Spanish missions in California

The mission systems for Mexican-American history involved a wide view, during its retrospect it was known as a sequence of missions that were established by Franciscan Monks in California and in the Spanish Southwest that obligated Indians into converting to Catholicism to employ themselves as agricultural laborers. An overall Mexican California that was an outbreak of dramatic strain that initiated the pros and cons of the mission system because of the changes in politics, religion, and economic dominance. The mission system also broadly focused on Mexican-Americans in their cultural and social outcomes. The mission system involved Arizona, California, and Texas. The mission life during the times of the mission systems focused mainly on their religion. The new natives were taught the typical and expected ways of the Catholic life and faith. The native women were forced upon the necessity of being nuns because in this system, that was their…

opportunity, California is home to creativity and ingenuity. As you approach the coast and travel down California, her majestic views welcome tourists and captures the hearts of her people. Cities scattered along her coast provide shelter to the once dominating Spanish influenced architecture and culture. From gas stations to schools to the local Trader Joes, the hint of red tiles and stucco walls litter the ever growing cities. But for some the roots of Spanish influence run deeper than the…

The secularization of the missions was created during the time when the Spanish had begun to have a fond interest on the new found Californian land. Most importantly, the Spaniards used the missions as a method to impose their imperial control over Indians. The secularization of the missions was significantly in part to convert the Indians to Catholicism and teach them about the European traditions. The secularization of the California missions was a steady and elongated process. In the…

In the primary source, “Plan for the Erection of Government, c. 1768,” Don Jose de Galvez writes about why he believes the Spanish government should take notice and action upon Alta California. Galvez, mentions in his letter to the Marques de Croix that other foreign nations were taking interest in Alta California and they only way to protect the Spanish from “the dangers that threaten” them. This primary document made me understand more as to why the Spanish finally took action into colonizing…

Galgano, Robert C. Feast of Souls: Indians and Spaniards in the Seventeenth-Century Missions of Florida and New Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005. This source talks about how the Indians were essential parts to the Spanish settlements in the New World, specifically New Mexico, and how the Franciscan missionaries attempted to convert them and assimilate them into Spanish society. The author argues that missions were the most important part of colonization, as the…

1. Based on your handouts and class discussion, explain in your own words why the hidden mural at Mission Dolores is an important artifact with regard to the nexus between the Ohline people and the Spanish settlers of San Francisco. Hidden murals were painting on the interior wall of the church. Not only it was decorative, but it also shows vital devotional function from worshipers. The mural is very meaning for Ohline people and the Spanish settlers of San Francisco. As we know, the first…

By trying to keep the other European countries out of Alta California. Alta had been discovered over two centuries earlier. The Spanish built settlements along the coast that would help them meet their goals. The missionaries also wanted to covert the Native Indians to the Roman Catholic Faith. The mission was the largest and the most productive community in Spanish California. Spain very well had everything planned, they had the strategy, and contributions, but they also lead to some failures…

the 16th and 17th centuries took several different approaches to the New World. The French saw potential business and trading partners, the English sought territory to expand their empire, and the Spanish were much more complex. The Spanish made one purposeful thrust into the New World in the 16th century to claim the industrious Natives as subjects of the Crown and Church. A century later, the Spanish returned to the New World. The Spanish unleashed forces of change that changed the lives of…

The missions were built by the Spanish starting in 1769 in order to colorize the territory of Alta California, which they had discovered over two centuries earlier. There had been various proposals over the years to do something with this territory, but it was hard reaching the coast of Alta California from new Spain (Mexico) in those days, sailing against the wind and currents, and Spain had other priorities. The driving purpose (from the king’s perspective) was to protect and hold territory…

During the mission period of Northern California, specifically around the missions of the Bay Area, there has been a great amount of research done into uncovering the archaeology of the resistance and level of assimilation undergone by the Natives who lived or were involved with the missions at the time. Over course of these investigations much evidence has been found that shows a level of integration for the individual was present in this time period at the missions in order for the native…