Cornerstone School
Fourth Grade Students Present:

The Spanish Missions of California

A Social Studies Project
 

Our students have done a research project on each mission. Please go visit them:

          Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

          Mission San Francisco

          Mission San Juan Capistrano

          Mission Santa Barbara

         Go on a Virtual Bicycle Tour of the Missions
       

         Visit Great Mission Web Site
       

         Project Ideas & References
       

          See a map of the California Missions

      The History of the Spanish Missions in California:

      It was King Charles III of Spain's idea, actually. In the year 1768, the monarch of Spain found himself in a difficult position. Spain had claimed a vast area of land along the western side of North America more than 200 years before. The land was rich, fertile and near the sea; it was the perfect place to start cities and safe harbors for Spanish ships. So far, however, there had been no Spanish settlements started there. The king had heard that the Russians were interested in settling the land. If Spaniards didn't move in soon, the land would quickly fall to the Russians and be lost to Spain forever.
       
      At this time, land was money, and the Spanish monarch could not afford to lose this rich land. There were several reasons that missions were chosen over other forms of settlements. The king of Spain hoped that someday there would be powerful cities and harbors in the California area. To support the cities, which would sell things, they had to have farms, which would produce things. The king and queen of Spain decided to create a series of farms along the coast. Each would be a day's ride apart. That way, it would be easy to trade and sell not only goods, but information. They would be built by the sea so that they could easily supply ships that came to port there.

      The only problem with their plans was the lack of labor. With no Spanish people in the area, there would be no one to work on the farms. They soon solved that problem, however, by turning the farms into missions. The missions would be led by Fathers who would pursue the Catholic calling of converting non-believers into Christians. Their converts, the Native Americans, would also work on the missions. This decision solved both problems for the religious Spaniards, but was just the beginning of the problems for the Native Americans.

      The missions were designed by the padres, and actually built by the Native Americans they hoped to convert. Each mission was unique in a few ways, but they all had the same basic plan: a large, four-sided building with a patio in the center. The church was usually placed in one corner of the square; it was always the tallest and grandest
      building. All the rooms in the square building faced the patio. The back was reserved for the unmarried native women who worked in the kitchen. The other three sides contained the rooms for the two priests of the mission, workshops, a kitchen, storage rooms for food, and the mission office. The rest of the Native Americans lived outside the mission walls in huts. Surrounding the mission was vast fields used for growing crops and feeding livestock.

       The actual labor of the missions fell to the Native Americans. Because they practiced a polytheistic religion, did not speak Spanish, had dark skin and a very different way of life, the natives were viewed as heathens; their way of life was considered inferior to the that of the Spaniards. Because of this the Spanish made it clear that working on the missions was not optional. The locations of the missions were all very planned and very deliberate.
       
      Each mission was placed one day's ride or hard walk from its nearest neighbors. This made it easier for the Spaniards to trade and sell their food and crafts as well as to share information. They were also very careful to place all the missions near the sea so that ships would have plenty of opportunities to get fresh supplies before heading out to sea.

      Many of the missions were placed along Native American trails. The reasons for this were simple: The Spanish knew that the Native Americans always made their trails near fresh water and fertile soil; two things that the Spanish needed for successful missions. Another reason for the choice of native trails was the fact that it would make recruiting people even easier.

       
       
       

      E-Mail Us @ [email protected]