, similar to the
El Camino de Santiago, in Spain.
Missions
There were 21
missions, 8
asistencias
Asistencias or visitas were smaller sub-missions of Catholic missions established during the 16th-19th centuries of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. They allowed the Catholic church and the Spanish crown to extend their reach into nativ ...
, and 5
estancias
An estancia is a large, private plot of land used for farming or raising cattle or sheep. Estancias in the southern South American grasslands, the ''pampas'', have historically been estates used to raise livestock, such as cattle or sheep. In Pu ...
in what is now California.
Two Franciscan missions,
Mission Puerto de Purísima Concepción
Mission Puerto de Purísima Concepción was founded near what is now Yuma, Arizona, United States, on the California side of the Colorado River, in October 1780, by Father Francisco Garcés. The settlement was not part of the California mission ...
and
Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer
Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer was founded on January 7, 1781, by Spanish Padre Francisco Garcés, to protect the Anza Trail where it forded the Colorado River, between the Mexican provinces of Alta California and New Navarre.
The ...
, were constructed within the present-day borders of California but were administered as part of the
Spanish missions of Pimería Alta. As such, they are not considered a part of the 21 missions of
Alta California
Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
.
Asistencias
''
Asistencias
Asistencias or visitas were smaller sub-missions of Catholic missions established during the 16th-19th centuries of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. They allowed the Catholic church and the Spanish crown to extend their reach into nativ ...
'' were branch missions that allowed the priests to extend their reach into the native population at a modest cost.
Estancias
An ''
estancia
An estancia is a large, private plot of land used for farming or raising cattle or sheep. Estancias in the southern South American grasslands, the ''pampas'', have historically been estates used to raise livestock, such as cattle or sheep. In Pu ...
'' or ''estância'' is a Spanish or Portuguese term describing private landholdings used for
farming
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
or
raising livestock. They assisted in the development of their parent missions.
Presidios
Presidio
A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...
s in chronological order:
* El Presidio Real de San Diego (
Presidio of San Diego), founded July 16, 1769
* El Presidio Real de San Carlos de Monterey (
Presidio of Monterey, California
The Presidio of Monterey (POM), located in Monterey, California, is an active US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently, it is the home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI-FLC). ...
), founded June 3, 1770
* El Presidio Real de San Francisco (
Presidio of San Francisco), founded December 17, 1776
* El Presidio Real de Santa Bárbara (
Presidio of Santa Barbara
A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...
), founded April 12, 1782
* El Presidio de Sonoma (
Sonoma Barracks), founded 1810
See also
On Spanish Missions:
*
Spanish missions in Arizona
Beginning in the 16th century Spain established missions throughout New Spain (consisting of Mexico and portions of what today are the Southwestern United States) in order to facilitate colonization of these lands.
History Early Franciscan mis ...
*
Spanish missions in Baja California
The Spanish missions in Baja California were a large number of religious outposts established by Catholic religious orders, the Jesuits, the Franciscans and the Dominicans, between 1683 and 1834 to spread the Christian doctrine among the Nativ ...
*
Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert
The Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert ( es, Misiones jesuíticas en el desierto de Sonora) are a series of Jesuit Catholic religious outposts established by the Spanish Catholic Jesuits and other orders for religious conversions of the ...
(including Sonora and southern Arizona)
On California history:
*
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is a trail extending from Nogales on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, through the California desert and coastal areas in Southern California and the Central Coast region to San Francisco. ...
*
History of California through 1899
Human history in California began when indigenous Americans first arrived some 13,000 years ago. Coastal exploration by the Spanish began in the 16th century, with further European settlement along the coast and in the inland valleys following ...
*
History of the west coast of North America
The human history of the west coast of North America is believed to stretch back to the arrival of the earliest people over the Bering Strait, or alternately along a now-submerged coastal plain, through the development of significant pre-Columbi ...
*
Mission Vieja
The Mission Vieja or Misión Vieja or the Old Mission was the first Spanish mission in the San Gabriel Valley. Mission Vieja was built in 1771 by what would become the fathers of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel. The Mission Vieja site was d ...
On general missionary history:
*
Catholic Church and the Age of Discovery
The Catholic Church during the Age of Discovery inaugurated a major effort to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples of the Americas and other indigenous peoples. The evangelical effort was a major part of, and ...
*
History of Christian Missions
This timeline of Christian missions chronicles the global expansion of Christianity through a listing of the most significant missionary outreach events.
Apostolic Age
Earliest dates must all be considered approximate
* 33 – Great Commissi ...
*
List of the oldest churches in Mexico
*
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
On colonial Spanish American history:
*
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions ...
*
California mission clash of cultures
The California mission clash of cultures occurred at the Spanish Missions in California during the Spanish Las Californias- New Spain and Mexican Alta California eras of control, with lasting consequences after American statehood. The Missions w ...
*
Indian Reductions
Reductions ( es, reducciones, also called ; , pl. ) were settlements created by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such re ...
*
California Genocide
The California genocide was the killing of thousands of indigenous peoples of California by United States government agents and private citizens in the 19th century. It began following the American Conquest of California from Mexico, and the ...
*
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States ( Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United State ...
References
External links
California Missions FoundationCalifornia Mission Studies AssociationCalifornia's Spanish Missions*
ttp://www.californias-missions.org/ Tricia Anne Weber: The Spanish Missions of Californiabr>
California Historical Society*
ttp://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf3p3006vt/?query=California%2520Missions California Mission Sketches by Henry Miller, 1856an
Finding Aid to the Documents relating to Missions of the Californias : typescript, 1768-1802at
The Bancroft Library
The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...
{{California Missions
Spanish mission settlements in North America
Native American history of California
California Mission Indians