Spanish missions in Baja California

The Spanish Missions in Baja California comprise a series of religious outposts established by Spanish Catholic Dominicans, Jesuits, and Franciscans between 1683 and 1834 to spread the Christian doctrine among the local natives. The missions gave Spain a valuable toehold in the frontier land, and introduced European livestock, fruits, vegetables, and industry into the region. Eventually, a network of settlements was established wherein each of the installations was no more than a long day's ride by horse or boat (or three days on foot) from another.

As early as the voyages of Christopher Columbus, the Kingdom of Spain sought to establish missions to convert Pagans to Catholicism in "Nueva España" (New Spain, consisting of the Caribbean, of Mexico and portions of what today are the Southwestern United States), in order to facilitate colonization of these lands awarded to Spain by the Catholic Church.

Background

In addition to the "presidio" (royal fort) and "pueblo" (town), the "misión" was one of the three major agencies employed by the Spanish crown to extend its borders and consolidate its colonial territories. "Asistencias" ("sub-missions" or "contributing chapels") were small-scale missions that regularly conducted Divine service on days of obligation but lacked a resident priest; "visitas" ("visiting chapels") also lacked a resident priest, and were often attended only sporadically. Since 1493, the Crown of Spain had maintained a number of missions throughout "Nueva España" (New Spain, consisting of Mexico and portions of what today are the Southwestern United States) in order to facilitate colonization of these lands.

Each frontier station was forced to be self-supporting, as existing means of supply were inadequate to maintain a colony of any size. In order to sustain a mission, the "padres" required the help of colonists or converted Native Americans, called "neophytes", to cultivate crops and tend livestock in the volume needed to support a fair-sized establishment. The scarcity of imported materials, together with a lack of skilled laborers, compelled the Fathers to employ simple building materials and methods in the construction of mission structures. Although the missions were considered temporary ventures by the Spanish hierarchy, the development of an individual settlement was not simply a matter of "priestly whim." The founding of a mission followed longstanding rules and procedures; the paperwork involved required months, sometimes years of correspondence, and demanded the attention of virtually every level of the bureaucracy. Once empowered to erect a mission in a given area, the men assigned to it chose a specific site that featured a good water supply, plenty of wood for fires and building material, and ample fields for grazing herds and raising crops. The padres blessed the site, and with the aid of their military escort fashioned temporary shelters out of tree limbs or driven stakes, roofed with thatch or reeds ("cañas"). It was these simple huts that would ultimately give way to the stone and adobe buildings which exist to this day.

The first priority when beginning a settlement was the location and construction of the church ("iglesia"). The majority of mission sanctuaries were oriented on a roughly east-west axis to take the best advantage of the sun's position for interior illumination; the exact alignment depended on the geographic features of the particular site. Once the spot for the church was selected, its position would be marked and the remainder of the mission complex would be laid out. The workshops, kitchens, living quarters, storerooms, and other ancillary chambers were usually grouped in the form of a quadrangle, inside which religious celebrations and other festive events often took place. The "cuadrángulo" was rarely a perfect square because the Fathers had no surveying instruments at their disposal and simply measured off all dimensions by foot.

Missions in present–day Baja California (Mexico)

Fortún Jiménez de Bertadoña discovered the Baja California Peninsula in early 1534. However, it was Hernán Cortés who recognized the peninsula as the "Island of California" in May 1535, and is therefore officially credited with the discovery. In January 1683, the Spanish government chartered an expedition consisting of three ships to transport a contingent of 200 men to the southern tip of Baja California. Under the command of the governor of Sinaloa, Isidoro de Atondo y Antillon, and accompanied by Jesuit priest Eusebio Francisco Kino, the ships made landfall in La Paz. The landing party was eventually forced to abandon its initial settlement at San Bruno due to the hostile response on the part of the natives. In 1695, the missionaries attempted to establish a settlement near Loreto but again failed. Father Kino and Atondo y Antillon returned to the Mexican mainland, where Kino went on to establish several missions in the northwest. A Jesuit priest named Juan María de Salvatierra eventually managed to establish the first permanent Spanish settlement, the Misión Nuestra Senora de Loreto Conchó. Founded, on October 19, 1697, the Mission went on to become the religious and administrative capital of Baja California. From there, other Jesuits went out to establish other settlements throughout the peninsula, founding a total of 18 missions and two "visitas" ("visiting stations" or "country chapels") along the initial segment of El Camino Real over the next seven decades.

Unlike the mainland settlements that were designed to be self-sustaining enterprises, the remote and harsh conditions on the peninsula made it all but impossible to build and maintain these missions without ongoing assistance from the mainland. Supply lines from across the Sea of Cortez in the Port of Guaymas played a crucial role in keeping the Baja California mission system intact. Along with religion, the Europeans brought with them diseases that the indigenous peoples had never been exposed to, and consequently had no immunity against. By 1767, epidemics of measles, plague, smallpox, typhus, and venereal diseases had decimated the native population. Out of an initial population of as many as 50,000, only some 5,000 are thought to have survived.

During the sixty years that the Jesuits were permitted to serve among the natives of California, 56 members of the Society of Jesus came to the Baja California peninsula, of whom 16 died at their posts (two as martyrs). 15 priests and one lay brother survived the hardships, only to be subjected to enforcement of the brutal decree launched against the Society by King Carlos III of Spain. It was rumored that the Jesuit priests had amassed a fortune on the peninsula and were becoming very powerful. On February 3, 1768 the King ordered the Jesuits forcibly expelled from "New Spain" and returned to the home country. The Franciscans, under the leadership of Fray Junípero Serra, took charge of the missions and closed or consolidated several of the existing installations. The order also founded Misión San Fernando Rey de España de Velicatá (the only Franciscan mission in all of Baja California) and the nearby Visita de la Presentación in 1769. A total of 39 Friars Minor toiled on the peninsula during the five years and five months of Franciscan rule. 4 of them died, 10 were transferred to Alta California, and the remainder returned to Europe. Along with Governor Gaspar de Portolà, Father Serra was ordered by the Spanish government to travel north and establish a series of mission sites in Alta (Upper) California. [Engelhardt, pp. 3-18]

Representatives of the Dominican order arrived in 1772, and by 1800, had established 9 more missions in northern Baja, all the while continuing with the administration of the former the Jesuit missions. The peninsula was divided into two separate entities in 1804, with the southern one having the seat of government established in the Port of Loreto. In 1810, Mexico sought to end Spanish colonial rule, gaining her independence in 1821, after which Mexican President Guadalupe Victoria named Lt. Col. José María Echeandía governor of Baja California Sur and divided it in four separate "municipios" (municipalities). The capital was moved to La Paz, in 1830, after Loreto was partially destroyed by heavy rains. In 1833, after Baja California was designated as a federal territory, the governor formally put an end to the mission system by converting the missions into parish churches.

In geographical order, north to south

Baja California (state)

* Misión El Descanso (Misión San Miguel la Nueva), in Rosarito
* Misión de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Norte, in Guadalupe
* Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera, in Ensenada
* Misión Santa Catarina Virgen y Mártir, in Ensenada
* Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino
* Misión San Vicente Ferrer
* Misión Santo Domingo de la Frontera, near Colonia Vicente Guerrero
* Misión San Pedro Mártir de Verona
* Misión Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de Viñacado, near El Rosario
* Misión San Fernando Rey de España de Velicatá
* Visita de Calamajué (Visita de Calamyget) in Calamajué
* Misión Santa María de los Ángeles, near Cataviña
* Misión San Francisco Borja
* Misión Santa Gertrudis

Baja California Sur

* Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/san_ingnacio_kadakaaman_eng.htm] , in San Ignacio
* Misión Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Huasinapi [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/ntra_sra_guadalupe_guasinapi_eng.htm] , in Guadalupe
* Visita de San José de Magdalena, in Santa Rosalía
* Misión Santa Rosalía de Mulegé [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/sta_rosalia_mulege_eng.htm] , in Mulegé
* Misión San Bruno in San Bruno
* Misión La Purísima Concepción de Cadegomó [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/la_purisima_concepcion_eng.htm] , in La Purísima
* Misión San Jose de Comondú [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/san_jose_comondu_eng.htm] , north of Loreto
* Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/ntra_sra_loreto_eng.htm] , in Loreto
* Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/san_fco_javier_viggebiaundo_eng.htm] , in San Javier
* Misión San Juan Bautista Malibat [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/san_juan_bautista_ligui_eng.htm] (Misión Liguí), in Liguí
* Misión Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Sur Chillá [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/ntra_sra_los_dolores_eng.htm] , between Loreto and La Paz
* Misión San Luis Gonzaga Chiriyaqui [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/san_luis_gongaza_eng.htm] , northwest of La Paz
* Misión de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de La Paz Airapí [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/ntra_sra_pilar_lapaz_eng.htm] , in La Paz
* Misión Santa Rosa de las Palmas [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/sta_rosa_laspalmas_todossantos_eng.htm] (Misión Todos Santos), in Todos Santos
* Misión Santiago de Los Coras [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/santiago_eng.htm] , in Santiago
* Misión Estero de las Palmas de San José del Cabo Añuití [http://sepiensa.org.mx/contenidos/h_mexicanas/misiones/misiones/san_jose_cabo_eng.htm] , in San José del Cabo

In chronological order

Jesuit Establishments (1683–1767)

* Misión San Bruno founded in 1683
* Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó founded in 1697
* Visita de San Juan Bautista Londó founded in 1699
* Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó founded in 1699
* Misión San Juan Bautista Malibat (Misión Liguí) founded in 1705
* Misión Santa Rosalía de Mulegé founded in 1705
* Misión San Jose de Comondú founded in 1708
* Misión La Purísima Concepción de Cadegomó founded in 1720
* Misión de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de La Paz Airapí founded in 1720
* Misión Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Huasinapi founded in 1720
* Misión Santiago de Los Coras founded in 1721
* Misión Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Sur Chillá founded in 1721
* Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán founded in 1728
* Misión Estero de las Palmas de San José del Cabo Añuití founded in 1730
* Misión Santa Rosa de las Palmas (Misión Todos Santos) founded in 1733
* Misión San Luis Gonzaga Chiriyaqui founded in 1740
* Misión Santa Gertrudis founded in 1752
* Misión San Francisco Borja founded in 1762
* Visita de Calamajué (Visita de Calamyget) founded in 1766
* Misión Santa María de los Ángeles founded in 1767

Franciscan Establishments (1768–1773)

* Misión San Fernando Rey de España de Velicatá founded in 1769
* Visita de la Presentación founded in 1769

Dominican Establishments (1774–1834)

* Misión Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de Viñacado founded in 1774
* Visita de San José de Magdalena founded in 1774
* Misión Santo Domingo de la Frontera founded in 1775
* Misión San Vicente Ferrer founded in 1780
* Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera founded in 1797
* Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino founded in 1791
* Misión San Pedro Mártir de Verona founded in 1794
* Misión Santa Catarina Virgen y Mártir founded in 1797
* Visita de San Telmo founded in 1798
* Misión El Descanso (Misión San Miguel la Nueva) founded in 1817
* Misión de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Norte founded in 1834

Father-Presidents of the Baja California Mission System

* Father Junípero Serra (1769–1784)
* Father Francisco Palóu (acting) (1784–1785)
* Father Fermín Francisco de Lasuén (1785–1803)
* Father Pedro Estévan Tápis (1803–1812)
* Father José Francisco de Paula Señan (1812–1815)
* Father Mariano Payeras (1815–1820)
* Father José Francisco de Paula Señan (1820–1823)
* Father Vicente Francisco de Sarría (1823–1824)
* Father Narciso Durán (1824–1827)
* Father José Bernardo Sánchez (1827–1830)
* Father García Diego (1831–1835)
* Father José Maria González Rubio (1835–1843)
* Father José Anzar (1843–?)

The "Father-Presidente" was the head of the Catholic missions in Alta and Baja California. He was appointed by the apostolic college in Mexico City until 1812, when the position became known as the "Commissary Prefect" who was appointed by the Commissary General of the Indies (a Franciscan residing in Spain). Beginning in 1831, separate individuals were elected to oversee Upper and Lower California.

Notes

References

*

Further reading

* Bolton, Herbert Eugene. 1936. "Rim of Christendom". Macmillian, New York.
* Burrus, Ernest J. 1954. "Kino Reports to Headquarters: Correspondence of Eusebio F. Kino, S.J., from New Spain with Rome". Instituto Hostoricum S.J., Rome.
* Burrus, Ernest J. 1965. "Kino Writes to the Duchess". Jesuit Historical Institute, Rome.
* Mathes, W. Michael. 1969. "First from the Gulf to the Pacific: The Diary of the Kino-Atondo Peninsular Expedition, December 14, 1684-January 13, 1685". Dawson's Book Shop, Los Angeles.
* Mathes, W. Michael. 1974. "Californiana III: documentos para la historia de la transformación colonizadora de California, 1679-1686". José Porrúa Turanzas, Madrid.
* Vernon, Edward W. 2002. "Las Misiones Antiguas: The Spanish Missions of Baja California, 1683-1855". Viejo Press, Santa Barbara, California.

ee also

* History of Christian Missions
* Jesuit Asia missions
* Jesuit Reductions
* Missionary
* Reductions
* Spanish colonization of the Americas
* Spanish Missions in Alta California

External links

* [http://www.ca-missions.org www.ca-missions.org] — The official website of the California Mission Studies Association, a good source of accurate, peer-reviewed information on Mission Era history with an extensive links page.
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03177b.htm California Missions] article at "The Catholic Encyclopedia"
* [http://www.questconnect.org/baja_california_missions.htm Missions of Baja California and Baja California Sur]
* [http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2006/02/the_missions_of.html Google earth map of the Baja missions]