The California Mission System
Conversion and Conquest
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The California missions began in the late 18th century as an effort to convert Native Americans to Catholicism and expand European territory. There were 21 missions in all, lasting from 1769 until about 1833.
The California missions began in the late 18th century as an effort to convert Native Americans to Catholicism and expand European territory. Spain was responsible for the missions, which scholars believe were attempts to colonize the Pacific coast of North America. There were 21 missions in all, lasting from 1769 until about 1833. The mission system brought many new cultural and religious ideas to California, though critics charge the systematic oppression of Native Americans amounted to slavery. Although Spain claimed California as its territory in 1542, Spaniards didn’t try to occupy the land until the late 1700s. Around the time of the first missions, Spain had a considerable presence in Mexico. In 1769, the Spanish king ordered land and sea expeditions to depart from Mexico to California. He also sent military troops and Franciscan missionaries to the new land. Franciscan priest Father Junipero Serra founded the first mission in 1769. This was known as Mission San Diego de Alcalá and was located in present-day San Diego. The indigenous who occupied the region were initially resistant to the mission. In 1775, hundreds of local Tipai-Ipai indigenous attacked and burned the San Diego Mission, killing three men, including Father Luis Jayme. The missionaries rebuilt the mission as an army fort. Junipero Serra went on to establish eight more missions before his death in 1784. |
The information from this section was retrieved from this website.
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The missions created new communities where the Native Americans received religious education and instruction. The Spanish established pueblos (towns) and presidios (forts) for protection. The natives lived in the missions until their religious training was complete. Then, they would move to homes outside of the missions.
Once the natives converted to Christianity, the missionaries would move on to new locations, and the existing missions served as churches. The native converts were known as “neophytes.” After they were baptized, they were expected to perform labor. Typically, men worked in the fields, and women cooked. Both learned Spanish and attended church. Farming was an especially important job in the mission community. Wheat, barley and maize were some of the staple crops that were grown. The Spanish missionaries also brought fruits from Europe, such as apples, peaches and pears. Other jobs included carpentry, building, weaving and leather-working. Padres, or religious leaders, oversaw the mission. They were assigned six soldiers to protect them and the mission properties. The mission period greatly influenced architecture in California. Many of the buildings, houses and churches still exist today. Indigenous people used all-natural materials, such as stone, timber, mud brick, adobe and tile to build mission structures. Typically, buildings had large courtyards with tall adobe walls. Missions were built around patios that contained fountains and a garden. The buildings of this period are sometimes labeled as “mission style” to describe the signature design and craftsmanship. |
Aside from converting the indigenous, Spain used mission work to influence the natives with cultural and religious instruction. Another motivation for the missions was to ensure that rival countries, such as Russia and Great Britain, didn’t try to occupy the California region first.
The 21 California missions, listed in the order they were founded, are: 1. (1769) Mission San Diego de Alcalá 2. (1770) Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo 3. (1771) Mission San Antonio de Padua 4. (1771) Mission San Gabriel 5. (1772) Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa 6. (1776) Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) 7. (1776) Mission San Juan Capistrano 8. (1777) Mission Santa Clara de Asís 9. (1782) Mission San Buenaventura 10. (1786) Mission Santa Barbara 11. (1787) Mission La Purísima Concepción 12. (1791) Mission Santa Cruz 13. (1791) Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad 14. (1797) Mission San José 15. (1797) Mission San Juan Bautista 16. (1797) Mission San Miguel Arcángel 17. (1797) Mission San Fernando Rey de España 18. (1798) Mission San Luis Rey de Francia 19. (1804) Mission Santa Inés 20. (1817) Mission San Rafael Arcángel 21. (1823) Mission San Francisco Solano |
Mission San Gabriel Arcangel
This is a map of Mission San Gabriel Arcangel in relation to the Spanish and Mexican ranchos that were created through land grants provided by the Spanish and Mexican governments. This map was retrieved from this website.
History
In August 1771, a Portola expedition, which consisted of "ten Spanish soldiers and two Franciscan priests, encountered armed Kizh Indians on the banks of the Santa Ana River." One month later, Mission San Gabriel was founded on September 8, 1771, by Fray Angel Francisco de Sonera and Fray Pedro Benito Cambon. The planned site for the Mission was along the banks of the Río de Los Temblores (the River of the Earthquakes—the Santa Ana River). The priests chose an alternate site on a fertile plain located directly alongside the Rio Hondo in the Whittier Narrows. The site of the Misión Vieja (or "Old Mission") is located near the intersection of San Gabriel Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue.
In 1776, a flash flood destroyed much of the crops and ruined the original Mission complex, which was subsequently relocated five miles closer to the mountains in present-day San Gabriel (the Kizh settlement of 'Iisanchanga). The Kizh village of Shevaanga was located "close to the second location of Mission San Gabriel" after the original site was abandoned due to the flooding.
On December 9, 1812 (the "Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin"), a series of massive earthquakes shook Southern California. The 1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake caused the three-bell campanario, located adjacent to the chapel's east façade, to collapse. A larger, six-bell structure was subsequently constructed at the far end of the Capilla. While no pictorial record exists to document what the original structure looked like, architectural historian Rexford Newcomb deduced the design and published a depiction in his 1916 work The Franciscan Mission Architecture of Alta (upper) California.
Over 25,000 baptisms were conducted at San Gabriel between 1771 and 1834, making it the most prolific in the chain of missions. Kizh people from nearby settlements like Akuranga village were affected by the practices of Franciscan missionaries, who attempted to "eradicate what they perceived as ills within Kizh society" through "religious indoctrination, labor, restructuring of gender structures, and violence," which took place at and around the Mission.
Although San Gabriel once furnished food and supplies to settlements and other missions throughout California, a majority of the Mission structures fell into ruins after it was secularized in November 1834. The once-extensive vineyards were falling to decay, with fences broken down and animals roaming freely through it.
The Mission's chapel functioned as a parish church for the City of San Gabriel from 1862 until 1908, when the Claretian Missionaries came to San Gabriel and began the job of rebuilding and restoring the Mission. In 1874, tracks were laid for Southern Pacific Railroad near the mission. In 2012, artifacts from the mission era were found when the tracks were lowered into a trench known as the Alameda Corridor-East. On October 1, 1987 the Whittier Narrows earthquake damaged the property. A significant portion of the original complex has since been restored.
Mission Industries
The goal of the missions was to become self-sufficient in relatively short order. Farming was the most important industry of any mission. Prior to the missions, the native-Americans had developed a complex, self-sufficient culture. The missionaries believed the native Kizh people were inferior and in need of conversion to Christianity. The mission priests established what they thought of as a manual training school: to teach the indigenous their style of agriculture, the mechanical arts, and the raising and care of livestock. The missions, utilizing the labor of the neophytes (indigenous converts), produced everything they used and consumed. After 1811, the mission Indians could be said to sustain the entire military and civil government of California.
This information for this section and the next is retrieved from this website.
In 1776, a flash flood destroyed much of the crops and ruined the original Mission complex, which was subsequently relocated five miles closer to the mountains in present-day San Gabriel (the Kizh settlement of 'Iisanchanga). The Kizh village of Shevaanga was located "close to the second location of Mission San Gabriel" after the original site was abandoned due to the flooding.
On December 9, 1812 (the "Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin"), a series of massive earthquakes shook Southern California. The 1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake caused the three-bell campanario, located adjacent to the chapel's east façade, to collapse. A larger, six-bell structure was subsequently constructed at the far end of the Capilla. While no pictorial record exists to document what the original structure looked like, architectural historian Rexford Newcomb deduced the design and published a depiction in his 1916 work The Franciscan Mission Architecture of Alta (upper) California.
Over 25,000 baptisms were conducted at San Gabriel between 1771 and 1834, making it the most prolific in the chain of missions. Kizh people from nearby settlements like Akuranga village were affected by the practices of Franciscan missionaries, who attempted to "eradicate what they perceived as ills within Kizh society" through "religious indoctrination, labor, restructuring of gender structures, and violence," which took place at and around the Mission.
Although San Gabriel once furnished food and supplies to settlements and other missions throughout California, a majority of the Mission structures fell into ruins after it was secularized in November 1834. The once-extensive vineyards were falling to decay, with fences broken down and animals roaming freely through it.
The Mission's chapel functioned as a parish church for the City of San Gabriel from 1862 until 1908, when the Claretian Missionaries came to San Gabriel and began the job of rebuilding and restoring the Mission. In 1874, tracks were laid for Southern Pacific Railroad near the mission. In 2012, artifacts from the mission era were found when the tracks were lowered into a trench known as the Alameda Corridor-East. On October 1, 1987 the Whittier Narrows earthquake damaged the property. A significant portion of the original complex has since been restored.
Mission Industries
The goal of the missions was to become self-sufficient in relatively short order. Farming was the most important industry of any mission. Prior to the missions, the native-Americans had developed a complex, self-sufficient culture. The missionaries believed the native Kizh people were inferior and in need of conversion to Christianity. The mission priests established what they thought of as a manual training school: to teach the indigenous their style of agriculture, the mechanical arts, and the raising and care of livestock. The missions, utilizing the labor of the neophytes (indigenous converts), produced everything they used and consumed. After 1811, the mission Indians could be said to sustain the entire military and civil government of California.
This information for this section and the next is retrieved from this website.
Territory Included
In 1824 Rancho San Gorgonio was established, in what today is known as the San Gorgonio Pass, becoming the most distant rancho operated by the San Gabriel Mission. To efficiently manage its extensive lands, Mission San Gabriel established several outlying sub-missions, known as asistencias. Several of these became or were included in land grants following the Mexican secularization of the missions in the 1830s, including:
In 1816, the Mission built a grist mill on a nearby creek. El Molino Viejo still stands, now preserved as a museum and historic landmark. Other mission industries included cowhide tanning/exporting and tallow-rendering (for making soap and for export), lime kilns, tile making, cloth weaving for blankets and clothing, and adobe bricks.
- Rancho Santa Ana del Chino
- Rancho La Puente
- San Bernardino de Sena Estancia
- Rancho Santa Anita
In 1816, the Mission built a grist mill on a nearby creek. El Molino Viejo still stands, now preserved as a museum and historic landmark. Other mission industries included cowhide tanning/exporting and tallow-rendering (for making soap and for export), lime kilns, tile making, cloth weaving for blankets and clothing, and adobe bricks.
Mexican War of Independence and Secularization
In the early 19th century, Napoleon’s occupation of Spain led to the outbreak of revolts all across Spanish America. On September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest, launched the Mexican War of Independence with the issuing of his Grito de Dolores, or “Cry of Dolores.” The revolutionary tract called for the end of Spanish rule in Mexico, redistribution of land, and racial equality. After some initial successes, Hidalgo was defeated, captured, and executed. However, he was followed by other peasant leaders, such as José María Morelos y Pavón, Mariano Matamoros, and Vicente Guerrero, who all led armies of native and racially mixed revolutionaries against the Spanish and the Royalists.
Ironically, it was the Royalists–made up of Mexicans of Spanish descent and other conservatives–who ultimately brought about independence. In 1820, liberals took power in Spain, and the new government promised reforms to appease the Mexican revolutionaries. In response, Mexican conservatives called for independence as a means of maintaining their privileged position in Mexican society.
In early 1821, Agustín de Iturbide, the leader of the Royalist forces, negotiated the Plan of Iguala with Vicente Guerrero. Under the plan, Mexico would be established as an independent constitutional monarchy, the privileged position of the Catholic Church would be maintained, and Mexicans of Spanish descent would be regarded as equals to pure Spaniards. Mexicans of mixed or pure Indian blood would have lesser rights.
Iturbide defeated the Royalist forces still opposed to independence, and the new Spanish viceroy, lacking money, provisions, and troops, was forced to accept Mexican independence. On August 24, 1821, O’Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, thus ending New Spain’s dependence on Old Spain.
In 1822, as no Bourbon monarch to rule Mexico had been found, Iturbide was proclaimed the emperor of Mexico. However, his empire was short-lived, and in 1823 republican leaders Santa Anna and Guadalupe Victoria deposed Iturbide and set up a republic with Guadalupe Victoria as its first president. This information for this section was retrieved from this website. After Mexico took possession of Alta California, including SGV, the Mexican government secularized the system and disbanded the mission system. The land was partitioned and distributed according to Mexican land grants that continued the practice of ranchos, except with the Mexican government, rancheros owned the land forever, instead of just for life as it was under Spanish rule.
Ironically, it was the Royalists–made up of Mexicans of Spanish descent and other conservatives–who ultimately brought about independence. In 1820, liberals took power in Spain, and the new government promised reforms to appease the Mexican revolutionaries. In response, Mexican conservatives called for independence as a means of maintaining their privileged position in Mexican society.
In early 1821, Agustín de Iturbide, the leader of the Royalist forces, negotiated the Plan of Iguala with Vicente Guerrero. Under the plan, Mexico would be established as an independent constitutional monarchy, the privileged position of the Catholic Church would be maintained, and Mexicans of Spanish descent would be regarded as equals to pure Spaniards. Mexicans of mixed or pure Indian blood would have lesser rights.
Iturbide defeated the Royalist forces still opposed to independence, and the new Spanish viceroy, lacking money, provisions, and troops, was forced to accept Mexican independence. On August 24, 1821, O’Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, thus ending New Spain’s dependence on Old Spain.
In 1822, as no Bourbon monarch to rule Mexico had been found, Iturbide was proclaimed the emperor of Mexico. However, his empire was short-lived, and in 1823 republican leaders Santa Anna and Guadalupe Victoria deposed Iturbide and set up a republic with Guadalupe Victoria as its first president. This information for this section was retrieved from this website. After Mexico took possession of Alta California, including SGV, the Mexican government secularized the system and disbanded the mission system. The land was partitioned and distributed according to Mexican land grants that continued the practice of ranchos, except with the Mexican government, rancheros owned the land forever, instead of just for life as it was under Spanish rule.