Spanish Missions

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Spanish Missions
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SPANISH CONTROL OF THE TEXAS BORDERLANDS

• To control the Texas borderlands the Spanish
  built 4 types of settlements
• missions religious communities
• presidios military bases
• towns small villages with farmers and merchants
• ranchos or ranches

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Missions

• Developed in response to other countries
  beginning to settle in the United States.
• The Spanish established these missions to protect
  its borders, and to spread Christianity.
• The Spanish built missions near rivers to ensure
  a good water supply.
• Missions included churches, dormitories,
  workrooms, barns, fields, and gardens.
• Missionaries taught the Indians about
  Catholicism, and taught them how to farm.

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Missions

• To protect these missions, presidios were
  established. A presidio is a military base.
  Soldiers in these bases were generally
  responsible for protecting several missions.
• Settlers homes were built near missions, so that
  they would be well protected. This led to the
  formation of towns, for example, San Antonio and
  El Paso.
• Spaniards lived near missions on ranchos, and
  raised cattle.

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Missions
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Missions
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New Missions along the Rio Grande

• In the late 1600s, the Spanish began building
  missions just south of the Rio Grande.
• They also built missions among the Pueblo Indians
  of New Mexico.
• In 1680, a Pueblo leader named Pope led a revolt,
  or revolution, against the Spanish. This Pueblo
  Revolt, drove the Spanish out of New Mexico.

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THE SPANISH ESTABLISHED MISSIONS ALONG THE
WESTERN RIO GRANDE

• To provide a place to live for settlers fleeing
  the Pueblo Revolt
• To use missions as a base to retake New Mexico

Pueblo Revolt revolution led by Pueblo leader
Popé against the Spanish in New Mexico
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Missions

• In 1682, the Spanish built the first mission in
  Texas, just east of present-day El Paso. This
  mission was called Corpus Christi de la Ysleta.

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Spanish Settlements on the Frontier
Represent Spanish govern-ment there
Convert AmericanIndians there toCatholicism
Developsettlements there
missions, presidios, towns, ranchos
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THE FRENCH

• Wanted to gain a port for the fur trade
• Establish trade with the Spanish colonies
• To gain a claim to Texas and challenge Spains
  empire
• Expedition ended in disaster

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La Salle

• 1682 La Salle claimed the area around the
  Mississippi River for France
• Led an expedition in 1684 to establish a
  settlement near the Mississippi River

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La Salle

• Difficult journey to Louisiana
• Pirates captured one ship
• Miss the mouth of the Mississippi River
• Landed in Matagorda Bay in Texas
• Move inland and built Ft. St. Louis
• La Salle started looking around for supplies and
  found the Rio Grande

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Ft. St. Louis
La Salle

• Moved inland built settlement
• Struggled to Survive
• Many died
• Burned by the Karankawas

• Realized he missed the Mississippi when he found
  the Rio Grande
• When heading back to Canada was murdered by his
  own soldiers.
• Blamed for the failure of the settlement

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EFFECT OF THE LA SALLE EXPEDITION

• Gave France a strong claim to Texas
• 2nd Flag to fly over Texas (French)
• Spain sent expeditions to find Ft. St. Louis
• Spain built missions in East Texas to protect
  their claim to the land

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Spanish in East Texas

• Between the years of 1686 and 1687, the Spanish
  sent six expeditions by land, and five by sea, in
  an attempt to locate Fort St. Louis.
• In 1689, a Spanish governor named Alonso De Leon
  led another expedition.
• A Spanish priest named Father Damian Massanet,
  accompanied him.
• In early 1690, these two men, along with about
  100 soldiers, built the first mission in East
  Texas. It was called San Francisco de los Tejas.
• In 1693, after three years of hardships,
  including drought, disease, and the Indians
  unwillingness to learn Christianity, the
  Spaniards burned the mission to the ground and
  fled to back to Mexico.

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Spanish in East Texas

• One of the priests of San Francisco de los Tejas,
  Father Francisco Hidalgo, wanted to return to
  East Texas.
• However, the Spanish refused to build another
  mission there.
• Hidalgo decided to ask the French to build a
  mission first.
• In 1713, the French sent Louis St. Denis to help
  Father Hidalgo.
• Both men returned to Spanish settlements on the
  Rio Grande with many goods they had received from
  the Indians for trade.
• The Spanish arrested them and sent them to Mexico
  City.
• Because St. Denis told the Spanish that he was
  sent to help Father Hidalgo, the Spanish became
  nervous and began to make plans to return to East
  Texas.

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FAILURE OF SPANISH MISSIONS IN EAST TEXAS

• Location too remote
• Floods, droughts, disease
• Internal conflicts
• Indians not interested in religious instruction

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Group Discussion

• Directions Discuss the following given the
  hardships endured on La Salles journey,
• Do you think it was worth it?
• Would you do it if you could? Why or why not?
• How would your life today be different if La
  Salle had not voyaged through Texas so many
  centuries ago?

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SAN ANTONIO RIVER AREA

• Midpoint between the East Texas missions and the
  Rio Grande settlement
• Mild climate and location by a river
• Became the site of the most successful Texas
  missions and settlements

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WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND SPAIN AFFECTS TEXAS

• Led to the Chicken War, which caused Spain to
  abandon East Texas
• Re-established Spanish control of the region
• Separated control of French Louisiana and Spanish
  Texas

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WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND SPAIN AFFECTS
TEXAS (continued)

• Chicken War conflict between French and Spanish
  in Texas where the French attacked Mission San
  Miguel de Linares de los Adaes

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Spanish Return to Texas

• France and Spain decide to work together for the
  missions in East Texas
• Spain wants to spread Christianity
• France wants to trade with the Indians
• Spain builds 6 new missions

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Problems with Spanish Missions

• Missions were over 500 miles away from Spanish
  settlements
• Apaches and Comanches raided the supplies wagons
• Difficult to get supplies to

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How to solve the problems

• Built missions on the San Antonio River as a mid
  way point
• Missions included De Bexar and Alamo
• Built El Camino Reel- only road going from the
  East missions to Mexico

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• Successful missions
• 1. San Antonio
• 2. Nacogdoches
• 3. Los Adaes
• 4. Goliad
• Other missions failed because
• 1. disease
• 2. Indian attacks
• 3. crop failure- hunger

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War and Expansion
Chicken War (June 1719)
Aguayo Expedition
Spanish re-occupation of East Texas
Agreement to separate control of French
Louisiana and Spanish Texas
Expansion of Spanish settlement (Los Adaes, La
Bahía)
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Life in Missions
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MISSIONS AND PRESIDIOS

• Centered around work and worship
• Life was harsh, uncomfortable dwellings, little
  food
• Life for soldiers was dangerous and difficult

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Life in a Missions

• The day started at dawn with religious services.
• Indians workday began under the direction of the
  priests
• The day ended with prayers and dinner
• This process hardly ever worked, because the
  Indians refused to let go of their old traditions

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Life in a Mission

• Men tended crops, while the women made pottery,
  cared for the livestock, wove cloth, and cooked.
• The dwellings were uncomfortable.
• People sometimes went hungry.

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Life in a Presidios

• Missions were most likely to succeed, if they had
  a presidio nearby.
• These military outposts were generally made of
  adobe, stone, and timber.
• They had a chapel, barracks for soldiers, storage
  rooms, and a headquarters building.
• The soldiers were not paid very much, and their
  uniforms were often dirty and ragged.

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LIFE IN SPANISH SETTLEMENTS

• Diverse populations
• Consisted of homes, government buildings and
  stores
• Economy based on farming and ranching
• Social activities centered around church and
  family

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The economy of the settlements was mostly based
on farming and ranching.

• The cattle business helped San Antonio and other
  towns grow.
• Vaqueros, or cowboys, worked on ranches near the
  settlements. They were well known for their
  skills at horse riding and cattle handling.

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Mission Government.

• The ayuntamiento, governing council, enforced
  royal and local laws.
• The alcalde, served as mayor, sheriff, and judge
  of small cases.

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SPANISH CULTURE AND TEXAS TODAY

• Spanish heritage present in Texas architecture
  and celebrations
• Apparent in music and food
• Spanish influence seen in place-names, towns, or
  rivers
• Some Spanish missions are still active churches.
• They laid out the first Texas roads.

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Life in Spanish Texas
routes of first Texas roads
Catholic heritage and missions
many Spanish place-names
culture (architecture, art, food, language, music)
cattle ranching traditions and terms
legal traditions