Beginning in the second half of the 16th century, the Kingdom of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

established a number of missions throughout ''La Florida'' in order to convert the Native Americans to

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 ...

, to facilitate control of the area, and to prevent its colonization by other countries, in particular,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Spanish Florida originally included much of what is now the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

, although Spain never exercised long-term effective control over more than the northern part of what is now the State of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

from present-day

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

to the area around Tallahassee, southeastern Georgia, and some coastal settlements, such as

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

. A few short-lived missions were established in other locations, including

Mission Santa Elena Santa Elena, a Spanish settlement on what is now Parris Island, South Carolina, was the capital of Spanish Florida from 1566 to 1587. It was established under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the first governor of Spanish Florida. There had been a numb ...

in present-day

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, around the Florida peninsula, and in the interior of Georgia and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. The missions of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia were divided into main four provinces where the bulk of missionary effort took place. These were Apalachee, comprising the eastern part of what is now the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...

;

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...

, ranging from the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...

west to the Suwanee;

Mocama The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Their t ...

, the coastal areas east of the St. Johns running north to the

Altamaha River The Altamaha River is a major river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It flows generally eastward for 137 miles (220 km) from its origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties ...

; and

Guale Guale was a historic Native American chiefdom of Mississippian culture peoples located along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16th ...

, north of the Altamaha River along the coast to the present-day Georgia Sea Islands. These provinces roughly corresponded to the areas where those dialects were spoken among the varying Native American peoples, thus, they reflected the territories of the peoples. Missionary provinces were relatively fluid and evolved over the years according to demographic and political trends, and at various times smaller provinces were established, abandoned, or merged with larger ones. There were also ephemeral attempts to establish missions elsewhere, particularly further south into Florida.

History

The priests and religious that traveled with the early conquistadors notwithstanding, the 1549 expedition of Father Luis de Cancer and three other Dominicans to Tampa Bay was the first solely missionary effort attempted in ''La Florida''. It ended in failure after six weeks with de Cancer's death at the hands of the Tocobaga natives, which sent shock waves through the Dominican missionary community in

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

for many years. The first Spanish missions to Florida, starting with the foundation of St. Augustine in 1565, were attached to presidios. Between 1559 and 1567, ten presidios were established at major harbors from Port Royal Sound in modern South Carolina to Pensacola Bay on the northern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

in an attempt to prevent other European powers from establishing bases on land claimed by Spain. Most of the presidios were unsustainable; San Mateo (near modern Jacksonville, Florida) was destroyed by the French, the entire garrison at Tocobago was wiped out, and most of the other presidios were abandoned due to a combination of hostility from the native inhabitants, difficulty in providing supplies, and damage from hurricanes. By 1573, the only remaining presidios in Florida were at St. Augustine and Santa Elena on Paris Island, South Carolina. Santa Elena was abandoned in 1587, leaving St. Augustine as the only sizeable Spanish settlement in ''La Florida''. El-camino-real

The missions at the presidios were staffed by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. Due to the hostility of the Native Americans, which resulted in the killing of several of the missionaries, the Jesuits withdrew from the mission field in ''La Florida'' in 1572.

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 ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

s entered into ''La Florida'' in 1573, but at first confined their activities to the immediate vicinity of St. Augustine. The Franciscans began taking their mission to the

and

along the Atlantic coast in 1587. Starting in 1606 the Franciscans expanded their mission efforts westward across northern Florida along a primitive but lengthy road known as El Camino Real. The road and the network of missions stretched across the Florida panhandle through the territory of the Timucua and reached the Apalachees in the vicinity of modern Tallahassee by 1633. The mission system functioned for decades, as the Spanish convinced most village leaders to provide food and labor in exchange for tools and protection. Regular waves of European-borne disease along with conflict with Carolina colonists to the north weakened the system as the 1600s progressed. It collapsed in the aftermath of Queen Anne's War, when colonists from the

Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...

, along with their

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

allies, killed or kidnapped much of the remaining native population of Spanish Florida except in areas near St. Augustine and Pensacola. The network of missions was virtually destroyed by Carolina Governor James Moore's incursions into northern Florida between 1702 and 1709, a series of attacks that were later called the Apalachee massacre. Dozens of missions and surrounding villages were abandoned by the early 1700s and their locations lost, as was much of the former route of El Camino Real. As a result, only a few mission sites in Florida have been found and positively identified.

Architecture

The mission buildings of ''La Florida'' were built with posts set into the ground. The walls were palmetto thatch,

wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung a ...

or plank, or left open. The floors were clay, and scholars believe the roofs were thatched. The church buildings in the missions averaged some 20 m by 11 m. Other buildings situated within a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

included a ''convento'' to house the missionaries, a

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

for the soldiers, and often a separate kitchen.

Provinces

The Spanish used the term "province" for the territory of a tribe or chiefdom. There was no fixed definition of province boundaries. As tribes and chiefdoms lost population and importance, the provinces associated with them would no longer appear in the records. Other provinces expanded to take in their territories. Most of the people taken into the mission system were

speakers. Three major groups that spoke other languages were also taken into the mission system. The Guale Province was the territory the

, and covered what is now coastal Georgia and the Sea Islands north of the

. The Guale were among the first people to be taken into the mission system, in the 1580s. Later in the 17th century, Guale Province was sometimes referred to as extending southward and including the region otherwise known as

. The Apalachee Province included the Apalachee people, who spoke a Muskogean language, and were brought into the mission system in the 1630s. It occupied the easternmost part of what is now the

, along the

coast from the Aucilla River to the Ochlockonee River. The Spanish established one early mission among the

Mayaca people Mayaca was the name used by the Spanish to refer to a Native American tribe in central Florida, to the principal village of that tribe and to the chief of that village in the 1560s. The Mayacas occupied an area in the upper St. Johns River valley ...

, a non-Timucuan speaking tribe south of the Agua Fresca, and resumed efforts among them, and their relatives, the Jororo, in the late 17th century. This district, which became known as the Mayaca-Jororo Province, occupied an area to the south of Lake George, on the upper (southern) St. Johns River. The Timucua-speakers, most of whom were brought into the mission system in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, were initially seen by the Spanish as living in a dozen or so provinces, with the

Acuera Acuera was the name of both an indigenous town and a province or region in central Florida during the 16th and 17th centuries. The indigenous people of Acuera spoke a dialect of the Timucua language. In 1539 the town first encountered Europeans when ...

, Ibi, Mocama,

Potano The Potano (also Potanou or Potavou) tribe lived in north-central Florida at the time of first European contact. Their territory included what is now Alachua County, the northern half of Marion County and the western part of Putnam County. This ...

(in its restricted sense, north of the Santa Fe River, and east of the Suwannee River), Utina, Yufera, and

Yustaga The Yustaga were a Timucua people of what is now northwestern Florida during the 16th and 17th centuries. The westernmost Timucua group, they lived between the Aucilla and Suwannee Rivers in the Florida Panhandle, just east of the Apalachee peop ...

provinces becoming major components of the mission system. During the 17th century, as Timucuan populations declined and the locations of Spanish missions were consolidated along the road between St. Augustine and Apalachee, most of these provinces were gradually consolidated in Spanish usage into a Timucua Province stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Aucilla River. The

Mocama Province Beginning in the second half of the 16th century, the Kingdom of Spain established a number of missions throughout ''La Florida'' in order to convert the Native Americans to Christianity, to facilitate control of the area, and to prevent its ...

included the coastal areas of southeastern Georgia and northern Florida from

St. Simons Island St. Simons Island (or simply St. Simons) is a barrier island and census-designated place (CDP) located on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. The names of the community and the island are interchangeable, known simply as ...

south to

, extending westward to approximately the distance of the

in Florida.Milanich: 98 It included some of the earliest missions to be established, and served the

, a Timucuan-speaking group of the coastal areas. Important missions established in the Mocama Province were

San Juan del Puerto San Juan del Puerto, Spain is a municipality located in the province of Huelva, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Lat ...

, among the

Saturiwa The Saturiwa were a Timucua chiefdom centered on the mouth of the St. Johns River in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. They were the largest and best attested chiefdom of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of ...

chiefdom, and San Pedro de Mocama, among the

Tacatacuru Tacatacuru was a Timucua chiefdom located on Cumberland Island in what is now the U.S. state of Georgia in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was one of two chiefdoms of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of Timuc ...

. The Timucua Province was initially established to serve the people known to the Spanish as the ''Timucua'' (called the

Northern Utina The Northern Utina, also known as the Timucua or simply Utina, were a Timucua people of northern Florida. They lived north of the Santa Fe River and east of the Suwannee River, and spoke a dialect of the Timucua language known as "Timucua prope ...

by modern scholars), who spoke the "Timucua proper" dialect. Eventually, however, it absorbed several other Timucua-speaking provinces and became the largest of all the Florida mission districts. Following shortly after the success of the Mocama missions, the Spanish established missions among the

Agua Fresca ''Aguas frescas'' ( en, cool waters, lit=fresh waters, italic=yes) are light non-alcoholic beverages made from one or more fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water. They are popular in Mexico and some other Latin Ame ...

(Eastern Utina or Freshwater Timucua) along the middle St. Johns River, from roughly present-day Palatka south to Lake George. Similarly, the missions among the

, centered on what is now Gainesville, were considered part of the Potano Province, while missions to the

, who lived around the Ocklawaha River, were part of the Acuera Province. Most of these areas were eventually considered part of the larger Timucua Province, in some cases because native populations had declined to the point that they could no longer support multiple missions. (The missions in Acuera Province were abandoned after the Timucua rebellion of 1656, although non-Christian Acueras continued to live there for another 40 years.) At this stage the Timucua Province included the area between the St. Johns and Suwanee rivers. Later, the Yustaga Province, which served the

who lived to the west of the Suwanee as far as the Aucilla River, was added, and the Timucua province covered the majority of north central Florida. The coastal area south of the Mocama Province and St. Augustine was known as ''La Costa''; though this area had some Timucua speakers, it did not see much missionary activity, perhaps because it was less densely populated. There were also a few missions established to the north and west of the Apalachee Province.Milanich: 98–99

Missions

* Apalo *Santa Ana de

*San Antón de Carlos (

Calusa The Calusa ( ) were a Native American people of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Previous indigenous cultures had lived in the area for thousands of years. At the time of ...

) *San Antonio de Anacape/ Enacape ( Agua Dulce/Utina) *San Antonio de Bacuqua ( Apalachee) *Asunción de Puerto ( Chatot) *San Augustín de Ahoica *San Augustín de Urihica *San Blás de Avino (

) * San Buenaventura de Guadalquini (moved to

as Santa Cruz y San Buenaventura de Guadalquini) * San Buenaventura de Potano * San Carlos de los Chacatos *San Carlos de Yatcatani *Santa Catalina de Afuerica (

) * Santa Catalina de Guale ( St. Catherines Island,

Sapelo Island Sapelo Island is a state-protected barrier island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is accessible only by aircraft or boat; the primary ferry comes from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven-mil ...

and Amelia Island, in succession) *Santa Clara de Tupiqui (

Sapelo River The Sapelo River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 26, 2011 primarily tidal river in McIntosh County, Georgia, McIntosh County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. s ...

) *Cofa (mouth of

Suwannee River The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset hig ...

) *La Concepción de Ayubale ( Ayubale) *Santa Cruz de Ajohica *Santa Cruz de Cachipile (

Arapaha Arapaha (also Arapaja or Harapaha) was a Timucua town on the Alapaha River in the 17th century. The name was also sometimes used to designate a province or sub-province in Spanish Florida. Arapaha entered historical records with the establishment ...

) *Santa Cruz de Capoli *Santa Cruz de Tarihica (Northern Utina) * San Damián de Cupaica (... de Cupahica) (... de Escambi) *San Diego de Helaca/Laca, later moved to San Diego de Salamototo (on

) *San Diego de Satuache (

) *Santo Domingo de Asao (Guale) *Santo Domingo de Talaje (

) * Santa Elena *Santa Elena de Machaba (

) *La Encarnación a la Santa Cruz de Sábacola ( Chatot) *

Santa Fe de Toloca Santa Fe de Toloca (Teleco, Toloco or Señor Santo Tomás de Santa Fe) was a Spanish mission that existed near the Santa Fe River in the northwestern part of what is now Alachua County, Florida, United States during the 17th century. It became ...

/Teleco/Toloco *San Felipe de Athulutheca *San Francisco de Chuaquin (Arapaha) *San Francisco de Oconi *

San Francisco de Potano Mission San Francisco de Potano was a Spanish missions in Florida, Spanish mission near Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States. The mission of San Francisco de Potano was founded in 1606 by the Franciscans Father Martín Prieto ...

(

) *San Ildefonso de Chamini/Chamile (Arapaha) * Santa Isabel de Utinahica *

San Joseph de Escambe San Joseph de Escambe was an Apalachee mission community established in 1741 at the present-day community of Molino, Florida along the Escambia River north of Pensacola, lending its name both to the river and later to Escambia County, Florida. Tak ...

(San José de Escambe) ( Apalachee) * San Joseph de Ocuya (San José de Ocuya) *San Joseph de Sapala (San José de Zapala) (

) *

San Juan de Aspalaga San Juan de Aspalaga was a Christian mission, mission in the Apalachee Province of Spanish Florida established by Franciscans. It first appears in Spanish records in 1655, when it was located at a distance of 86 League (unit), leagues from St. Augu ...

*San Juan (de) Guacara (on the

) *

* San Lorenzo de Ibihica *San Lorenzo de Ivitachuco (Apalachee) *Santa Lucia de

* San Luis de Apalachee ( Tallahassee), a

U.S. National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government fo ...

*San Luis de Eloquale (Acuera) *San Luis de Talimali (Apalachee) *Santa María *Santa María de Ayubale (Apalachee) *Santa María de Loreto (

Tequesta The Tequesta (also Tekesta, Tegesta, Chequesta, Vizcaynos) were a Native American tribe. At the time of first European contact they occupied an area along the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. They had infrequent contact with Europeans a ...

) *Santa María de los Angeles de

*Santa Maria de Sena, on Amelia Island *San Martín de Asunción de Puerto (Chatot) *

San Martín de Timucua The Fig Springs mission site ( 8CO1) is an archaeological site in Ichetucknee Springs State Park, in Columbia County, Florida. It has been identified as the site of a Spanish mission to the Timucua people of the region, dating to the first half ...

/Ayacutu/Ayaocuto *San Martín de Tomole ( Apalachee) *San Matheo de Tolapatafi (

) * San Miguel de Asile (Yustaga) *San Miguel de

*San Nicolás de Tolentino ( Chatot) * Nombre de Dios * Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Tolomato * San Pedro de Mocama ( Cumberland Island) *San Pedro do los Chines * San Pedro y San Pablo de Patale (San Pedro de Patali) *San Pedro y San Pablo de Potohiriba (San Pedro de Potohiriba) (Yustaga) *La Purificación de Tama *San Salvador de Mayaca *Santiago de Oconi (near the Okefenokee Swamp) *San Sebastian

Notes

References

* * *Hann, John H. (1996). "The Missions of Spanish Florida". In Gannon, Michael, ed. ''The New History of Florida''. Gainesville, Florida: University Presses of Florida. * * * * *

External links

The New Georgia Encyclopedia: Spanish Missions

Spanish Mission Bell
a
A History of Central Florida Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanish Missions In Florida Spanish missions in the United States Spanish Florida Spanish colonization of the Americas History of Catholicism in the United States Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States