What were the goals of the Spanish in California?

The main goal of the California missions was to convert Native Americans into devoted Christians and Spanish citizens. Spain used mission work to influence the natives with cultural and religious instruction.

Why did Spanish explorers come to California?

The goals of the Spanish explorers were to map the California coastline and claim a safe harbor for Spain. While some explorations produced a variety of maps, it was not until 1769 that the Spanish were able to claim a safe harbor for their empire.

What did the Spanish missionaries hope to do?

The Spanish mission was a frontier institution that sought to incorporate indigenous people into the Spanish colonial empire, its Catholic religion, and certain aspects of its Hispanic culture through the formal establishment or recognition of sedentary Indian communities entrusted to the tutelage of missionaries under …

What did the Spanish hope to find?

Their main goal—what they hoped to gain—was wealth, which would translate into power and prestige. Spain was hoping to enhance its wealth from the voyage of Christopher Columbus. The crown wanted to chart a western route to India and the lucrative spice and luxury goods trade.

Why are Spanish missions important?

Spanish colonial missions in North America are significant because so many were established and they had lasting effects on the cultural landscape. Their legacy is firmly a part of our national story and patrimony, and it highlights the common heritage the United States shares with Spain, Mexico and Latin America.

What did the Spanish missions do?

Spanish missions were explicitly established for the purpose of religious conversion and instruction in the Catholic faith. However, the mission system actually served as the primary means of integrating Indians into the political and economic structure of Florida’s colonial system.

What good things did conquistadors do?

The Spanish conquistadors had many military advantages over the New World natives. The Spanish had steel weapons and armor, which made them nearly unstoppable, as native weapons could not pierce Spanish armor nor could native armor defend against steel swords.

Why were Spanish soldiers sent to California?

Some of the soldiers had committed crimes in New Spain, and were being punished by being sent to California for duty. Most of the soldiers could not read or write. After Mexico became independent from Spain in 1822, the Mexican government ordered all the Spaniards under age 60 to leave California.

Why did Spain fail to colonize Baja California?

Coastal winds and currents made the voyage north difficult, and Spanish captains failed to find safe harbors for their crafts. Baja California became the northwest limit of Spanish colonization, and even there, efforts to settle the area and bring native tribes to Christianity and European ways were halfhearted at best.

When did the Spanish come to California?

Spanish California. Europeans’ contact with California began in the mid 1530s when Cortez’s men ventured to Baja California. Not until 1542 did Spaniards sail north to Alta California, and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s expedition that year made landings as far north as modern Santa Barbara.

How many missions did the Spanish build in Alta California?

By the end of the Spanish colonial period, Alta California had three more presidios (at Monterey, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara) and no fewer than twenty-one missions. In addition to the missions, where the Franciscans ministered to local converts, and the military presidios, small towns or pueblos sprang up.

What was the first Spanish settlement in Alta California?

In 1769, the first parties set north from Baja California, and the line of Spanish settlement along the coast was inaugurated when soldiers and priests established a presidio and mission church at San Diego. By the end of the Spanish colonial period, Alta California had three more presidios (at Monterey, San Francisco,…