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The California Missions
Why were the missions in Alta (Upper) California established? Along the Camino Real (King's Highway) from
San Diego to San Francisco and north to Sonoma in the last quarter
of the 18th and first quarter of the 19th centuries, a chain of
missions was founded a "stiff day's march" (30 miles -
the "march" was on horseback) apart from one another.
These missions established Spain's claim to Alta (Upper) California.
This Colonial settlement was developed under close cooperation between the military and the clergy. Sometimes, as in Mexico, the acquisition of territory was a military conquest, consolidated under the clergy and later given over to civil authority. In some areas, like California, the Indians were thought to be docile, so the clergy opened the frontier with only a military escort. Why did the Spanish wait to colonize for so long? Alta California was far from bases of supply and civil authority. Also, no riches were thought to exist in California. No land routes other than Indian trails existed in California, or places where food, water and supplies could be obtained - at least, that was what the Spanish thought, when they examined the problem with their own cultural bias. Who established the Alta California missions? Father Junipero Serra, a priest in the Franciscan
order, is considered to be the "father of California."
Serra was born on the island of Mallorca, Spain in 1713. He joined
the Franciscan order in 1730, and taught philosophy at the university
on his home island. He When were the Alta California missions established? In June 1769, Father Serra arrived by mule
in the vicinity of San Diego Bay. He had traveled overland from
Mexico City. The missions in Baja California were taken away from
the Jesuits by the Spanish and put in the hands of the Franciscans,
and Serra was chosen to head them. But before he could get underway,
orders arrived to missionize Alta California, beginning at the two
most important mapped ports, San Diego and Monterey. The military/civil
portion of the 1769 expedition was led by Don Gaspar de Portola.
Two ships carried part of the force, while the others, including
Serra, went overland. Scurvy took a terrible toll, with at least
¼ of the shipboard men dying of the disease. The survivors,
after rendezvousing at San Diego, set off for Monterey under Portola.
On July 16, 1769, after Portola's departure, Father Serra The padres and their handful of military guards would be, by themselves, poor colonizers. They needed the help and support of colonists or converted natives who could tend crops and manage livestock. While the padres were sincere and enthusiastic in their desire to preach the Gospel, the soldiers who accompanied them were recruited from the lowest ranks of Spanish society. They pursued the Indian women, causing conflict with Indian tribes. For this reason presidios and missions were soon established some distance from one another (5-6 miles) within each area that had both. It was also urged that married soldiers be recruited, and that they bring their wives with them into the new country. Because the military had had such a bad effect on the Indian population, Serra went to Mexico City in 1772 to plead his case before the Viceroy. The military commander in California refused to discipline his men for depredations against the Indians, insisted that he was in ultimate charge of the province, and even dared to open Serra's mail. As a result, the government gave Serra full control over the military in his district, and authorized more missions. This is one of the only instances in U.S. history where the ultimate authority in a territory or state was religious rather than military or civil. Once the way was cleared to found more missions for the chain in 1773, they were created as fast as supplies, soldiers and missionaries arrived to support them. The government had specifically authorized the founding of a mission further north, on the great bay named San Francisco. This was accomplished in 1776. After founding nine missions and walking thousands of miles from one to another, Father Serra died in 1784 at age 71. He was succeeded by Father Fermin Lasuen, a man every bit as capable as Serra, who added nine more missions to the chain. Lasuen died in 1803 at the age of 67. Both men are buried in the Carmel Mission. What were the Indians like? There were an estimated 100,000 Native Americans
in California. It is estimated that California was crowded with
more Indians per square mile than any other portion of the pre-European
United States. They were primarily hunters and gatherers, living
in a bountiful land in which they did not need to raise crops or
livestock to survive. Religious concepts were Were the missions the only attempts at Spanish colonization? A mission was only one of three agencies
used by the Spanish to colonize territory. In California it was
the most important, more so than pueblos (towns) or presidios (forts).
In California, presidios were set up to protect the missions, not
to colonize the province. Attempts were made to start pueblos, but
the Spanish had an impossible task in convincing colonists to move
to Alta California, so far away on the frontier. In 1777, fourteen
families What was a mission? Because there were no inducements to settle
pueblos, and presidios were meant only to guard the missions, it
was up to the missions to do the work of colonizing in Alta California.
Most missions were founded near the coast so they could be supplied
by sea. Others were created a short distance inland up the valleys;
none penetrated too far inland. Compared to pueblos and presidios,
a mission was inexpensive to launch - one or two padres, a handful
of Who owned the missions? The Indians. The missions were intended to
be temporary. As soon as the work of the missionaries was done,
they were expected to move on to another area. Legally, each mission
was expected to complete its work in ten years, by which time the
natives should be able to run a pueblo subject to civil law and
under the spiritual guidance of the regular clergy. This rule worked
in some areas of the empire, most notably Peru, Central America
and Mexico, Where did the money to run the missions come from? The missions were an official function of the Spanish Empire, and usually were funded by the state. During the 18th century, however, when the California missions were founded, the Spanish were low on funds. As a result, the money was appropriated from a large private endowment called the Pious Fund, originally established in Baja California by the Jesuits and taken over by the government when they were banished. An annual stipend of goods worth $300 to $400 was sent to each padre. The state paid for the expenses of the military men assigned to the missions and presidios. At the start, each mission received a grant of $1,000 from the Pious Fund to purchase bells, tools, seeds, vestments, and other needs. Some of the missions amassed considerable wealth through the skillful administration of crops and herds of cattle. None of this money went to the padres, however. Detailed accounts of the mission's receipts and expenditures were kept and sent as regular reports to the commanders of the nearest presidio. What did the padres teach the Indians? The padres originally wanted to teach the
Indians in their own languages, but there was such a profusion of
them that Spanish was used instead. In addition, the native vocabularies
contained few words for things which could not be seen, heard, touched
or tasted. The padres, of course, taught about the Christian religion.
They were unsuccessful in teaching many natives to read and write.
The padres tried to teach administrative duties, and when this failed,
decided to teach Indians a system of "trades." In California
this included raising crops How did the missions become self-supporting? The missions were the sole industries of Alta California. A flourishing trade began with ships of all nations, especially in hides, tallow, grain, wine, brandy, olive oil, and leatherwork. For these items the missions received tools, furniture, glass, nails, hardware, cloth, chests, iron cookware, lighting fixtures, musical instruments, and other items in exchange. Originally the padres were forbidden to trade with the ships of countries other than Spain, but smuggling began and so the rules were relaxed. Customs inspectors were set up in San Diego and Monterey, but these posts were sometimes bypassed and smuggling continued. New England merchants became the biggest customers for trade with the missions by the 1820s and 30s. How was a mission run? Two padres were generally assigned to each
mission. Usually one watched over spiritual affairs while the other
conducted the worldly business of the farming, ranching and trade.
The missions themselves usually formed a huge quadrangle with limited
access through one or two How did the padres gain converts? The padres attracted Indians to the missions
with presents of glass beads, clothing, blankets and food. They
gained the trust of the Indians and eventually convinced some to
move inside the mission complex. Once the Indians consented to join
the mission, they could never again leave without permission. They
were taught the Christian faith and expected to attend services
several times each day. They were taught the rudiments of several
trades, then assigned to What were the Indian revolts like? In November 1776, there was a revolt at San Diego and one at San Luis Obispo. At San Luis Obispo, the Indians used flaming arrows which set the thatched roofs on fire. When the buildings were rebuilt, the first tile roofs in California were employed to prevent this fire hazard, and became universal on all mission buildings thereafter. Three people were killed in each of these early revolts. The worst Indian revolt took place at La Purisima Mission in 1824. The revolt was caused by the flogging of an Indian at nearby Santa Ynez Mission. The Indians attacked the guard there, but were successfully held off. However, word spread to the La Purisima Mission, where, in concert with rebels from Santa Ynez, they seized possession of the entire mission. Using their knowledge of construction, they fortified the grounds by building stockades, cutting loopholes in the church walls and mounting two old cannons inside. They held the mission for nearly a month. The Spanish Governor sent soldiers down from Monterey, who attacked with cannon. After a three hour battle, the Indians surrendered. Sixteen Indians died and many were wounded; one soldier died and three were wounded. The seven Indian ringleaders were executed and 18 others served various prison terms. What were the soldiers like, and how many were assigned to Alta California? To enforce discipline, to ward off pirates or the troops of foreign powers, and to protect the missions from outlying Indians who tried to attack, harass, or agitate among their member Indians, each mission kept a compliment of five or six soldiers. If more troops were needed they had to march from the presidios at San Francisco, Monterey, San Diego, or Santa Barbara. The commanders of the mission guards (sergeants) were often in conflict with the wishes of the padres, who had the ultimate authority over them. However, it is an amazing fact that a total of about 300 soldiers, dispersed along 650 miles of territory, kept an Indian population of over 100,000 in check for over 65 years. The muskets of the Spanish soldiers were far more effective than the Indian arrows and spears. The soldiers carried shields of tough bull hide and wore leather jackets made of seven plies of deer hide, which could stop an arrow. The padres also appointed a small number of native police who assisted in keeping order within the mission. Christianized Indians were also brought in from neighboring, successful missions for this task. Were the missions successful? At the close of the mission period, there were 31,000 Christianized natives living in 21 missions under 60 padres and 300 soldiers. Historians have been divided into two camps over the mission system; some said it was bad, others that it was good. In defense of the mission system, it is said
that the padres were devoted to the Indians they taught, and were
sincere in their desire to Christianize and "civilize"
them. The missions offered a peaceful way to acquire and hold new
territory, gradually making the natives full citizens of the empire.
Critics of the system call it a thinly disguised form of slavery,
forcing a How did the mission system come to an end? The beginning of the end could be seen in the increased frequency of New England trading vessels in California. The British, French, and Russians were still off the coast as well. The Americans began trading with the Indians for sea otter pelts, then in the 1820s began to deal with the missions directly to trade for hides. An American named O'Cain even made a deal with the Russians, as early as 1803, to use Aleut hunters in swift boats along the California shores to kill sea otters and smuggle them out from under the very noses of the Spanish. New Englanders returned to the United States with favorable reports of California, and also telling of its sparse European population and military weakness. As time went on, more and more entrepreneurs and smugglers (primarily American) took advantage of Mexican weakness in the 1820s. But the lonely Californios welcomed these new ships and the manufactured goods they brought to trade. They welcomed also the colorful natives of the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) who were brought in great numbers to run the small boats into the shore through the Pacific surf. Eventually, Americans who consented to become Roman Catholic and swear allegiance to the Spanish crown were allowed to settle in the seaports. They became middlemen for the supplies produced at the missions, especially hides, tallow, olive oil and wine. The most famous of the early published reports were Alfred Robinson's Life in California and Richard Henry Dana's Two Years Before the Mast (1839). Here is Dana's description of getting the hides from San Juan Capistrano to the ships by flinging them off a 280 foot cliff (1835): "Down this height we pitched the hides, throwing them as far out into the air as we could; and as they were all large, stiff, and doubled like the cover of a book, the wind took them, and swayed them about, plunging and rising in the air, like a kite when it has broken its string." In addition, fur trappers from the St. Louis companies came into California over the mountains and became familiar with the missions. In 1826, Jedediah Smith and his company stopped at Mission San Gabriel (today part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area) in violation of a Mexican law which forbade foreigners from entering the province. The starved and tattered men were courteously received by the padres and allowed to remain for the ten days it took to get legal clearance. Altogether, their appearance amounted to an "international incident," particularly when Smith did not leave the province immediately as he was asked to do. Smith's experiences in California were recounted in a journal which has been published. Soon after Smith, James Ohio Pattie showed up in California under similar circumstances. In 1830, Ewing Young and Kit Carson, and even some British Hudson's Bay companies from Fort Vancouver arrived. The "invasion" of Yanquis into California by overland routes disturbed Spanish officials greatly. California was no longer so isolated from the rest of the world. It was underpopulated by Spanish citizens and loyal Indians and could not be defended. The padres were upset by reports that the fur trappers had consorted with and encouraged Indians who had escaped from the missions and lived in the mountains. Both Smith and Pattie were saved from prison by bonds put up by captains of American trading vessels. By 1832, trails had been opened from Yuma to Mission San Gabriel and Los Angeles, which became overland trade routes extending from St. Louis to the Pacific. In the early 1800s, throughout the Spanish empire, revolutions were taking one colony after another away to independence in South America, Central America and the Caribbean. The Spanish, already stretched thin, could no longer send troops, supply ships, or financial aid to remote Alta California. As a result, work got harder for the Indians at the missions, which had to become even more self-sufficient. Also, the padres had to rely more and more upon foreign (especially American) trade to keep the missions afloat. The harder work caused many Indians to rebel. Restrictions upon leaving the missions were tightened. Death rates soared. Many Indians began to see the mission system as a form of slavery from which they could not escape. Women sometimes aborted or killed their own children to keep them from this horrible life. In many ways, the life of the Indians on the missions in the 1820s and early 30s was comparable to slavery in the United States. In 1821, Mexico achieved its independence from Spain. But the period of deep political unrest in Mexico, which had already lasted ten years, did not end. The unrest disrupted the flow of money and supplies to the missions, and the new government continued to issue contradictory orders. In 1829, Mexico passed a law abolishing slavery. Further, much talk went on about the conditions of Indians at the missions. Finally, in 1830, a "civil war" was fought between the two Spanish/Mexican factions in California, one group favoring Indian missions and the other favoring Indian freedom. Rumblings of impending freedom welled up among the Indians, while a couple of small pitched battles were fought near Los Angeles. The war was a draw. In 1833, a law was finally passed in Mexico which secularized the missions. This meant that the lands held in trust for the Indians were to revert immediately to them. The padres could only keep the church, priest's quarters and priest's garden, and even these were transferred from the missionary order to the regular clergy, to be operated as a regular parish church. The remainder of the mission buildings were used for public services for the new pueblo. A commissioner would oversee the crops and herds, while the land was divided up as communal pasture, a town plot, and individual plots for each Indian family. Secularization was implemented between 1834 and 1836. In summary, then, there were several factors which led to the decline of the missions and the opening of California to the Americans. The first was increased trade and exploration by Americans; the second was discontent with the Spanish and later Mexican governments; the third was opening a window on the outside world via trade routes, long denied to Californios; and the fourth was the virtual enslavement of the Indians, who could no longer hope to become full Spanish citizens, the original intention of the mission system. After 1834, the handful of non-Indian inhabitants of California would dictate the province's destiny. Wasn't secularization a good thing? Secularization worked elsewhere in Mexico, but not in Alta California. For years the padres had opposed it, maintaining that the Indians were not ready to conduct their own affairs. Many civil authorities also opposed it, since the missions comprised nearly the entire economy of the province and the sole source of food. But pressure came from Spanish-Mexican settlers who could not own property in California, since all the land was owned by the state or held in trust for the Indians. In 1830, only 51 pieces of property were in private hands in all of Alta California. After secularization, many Mexicans, and eventually Americans and a Swiss named John Sutter, came to California to set up ranches. The mission Indians were generally swindled out of their property. Although some escaped to the mountains to join other, more traditional Indian bands, most could not return to their old ways of life. They eventually had to work for the new Spanish-Mexican landowners, who treated them like virtual slaves. The mission system ended too soon to accomplish its stated goals, and the Indians paid the price. A "ranchero" era began, immortalized in later periods of nostalgia. The rancherios paid no taxes, and lived off herds of cattle exploited only for their hides and tallow. They accomplished the work with Indian labor. The Indians got room and board, as they had at the missions, but did not earn wages. They could leave if they wanted to, but to what other life could they go? The rancheros were very lucrative operations, and were eyed very closely by Mexican and American entrepreneurs. The era of California's isolation ended with the close of the mission period. What happened to the mission buildings? The Americans won the War with Mexico in
1847. California had been conquered quickly, with the approval of
the majority of its Hispanic citizens. In 1848 gold was discovered
at Sutter's Mill, and a huge influx of Americans came to settle
or make their fortunes in California. By 1850 California was a state.
By acts of Congress, the United States returned some of the lands
and buildings to the Catholic Church in the 1850s and 1860s. The
old What was left of the old mission buildings was saved when artists and early photographers took an interest in them in the 1860s and 70s. By the early 1900s, there were rail excursions for sightseers to the missions, and wealthy individuals and organized groups campaigned for their restoration. Today, seven missions are National Historic Landmarks and two are run by the California State Park System. La Purisima Mission was restored by the National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and other worthy and accurate restorations have been conducted at many of the missions. All but two are active Catholic parishes, proud of their heritage and able to make a prosperous living because of their status as one of California's premiere tourist attractions. Mission-style architecture has gone in and out of vogue, but has been very influential in housing, railroad, furniture, and commercial building styles. Bibliography: Batman, Richard James Pattie's West: The Dream and the Reality Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1984 Billington, Ray Allen Westward Expansion New York: Macmillan, 1974 Bolton, Herbert Eugene The Spanish Borderlands New Haven: Yale University Press, 1921 Dale, Harrison Clifford The Expeditions of William H. Ashley and Jedediah Smith, 1822-1829 Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991 Dana, Richard Henry Two Years Before the Mast New York: Airmont Classics Version, 1965 (originally published in 1840) Krell, Dorothy The California Missions Menlo Park: Sunset Books, 1979 Lavender, David California: Land of New Beginnings Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1972 Viola, Herman J. (ed.) Magnificent Voyagers: The U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Press, 1985 Washburn, Wilcomb E., ed. Handbook of North American Indians: History of Indian-White Relations, v. 4. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1988, pp. 255-57.
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claim was urgent in the late 18th century, for although Spain had
claimed this territory since the early 1500s, it was barely explored,
there were no Spanish colonies or settlers there, and the Russian
fur traders were rapidly proceeding down the California coast in
search of sea otter. By 1812, the Russians established Fort Ross
just 80 miles north of San Francisco Bay. Establishing missions
seemed to be a quick way to colonize and hold the area for Spain.
Eventually there were 21 missions in the chain along the Camino
Real, which was similar to an earlier chain of 14 missions set up
along the Baja California coast by the Jesuit priest Father Kino.
decided
to give up this career in 1749 in order to convert the Indians of
North America to Christianity. He worked for nine years among the
Pame Indians at a mission north of Mexico City, and in 1768 was
made president of the Baja California missions. Serra was a small
man (5 feet 2 inches) who walked thousands of miles during his lifetime.
When in residence at the Carmel, California mission, he lived in
a small cell furnished only with a cot of boards, a single blanket,
a table and chair, a chest, a candlestick and a gourd. The Franciscans
are an order with a vow of poverty, and Serra certainly lived up
to this vow. Serra was an intense man who loved the natural beauties
of the world, a sweet man who instilled devotion in his followers.
But he could also be a fierce fighter if angered, and had a dark
side. He often dramatized his
sermons by scourging himself with chains, pounding his chest with
heavy stones, or searing his skin with tapers. For years he had
an abscess on his leg caused by an insect bite for which he refused
to seek treatment; thus, he walked with a limp. Father Serra's statue
is one of two which represent California in the U.S. Capitol at
Washington, D.C.
raised a cross at the site of the first mission in Alta California
in San Diego. Indians soon came into the camp out of curiosity.
They began stealing items, then finally attacked the camp and were
driven off. A stockade was built. Meanwhile, Portola made it to
Monterey Bay, but did not recognize it from the verbal descriptions
left by earlier explorers. He led his men back, starving, to San
Diego, and was ready to abandon the project altogether. However,
Father Serra stubbornly insisted upon staying with his new mission,
even if his military escort left him behind. A relief ship was weeks
late in coming, and Portola put pressure on Serra to leave. The
ship finally arrived at the very last moment, loaded with food and
supplies. Father Serra's mission project was saved. Serra took the
new ship to Monterey, where on June 3, 1770, the second mission
was dedicated. A presidio (military fort) was built at Monterey,
but the mission was soon moved four miles south to Carmel. Father
Serra was designated as Father-President of the Alta California
missions, and Carmel became his headquarters until the end of his
life.
complex
and subtle. Early mission records prove they were very healthy people,
and at least three native remedies have found their way into the
modern pharmacopoeia. They lived in villages near streams, the ocean,
or groves of live oaks. Their homes were conical in shape, with
the Chumash building some that were 60 feet in diameter. They made
baskets so tightly woven they would hold water. Their 30 foot boats,
made of planks for use on the ocean, have been judged to be the
finest made by Native American tribes. It was difficult to make
such contented people see the wisdom of conversion to Christianity
and acceptance of a radically different lifestyle. Factions formed
within tribes, which became part Christian and part non-Christian,
and these were very destructive. One of the major problems in communicating
with and teaching the Indians was language. Between Sonoma and San
Diego alone there were groups who spoke six different languages,
each with many different dialects.
agreed
to Spanish conditions and founded the first pueblo in Alta California
at San Jose. In 1781, the second pueblo was founded by a motley
group of 44 people who were rounded up in Baja, made many promises,
and marched northward to the future site of Los Angeles. The third
pueblo was Branceforte, founded in 1791 with convicts and prostitutes
evicted from Mexico. The pueblos did not do well (there were only
three founded in the 18th century), and the citizens who lived in
them chafed under the fact that they were not allowed to own land.
Land grants were issued to military men as rewards for service or
to aristocrats, but even these were rarely given out. Technically,
the land used by the citizens at pueblos was owned by the government.
The padres consistently opposed land ownership, claiming that they
needed the open ranges to support the huge herds of mission cattle.
The government upheld the wishes of the padres.
soldiers, and a load of supplies - and it later became a self-supporting
entity. The primary purpose of a mission was to Christianize the
natives, but its other major purpose - perhaps the real, if unstated
one - was to colonize and hold territory for Spain. Spain wanted
to use converted Indians to hold its territory, changing these Indians
eventually into Spanish citizens. This method of colonization should
be contrasted with the English, who were most often unwilling to
let other cultural groups come to full citizenship in their colonies.
and
caring for livestock. Because the missions had huge herds of beef
cattle, the Indians were taught the trade which today we would call
ranching. In effect, they became the first cowboys, called Vaqueros.
Other trades carried on in missions included tanning, blacksmithing,
and wine making. Women also learned to cook, sew, spin and weave.
In 1834, just before the missions were secularized, the Indians
at the 21 California missions herded 396,000 cattle, 62,000 horses,
and 321,000 hogs, sheep and goats. They harvested 123,000 bushels
of grain. The padres came to teach the Indians religion, but the
only way they could reach them was through teaching trades. The
unworldly, spiritual padres ended up administering huge farms and
ranches.
gates. Individual rooms included workshops, priest's quarters, dining
and cooking facilities, storage and office space, and living quarters
for unmarried Indian women, who were sequestered. The largest building
in the complex was, of course, the church, with a campanile which
held bells from Mexico City or Peru.
perform
the work for which they showed proficiency. Each Indian had to spend
a specified number of hours each week making adobe bricks, roof
tiles, building walls, working at a handicraft, or tilling the fields.
To relieve monotony, the padres celebrated nearly every feast day
on the liturgical calendar, many including processions, fiestas,
games and celebrations. The Indians were well-fed, with three big
meals each day, thus ending their hunter-gatherer lifestyle forever.
In many of the missions, Indians were granted a two week vacation
every five weeks to go back to visit their villages. Not all Indians
responded well to the mission lifestyle. Some rebelled, some ran
away, some even set fire to the buildings and led revolts. Runaways
were hunted down and brought back for discipline, usually two days
in the stocks. Indian resistance was greatest in the areas north
of San Francisco and along the Santa Barbara Channel.
culture
and religious beliefs on a people with no attempt to keep the traditional
culture of the natives. Once the missions were secularized, the
Indians tried and failed to return to traditional ways of life.
The introduction of Europeans brought diseases to the Indians which
killed off thousands. On balance, it can be said that the Spanish
treated the Indians far better than their American successors in
California, who killed off Indians indiscriminately with guns and
further diseases, then herded the remainder onto reservations in
the most worthless portions of the state.