With 21 missions developed in Alta California in the 18th century, San Diego de Alcalá was the first. Being first doesn’t mean best or most successful. There were major birthing problems here because of conflicts between the incoming Spaniards and their specific goals and those of the indigenous peoples, the Kumeyaay.
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Catholic priests ventured out into California to create missions in the 18th century from their Spanish bases in the Bajio of Mexico. Mission San Juan Capistrano is one of the best-known examples. Priests accompanied soldier-explorers who themselves were trying to duplicate the earlier exploits of Cortés, the brothers Pizzaro and many others. Fame and even more importantly, riches of untold amounts tempted them to push into the desert unknowns. But even as temporal gains pushed the main efforts, the spiritual mission remained an important sub context – natives to convert and to control.
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Catholic priests ventured out into California to create missions in the 18th century from their Spanish bases in the Bajio of Mexico. Priests accompanied soldier-explorers who themselves were trying to duplicate the earlier exploits of Cortés, the brothers Pizzaro and many others. Fame and even more importantly, riches of untold amounts tempted them to push into the desert unknowns. But even as temporal gains pushed the main efforts, the spiritual mission remained an important sub context – natives to convert and to control. Here is an example at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel.
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