The Spanish Mission
During the 1600s to 1700s, the Spanish were settling Texas. They did this by building missions and presidios throughout the land. The purpose was to keep the French out and to change the Indians' ways of life. Some of these missions failed and some succeeded. All in all they were closed after years of trying to change the Indians.
The first mission built in Texas was Corpus Christi de la Ysleta. This mission was built in 1682 and built east of today's El Paso. Because it was out in the mountains and basins region of Texas, the weather must have been very harsh. Priests at this mission had been escaping from an Indian uprising in New Mexico. This mission was the first permanent European settlement built in Texas. Around this time La Salle's fort had also been built.
San Francisco de los Tejas is another one of the first missions. It was the first mission built in East Texas. It was called Tejas because they had met Hasinai people along the Colorado River. The word Tejas means "friend". The Tejas mission was built after the Spanish found out about La Salle's fort. Tejas was built out of logs, unlike many of the missions. This was probably so because it was built in the Piney Woods or Post Oak Belt subregion. Trees in these subregions are plentiful. Tejas had been intended for the Caddo tribe. The Caddo were the most advanced tribe and didn't need the food, protection, or shelter the priests offered. Without the Caddo's support the mission was failing greatly. The Spanish government decided to stop funding money for the mission. Before the priests went back to Mexico, they buried the bell and hoped to return one day.
The Spanish decided to build a settlement between New Spain and East Texas. It would be a midway stop. They decided it would be located on the San Antonio River. San Jose was one of these settlements. It was made of limestone and was built in 1720. A nickname it had was "The Queen of Missions". Close by was San Antonio de Valero, or also known as the Alamo. It had carvings in the windows and the doorways that were complicated and beautiful. The carvings were made when the limestone was just unearthed. When limestone is just quarried it's relatively soft.
Mission San Juan Capistrano is in the center of the small town named for it. Shops and restaurants also named for it are found on the streets in front of the entrance to the mission. A high adobe wall surrounds the mission grounds. There are many restored buildings in the inner patio, and the great stone church. Across the fountain there is the bell wall that sits beside the ruined church. Near the bell is a statue of Father Junipero Serra. The ruins of the original stone church are in front of the mission. Only the sanctuary and parts of the church remain, but that’s enough to have an idea of how big it was. The church walls are made of large stones and birds have build nests between them. Mission San Juan Capistrano was one of many Spanish
At first, it seemed like the Spanish had total control of the city, but trouble soon broke out. In May 1520, Cortes briefly left the city. Ignorantly, his men, for some odd reason, attacked the Aztec. "Those Idiots!" I bet Cortes would have exclaimed as he came back to find his men being besieged in Moctezuma's palace. Cortes, being quite the intelligent thinker, thought that calming them would be the best way out of the situation.
Not only was it Texas's major port, but unfortunately it was the Unions major target resulting in a Federal Naval assault. during the first year of the Civil War. Knowing the importance of Galveston to Texas, Federal troops in 1862. took the port and surrounding areas thus making it one of only a handful of Union victories in the Lone Star state. Fearful of losing their "property", many slave owners in the areas surrounding Galveston, fled the area into the North of Texas to avoid any clashes with Union troops.
The year was 1699, and two Spanish missionaries accompanied by a contingent of Spanish soldados were sent to northern Coahuila. Their instructions were to establish missions for the primitive tribes, hunters and nut gatherers that lived along the Rio Grande, the great river of the north. Gold, glory and God, essentially in that order, had motivated the founding of the missions. The Alamo itself was founded in 1718; however, due to disease and a reluctance of the locals to embrace Christianity the mission was abandoned in 1793. It wasn’t ...
13 October 1834 was the first revolutionary meeting of the American citizens who’d settled in Mexico, in the area soon to be known as Texas. The people attempted a movement that soon was laid to rest by the Mexican Congress. Attempts at independence were silenced for the time being and the elections of 1835 proceeded forward. With Santa Anna moving to control Mexico, and taxes increasing, Texans grew restless and rowdy.
In 1845 the U.S attempted to Annex Texas. Basically America wanted Texas to become one of the states rather then and independent nation by itself. At this time Texas was an independent nation that was not a part of America or Mexico. Mexico wanted to keep Texas neutral if not a part of its own country. When the U.S attempted to annex Texas Mexico became outraged, " In November 1843 Mexico had warned that if the United States should commit the 'unheard-of aggression' of seizing an integral part of 'Mexican territory' Mexico would declare war " (Bound for the Rio Grande, 62). Despite the warning the U.S attempted to annex Texas. In doing so Mexico retaliated by breaking off all diplomatic relations with the U.S. Mexico felt that the U.S was insulting them by not taking them seriously when they threatened with war. So at this point America showed a very large interest in possessing Texas. America was very close to actually acquiring Texas when they made their first mistake in the war.
The reason for its development takes place when the Mission San Antonio de Valero became overcrowded, shortly after its foundation, because the missions from East Texas had recently closed. This mission was in fact founded by the Franciscans, who pledge to protect the Indians of the area with the purpose of converting the establishment in a church-oriented community to integrate Native Americans to the Spanish society. There, the Indians were taught vocational skills that would then help the community to create a self-sufficient economy. As mentioned before, Native Americans with hunting and gathering experiences were taught skills such as, carpentry, farming, and weaving, which helped to feed and clothe the mission residents, And indeed, they were so successful specifically at producing food, that they could help feed other missions in the
Spain’s initial goals were to discover gold or other mineral wealth, explore the new world, spread Catholicism, and overall, continue Christopher Columbus’s goal of finding passage to the east.
Mission San Buenaventura was built by water to attract merchant ships. ( San Buenaventura is also known
important and what are its interesting attributes? This mission is located in Santa Barbara, California. The mission’s nickname is “ The Queen of the Missions” since it was built on a hill overlooking the town of Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean. All of the missions in California were built to spread Catholicism to the Native American Indians. In addition to this, missions would help keep the land as Spanish territory and let the world know that Spain is the owner of this rich land along the coast. Mission Santa Barbara was a historical mission because of its founder, economy, and interesting facts.
Much of what Texas is today is because of the people who settled her land. Crafts such as quilting and the Texas Star pattern, dance like the Cotton-Eyed Joe and even the way Texans still hunt today can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
In the early 1700's, the country of Spain sent many explorers to the western world to claim land and find riches. When California was founded by several Spanish explorers, like Cabrillo, and De Anza, Spain decided to send missionaries to build missions. There are a total of 21 missions built in California. Mission Santa Ines was the 19th mission and was built to share the European God with the Indians and how to eat and dress like Europeans. Father Tapis wanted to make the Indians Christians and civilize them as well as keep and claim land for Spain. The missions were built near harbors, bays or rivers so the towns could grow the needed crops to survive, and to bring more Europeans, and show the Indians more European ways. The Indians built the missions under the supervision of the padres along El Camino Real, the Royal Road, where there was a water supply for the mission gardens and crops. The first mission built along El Camino Real was built in 1769, and the mission period lasted 54 years with the last mission built in 1823.
Mission San Juan Capistrano is a mission like no other. Mission San Juan Capistrano was founded in 1775 and in 1776. Serra’s Chapel was the first permanent building. It was made out of Adobe brick instead of wood. Local native Americans helped build the mission and hang the bells. The people worked for 8 days then stopped. They buried the mission. The people came back the next year to dig out and rebuild the mission. A neat fact about San Juan Capistrano is the brand of their livestock is the letters C,A and P twisted together. San Juan Capistrano is called the jewel of the missions. This unique mission is not an ordinary, everyday mission.
From the early days of pioneers and settlers, thousands of Americans began to move into what would become Texas. The Mexican government was wanting to populate the Texas area to increase the economy. For a long period of time the Mexican government had placed many laws on the territory, but none that were deeply inforced. Finally when a new dictatorship came into power, they began to enforce the laws. Slavery among other issues
Galveston, first visited by French and Spanish explorers in the 16th and 17th centuries, is located on Galveston Island, a 29-mile strip of land about two miles off the Texas coast and about 50 miles southeast of Houston. The city was named in the late 18th century for the Spanish governor of Louisiana, Bernardo de Galvez. Galveston is a commercial shipping port and, with its warm weather and miles of beaches, has also long been a popular resort. Galveston’s nickname at the time was Oleander City, which was filled with tourist at the time of the disaster.