Spanish missions in California

Since the discovery of America by Columbus, the Spanish government considered the baptism of the local population one of its most important tasks, and therefore encouraged the establishment of settlements on the basis of which missionaries could convert local residents to Christianity. At the same time, the missionaries also taught the Indians the Spanish language and introduced them to the Spanish way of life and Spanish culture, creating the basis for turning them into loyal subjects of the Spanish monarchy.

On January 29, 1767, the Spanish king Charles III ordered Gaspard de Portole to expel the Jesuits , who had by then founded 15 missions on the California Peninsula . On March 12, 1768, José Galves entrusted the Franciscans under the leadership of Junipero Serra to take control of these missions. The Franciscans managed to close a number of these missions, as well as establish two of their own, when a few months later Galves received a new order: "In the name of God and the king of Spain, take and strengthen Monterrey and San Diego." The church ordered Dominicans to take up missions in Baja California so that the Franciscans could focus on Baja California .

On July 14, 1769, the Portola expedition , accompanied by Serra and the Franciscans, set off from Loreto to explore the lands in the north. It was planned to extend the chain of existing missions so that they were connected by a road and were at a distance of a day's journey from each other. The first of the missions in Upper California was based in San Diego, the second in Monterrey. By the end of 1769, the expedition reached the northernmost point of travel in the area of ​​modern San Francisco .

Plague Indians were lured to the mission with gifts in the form of food, beads, bright fabric. After that they were baptized . After the baptism, the Indians were no longer released from missions and forced to work (primarily in agricultural work). If the Indians refused to work, then they were flogged and starved. If the Indians escaped from missions, then military expeditions were organized to capture them. The Indians from the missions were also sent to work for the soldiers of the Spanish forts (presidio). These soldiers had to provide themselves with food, but instead of cultivating the land themselves, they forced the Indians to work for themselves ^[3] .

Twice the Indians unsuccessfully rebelled against the missionaries. Native American women in missions often resorted to abortion . Missionaries tried to fight this. Zalvidea’s father ordered punishing Indian women for a miscarriage (it was assumed in advance that he had been deliberately caused) as follows: shaving his head, flogging for fifteen consecutive days, shackling him for three months and forcing every Sunday to come to church with a painted wooden figure of a child in his hands ^{[3 ]}

19th Century

It was assumed that ten years later, the land of the missions will be, as was done in Mexico, distributed among the local population, but in fact none of the Spanish missions in California was able to achieve even self-sufficiency. The development of the missions was funded by El Fondo Piadoso de las Californias (California Pious Foundation), founded in 1697 and supported by voluntary contributions. After the war for the independence of Mexico began in 1810, this support disappeared, and the missions were left to their own devices.

In 1806, a measles epidemic swept through settlements in Spanish California, causing up to a quarter of the Indians to die in San Francisco Bay missions from March to May. In 1811, the Spanish Viceroy of Mexico sent a questionnaire to all missions in Upper California that addressed the living conditions of Indians who lived in the missions, their customs, etc. The answers provided by the missions are valuable material for researchers today.

In November-December 1818, coastal missions were attacked by the Argentine corsair Ippolito de Bouchard . Fearing attacks, few government officials and most mission priests took refuge in the mission of Nuestra Senora de la Solidad. The irony of fate is that as a result, church treasures in the Santa Cruz mission were looted by the very locals who were entrusted with protecting them.

In 1819, the Spanish government decided to limit its northward advance in the Americas due to a lack of funds, and the last of the missions founded was the San Francisco Solano mission, founded in 1823 in Sonoma. In 1833, the last group of missionaries arrived at the mission, who were no longer Spanish, but Mexicans trained in Guadalupe ; among them was Francisco Garcie Diego y Moreno .

After the formation of independent Mexico, the desire for secularization of church property intensified. In 1826, the first Mexican governor of Upper California, Jose Maria de Echeandia , issued the Emancipation Proclamation, according to which all Indians of the military districts of San Diego, Santa Barbara and Monterrey, who were considered sufficiently qualified, were released from the board of missionaries and became full citizens of Mexico . Those who remained under the auspices of the missions were exempted from most forms of corporal punishment. By 1830, even neophytes were fairly confident in their ability to manage farms and ranches on their own.

Governor Jose Figueroa , who took office in 1833, initially tried to maintain the mission system, but the Mexican Congress passed the Secularization Act on August 17. On August 9, 1834, the Governor Figueroa issued the “Confiscation Decree”, in accordance with which the mission was transferred to secular authorities in subsequent years. The Franciscans, leaving, tried to take with them everything of any value, after which the local population usually used the mission buildings as a source of building materials. The land owned by the missions was sold to private owners, resulting in a California ranch .

• Missionary work

1. ↑ About CHS: California Historical Society (Neopr.) . www.californiahistoricalsociety.org. Date of treatment October 2, 2018.
2. ↑ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: California Missions (neopr.) . www.newadvent.org. Date of treatment October 2, 2018.
3. ↑ ^{1 2} Carey McWilliams. Southern California: An Island on the Land Archived October 11, 2015.

• California Spanish Missions