Spanish
Missions
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SPANISH CONTROL OF THE TEXAS
BORDERLANDS
To control the Texas borderlands the
Spanish built 4 types of settlements:
1.missions – religious communities
2.presidios – military bases
3.towns – small villages with farmers and
merchants
4.ranchos – or ranches
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Missions
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Developed in response to other countries
beginning to settle in the United States.
The Spanish established these missions to
protect its borders, and to spread
Christianity.
The Spanish built missions near rivers to
ensure a good water supply.
Missions included churches, dormitories,
workrooms, barns, fields, and gardens.
Missionaries taught the Indians about
Catholicism, and taught them how to farm.
Missions
 To protect these missions, presidios were
established. A presidio is a military base.
Soldiers in these bases were generally
responsible for protecting several
missions.
 Settlers homes were built near missions,
so that they would be well protected. This
led to the formation of towns, for example,
San Antonio and El Paso.
 Spaniards lived near missions on ranchos,
and raised cattle.
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Missions
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Missions
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Missions
In 1682, the Spanish built the first
mission in Texas, just east of
present-day El Paso. This mission
was called Corpus Christi de la
Ysleta.
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Spanish Settlements on the Frontier
To control the borderlands
Mission System
Goal
Goal
Goal
Represent
Spanish government there
Convert American
Indians there to
Catholicism
Develop
settlements
there
Four types of Spanish settlements
missions, presidios, towns, ranchos
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THE FRENCH
Wanted to gain a port for the fur trade
Establish trade with the Spanish
colonies
To gain a claim to Texas and challenge
Spain’s empire
Expedition ended in disaster
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La Salle
 1682 La Salle
claimed the area
around the
Mississippi River for
France
Led an expedition in
1684 to establish a
settlement near the
Mississippi River
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La Salle
 Difficult journey to Louisiana
Pirates captured one ship
Miss the mouth of the Mississippi River
Landed in Matagorda Bay in Texas
Move inland and built Ft. St. Louis
La Salle started looking around for
supplies and found the Rio Grande
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Ft. St. Louis
Moved inland &
built settlement
Struggled to
Survive
Many died
Burned by the
Karankawas
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La Salle
Realized he missed
the Mississippi
when he found the
Rio Grande
When heading
back to Canada
was murdered by
his own soldiers.
Blamed for the
failure of the
settlement
EFFECT OF THE LA SALLE EXPEDITION
Gave France a strong claim to Texas
2nd Flag to fly over Texas (French)
Spain sent expeditions to find Ft. St.
Louis
Spain built missions in East Texas to
protect their claim to the land
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Spanish in East Texas
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Between the years of 1686 and 1687, the Spanish sent
six expeditions by land, and five by sea, in an attempt
to locate Fort St. Louis.
In 1689, a Spanish governor named Alonso De Leon
led another expedition.
A Spanish priest named Father Damian Massanet,
accompanied him.
In early 1690, these two men, along with about 100
soldiers, built the first mission in East Texas. It was
called San Francisco de los Tejas.
In 1693, after three years of hardships, including
drought, disease, and the Indians unwillingness to
learn Christianity, the Spaniards burned the mission to
the ground and fled to back to Mexico.
Spanish in East Texas
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One of the priests of San Francisco de los Tejas, Father
Francisco Hidalgo, wanted to return to East Texas.
However, the Spanish refused to build another mission
there.
Hidalgo decided to ask the French to build a mission first.
In 1713, the French sent Louis St. Denis to help Father
Hidalgo.
Both men returned to Spanish settlements on the Rio
Grande with many goods they had received from the
Indians for trade.
The Spanish arrested them and sent them to Mexico City.
Because St. Denis told the Spanish that he was sent to help
Father Hidalgo, the Spanish became nervous and began to
make plans to return to East Texas.
FAILURE OF SPANISH MISSIONS
IN EAST TEXAS
Location too remote
Floods, droughts, disease
Internal conflicts
Indians not interested in religious
instruction
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SAN ANTONIO RIVER AREA
Midpoint between the East Texas
missions and the Rio Grande
settlement
Mild climate and location by a river
Became the site of the most successful
Texas missions and settlements
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Spanish Return to Texas
France and Spain decide to work
together for the missions in East Texas
Spain wants to spread Christianity
France wants to trade with the Indians
Spain builds 6 new missions
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Problems with Spanish Missions
Missions were over 500 miles away
from Spanish settlements
Apaches and Comanches raided the
supplies wagons
Difficult to get supplies to
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How to solve the problems
Built missions on the San Antonio River
as a mid way point
Missions included: De Bexar and Alamo
Built El Camino Real- only road going
from the East missions to Mexico
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Successful missions:
1. San Antonio
2. Nacogdoches
3. Los Adaes
4. Goliad
Other missions failed because:
1. disease
2. Indian attacks
3. crop failure- hunger
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War and Expansion
France and Spain at War
Chicken War (June 1719)
Spanish abandon East Texas
Aguayo Expedition
Effect
Spanish
re-occupation of
East Texas
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Effect
Agreement to
separate control of
French Louisiana
and Spanish Texas
Effect
Expansion of
Spanish settlement
(Los Adaes,
La Bahía)
Life in
Missions
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MISSIONS AND PRESIDIOS
Centered around work and worship
Life was harsh, uncomfortable
dwellings, little food
Life for soldiers was dangerous and
difficult
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Life in a Missions
 The day started at dawn with religious
services.
 Indians’ workday began under the
direction of the priests
 The day ended with prayers and
dinner
This process hardly ever worked, because the
Indians refused to let go of their old traditions
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Life in a Mission
 Men tended crops, while the women
made pottery, cared for the livestock,
wove cloth, and cooked.
 The dwellings were uncomfortable.
 People sometimes went hungry.
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Life in a Presidios
 Missions were most likely to succeed, if they
had a presidio nearby.
 These military outposts were generally made
of adobe, stone, and timber.
 They had a chapel, barracks for soldiers,
storage rooms, and a headquarters building.
 The soldiers were not paid very much, and
their uniforms were often dirty and ragged.
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LIFE IN SPANISH SETTLEMENTS
Diverse populations
Consisted of homes, government
buildings and stores
Economy based on farming and
ranching
Social activities centered around church
and family
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The economy of the settlements was
mostly based on farming and ranching.
 The cattle business helped San
Antonio and other towns grow.
 Vaqueros, or cowboys, worked on
ranches near the settlements. They
were well known for their skills at
horse riding and cattle handling.
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Mission Government.
 The ayuntamiento, governing
council, enforced royal and local
laws.
 The alcalde, served as mayor,
sheriff, and judge of small cases.
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SPANISH CULTURE AND TEXAS
TODAY
 Spanish heritage present in Texas
architecture and celebrations
 Apparent in music and food
 Spanish influence seen in place-names,
towns, or rivers
 Some Spanish missions are still active
churches.
 They laid out the first Texas roads.
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Life in Spanish Texas
Catholic
heritage and
missions
routes of
first Texas
roads
many
Spanish
place-names
Examples of Spanish
Influence in Texas
culture
(architecture,
art, food,
language,
music)
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legal
traditions
cattle
ranching
traditions and
terms