Missions Intro
Social Sciences
Intro of the California Missions
Life would change a great deal for California Indians after the Spanish arrived. Their religious beliefs would be challenged by Christianity. And their hunter gatherer societies would be replaced with agricultural societies. The Spanish came in 1769. They came to California for two reasons. They wanted more land and wealth. The Spanish Empire already held territories in south and Central America, and they wanted to expand north to take control of the resources there. And Spain's king and religious leaders wanted to change the beliefs of the natives, so they sent missionaries to convert them to Christianity.
The Spanish established a system of presidios, pueblos, and missions. This would allow them to colonize and control the native people. Each settlement had its own purpose. Presidios were military bases, built to protect the priests and colonists from Indian attacks. Four were built. They were located in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco.
Missions were religious settlements established with the goal of extending the teachings of Christianity and converting the Indians. Pueblos or towns were built near the missions to attract settlers from Mexico. The three types of communities relied heavily on each other. The presidios protected the pueblos and missions and pueblos and missions provided food for the soldiers of the presidios. It was the mission that most affected the Indian way of life.
Changing them from hunter gatherers to farmers and skilled laborers. Spanish Franciscan missionary, junipero Serra, founded the California mission system, the franciscans were in order of the Catholic Church favored by Spanish royalty. Sarah established the first mission in San Diego in 1769. One year later, he traveled to Monterey and founded the mission San Carlos bara meo. 21 missions were established in California between 1769 and 1823. The missionaries usually forced the Indians to learn how to work in agriculture. They grew crops such as barley, oats, and wheat. Planted vineyards and orange groves, and herded sheep and cattle. The mission Indians were also expected to convert to and practice Christianity.
Life on the missions was very hard. Men and women were separated, and they lived in overcrowded conditions. Disease caused the most harm at the missions. The Spanish carried measles, smallpox and diphtheria, and the native population had no resistance to these new illnesses. At one mission, half the Indians died within 9 years. When the mission's first opened, many Indians went willingly, but as word spread about the hard conditions, many Indians refused to go. The Spanish began to use force to round them up. When mission Indians tried to escape, they were severely punished. But sometimes the local tribes struck back. In 1775, 800 Indians attacked the San Diego mission, burned it to the ground and killed the priest.
The missions were intended to be temporary and work was expected to be completed within ten years. But ten years was not enough time to achieve the goals of the missions, and the system continued into the early 1800s. In 1833, Mexico gained its independence from Spain. And ended the mission system. The mission lands were divided into ranchos or huge ranches. Ranchos usually covered about 75 square miles and were given to Mexican citizens to raise cattle and work the land. Once again, the mission Indians found they had to change their way of life. Working on the ranchos, they could practice their own religion, but they lived hard lives and worked long hours. They were paid in food, supplies, and clothing instead of money.
Some Indians moved to the interior of California, where missions and ranchos had never been established. They joined similar tribes or form new ones. California Indians survived the missions at great cost, but just as the legacy of the missions remains, many of the tribes live on today.