Spanish missions in Arizona

Last updated
[ edit ]
Flag of Arizona.svg
History of Arizona
European Colonization
Spanish Period
Mexican Period
Territorial Period
   The Depression and World Wars   

Beginning in the 16th century Spain established missions throughout New Spain (consisting of Mexico and portions of what today are the Southwestern United States) in order to facilitate colonization of these lands.

Contents

History

Early Franciscan missions

The indigenous peoples of Arizona remained unknown to European explorers until 1540 when Spanish explorer Pedro de Tovar (who was part of the Coronado expedition) encountered the Hopi while searching for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold. Contact with Europeans remained infrequent until three missions were established in 1629 in what is now northeastern Arizona.

In 1680, the Pueblo Revolt resulted in the destruction of all three missions, greatly limiting Spanish influence in the region. Subsequent attempts to reestablish the missions in Hopi villages were met with repeated failures. The former mission is still visible today as a ruin.

Jesuit missions

In the spring of 1687, the Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino lived and worked with the Native Americans in the area called the Pimería Alta, or "Upper Pima Country," which presently includes the Mexican state of Sonora and the southern portion of Arizona. During Father Eusebio Kino's stay in the Pimería Alta, he founded over twenty[ quantify ] missions in eight mission districts. In Arizona, unlike Mexico, missionization proceeded slowly.

Father Kino founded missions San Xavier and San Gabriel at the Piman communities of Bac and Guevavi along the Santa Cruz River.

Late Franciscan missions

Following the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, the Franciscans from the college of Santa Cruz in Querétaro took over responsibility in the Pimería Alta missions. Meanwhile, other Franciscans from the college of San Fernando in Mexico City under the leadership of Junípero Serra, were assigned to replace the Jesuits in the Baja California missions of the lower Las Californias Province.

Under the administration of Franciscan friar and explorer Francisco Garcés, three additional missions were established with the goal of establishing a permanent connection between the missions of Las Californias and Pimería Alta. However, following a Quechan raid in 1781 that destroyed two mission near present-day Yuma, the two regions remained isolated. This greatly limited the expansion of Spanish influence throughout the lower Colorado River.

Following the Mexican War of Independence and the expulsion of all Spanish-born priests from the region in 1828, the remaining missions were gradually abandoned. Mission San Xavier del Bac was the last mission to be abandoned, with the last priest leaving for Spain in 1837.

Missions

List of missions in Arizona, from year of first established
NameImageLocationDate founded Order Notes
Mission San Francisco de Oraibi Oraibi 1629 Franciscans Destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. In ruins.
Mission San Bernardo de Aguatubi near Jeddito 1629 Franciscans Destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. Rebuilt in the 1690s before it and the surrounding village was destroyed in 1700. In ruins.
Mission San Bartolomé de Shungópove Second Mesa 1629 Franciscans Destroyed during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt. In ruins.
Mission San Cayetano del Tumacácori Tumacacori January 1691 Jesuits The mission abandoned during the 1751 O'odham Uprising and rebuilt as Mission San José de Tumacácori to the west of the Santa Cruz River. Non-extant.
Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi Los Santos Angeles de Guevavi.jpg near Beyerville 1691 Jesuits Abandoned in 1775. The church ruins date to 1751.
Mission San Xavier del Bac San Xavier del Bac in overcast weather.jpg near Tucson 1692 Jesuits 1692–1770, 1783–1837, 1859–present. The extant mission church was completed in 1797. [1]
Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas San Cayetano de Calabazas.jpg Rio Rico 1755 Jesuits Abandoned in 1786.
Mission San José de Tumacácori Ruins of the Franciscan church at Mission San Jose de Tumacacori (6127855296).jpg Tumacacori 1757 Jesuits Located west of the site of Mission San Cayetano del Tumacácori. Abandoned in 1828.
Mission San Cosme y Damián de Tucsón Historic American Buildings Survey Photo by 'The Campbell Studios', 1122 North 3rd Avenue, Tucson, Arizona. c. 1881 Copied for Survey through courtesy of Harry Drachman. VIEW HABS ARIZ,10-TUCSO,3-3.tif Tucson 1768 Franciscans Established as a visita in 1692. Elevated to the status of mission in 1768. Abandoned in 1828. Non-extant.
Mission Puerto de Purísima Concepción Saint Thomas Yuma Indian Mission, Winterhaven, CA.jpg Winterhaven October 1780 Franciscans Located in California but administered as part of the Pimería Alta missions. Destroyed during a Quechan raid from July 17–19, 1781. Non-extant. A reconstruction of the mission was completed in 1923, which currently serves as a parish church.
Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer near Bard January 7, 1781 Franciscans Located in California but administered as part of the Pimería Alta missions. Destroyed during a Quechan raid from July 17–19, 1781. Non-extant.

See also

On Spanish Missions in neighboring regions:

On general missionary history:

On colonial Spanish American history:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission San Xavier del Bac</span> 17th-century Spanish mission in Arizona

Mission San Xavier del Bac is a historic Spanish Catholic mission located about 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O'odham Nation San Xavier Indian Reservation. The mission was founded in 1692 by Padre Eusebio Kino in the center of a centuries-old settlement of the Sobaipuri O'odham, a branch of the Akimel or River O'odham located along the banks of the Santa Cruz River. The mission was named for Francis Xavier, a Christian missionary and co-founder of the Society of Jesus in Europe. The original church was built to the north of the present Franciscan church. This northern church or churches served the mission until it was razed during an Apache raid in 1770.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alta California</span> Former province of New Spain

Alta California, also known as Nueva California among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of Las Californias, but was made a separate province in 1804. Following the Mexican War of Independence, it became a territory of Mexico in April 1822 and was renamed Alta California in 1824.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pimería Alta</span> Viceroyalty of New Spain area now called Pimeria Alta

The Pimería Alta was an area of the 18th century Sonora y Sinaloa Province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, that encompassed parts of what are today southern Arizona in the United States and northern Sonora in Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Garcés</span> Explorer, missionary (1738–1781)

Francisco Hermenegildo Tomás GarcésO.F.M. was a Spanish Franciscan friar who served as a missionary and explorer in the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. He explored much of the southwestern region of North America, including present day Sonora and Baja California in Mexico, and the U.S. states of Arizona and California. He was killed along with his companion friars during an uprising by the Native American population, and they have been declared martyrs for the faith by the Catholic Church. The cause for his canonization was opened by the Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eusebio Kino</span> German-Italian Jesuit missionary (1645–1711)

Eusebio Francisco Kino, SJ, often referred to as Father Kino, was a Tyrolean Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer and astronomer born in the Territory of the Bishopric of Trent, then part of a partially German-speaking area of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. For the last 24 years of his life he worked in the region then known as the Pimería Alta, modern-day Sonora in Mexico and southern Arizona in the United States. He explored the region and worked with the indigenous Native American population, including primarily the Tohono O'Odham, Sobaipuri and other Upper Piman groups. He proved that the Baja California Territory was not an island but a peninsula by leading an overland expedition there. By the time of his death he had established 24 missions and visitas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert</span> 17th to 19th-century Catholic religious outposts

The Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert are a series of Jesuit Catholic religious outposts established by the Spanish Catholic Jesuits and other orders for religious conversions of the Pima and Tohono O'odham indigenous peoples residing in the Sonoran Desert. An added goal was giving Spain a colonial presence in their frontier territory of the Sonora y Sinaloa Province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and relocating by Indian Reductions settlements and encomiendas for agricultural, ranching, and mining labor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Teresa de Atil</span>

Santa Teresa de Átil also known as Santa Teresa de Ádid and Los Siete Príncipes del Átil, is a historic Spanish mission located in the small town of Atil, Sonora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó</span> 17th century Spanish mission in Baja California Sur, Mexico

Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, or Mission Loreto, was founded on October 25, 1697, at the Monqui Native American (Indian) settlement of Conchó in the city of Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Established by the Catholic Church's Jesuit missionary Juan María de Salvatierra, Loreto was the first successful mission and Spanish town in Baja California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan María de Salvatierra</span>

Juan María de Salvatierra, S.J., was a Catholic missionary to the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish missions in Baja California</span> 17th to 19th-century Catholic religious outposts

The Spanish missions in Baja California were a large number of religious outposts established by Catholic religious orders, the Jesuits, the Franciscans and the Dominicans, between 1683 and 1834 to spread the Christian doctrine among the Indigenous peoples living on the Baja California peninsula. The missions gave Spain a valuable toehold in the frontier land, and introduced European livestock, fruits, vegetables, and industry into the region. Indigenous peoples were severely impacted by the introduction of European diseases such as smallpox and measles and by 1800 their numbers were a fraction of what they had been before the arrival of the Spanish.

Francesc Palou or Francisco Palóu (1723–1789) was a Spanish Franciscan missionary, administrator and historian on the Baja California Peninsula and in Alta California. Palóu made significant contributions to the Alta California and Baja California mission systems. Along with his mentor, Junípero Serra, Palóu worked to build numerous missions throughout Alta and Baja California, many structures of which still stand today. A member of the Franciscan Order, Palóu became "Presidente" of the missions in Baja California, and later of missions of Alta California. Palóu's work in the Spanish mission system spans from his early twenties to his death at the age of 66.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas</span> Historic mission ruins in Arizona

Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas, also known as Calabasas, is a Spanish Mission in the Sonoran Desert, located near present-day Tumacacori, Arizona, United States. The Mission was named for the Italian Saint Cajetan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Californias</span> Region of the North America continent

The Californias, occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. Historically, the term Californias was used to define the vast northwestern region of Spanish America, as the Province of the Californias, and later as a collective term for Alta California and the Baja California Peninsula.

The Sobaipuri were one of many indigenous groups occupying Sonora and what is now Arizona at the time Europeans first entered the American Southwest. They were a Piman or O'odham group who occupied southern Arizona and northern Sonora in the 15th–19th centuries. They were a subgroup of the O'odham or Pima, surviving members of which include the residents of San Xavier del Bac which is now part of the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Akimel O'odham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tubutama</span> Place in Sonora, Mexico

Tubutama is a town in Tubutama Municipality, in the north-west of the Mexican state of Sonora. Eusebio Kino, SJ, founded Mission San Pedro y San Pablo del Tubutama in 1691. Tubutama was the headquarters of religious administration for the entire Pimería Alta during much of the Jesuit and Franciscan period of Spanish colonial rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish missions in the Americas</span> 16th–19th-century Catholic missions of the Spanish Empire

The Spanish missions in the Americas were Catholic missions established by the Spanish Empire during the 16th to 19th centuries in the period of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Many hundreds of missions, durable and ephemeral, created by numerous Catholic religious orders were scattered throughout the entirety of the Spanish colonies, which extended southward from the United States and Mexico to Argentina and Chile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philipp Segesser</span> Swiss missionary (1689–1762)

Philipp Segesser was a German-speaking Swiss Jesuit missionary who spent much of his career in Sonora, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission San Cosme y Damián de Tucsón</span> 17th century Spanish mission in Tucson, Arizona

Mission San Cosme y Damián de Tucsón, originally known as Mission San Agustín del Tucson, was a Spanish mission located in present-day Tucson, Pima County, Arizona. It was established in 1692 by Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino as a visita, or "visiting chapel", of the nearby Mission San Xavier del Bac. Today, almost nothing remains of the original complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Las Californias</span> Province of New Spain

Province of Las Californias was a Spanish Empire province in the northwestern region of New Spain. Its territory consisted of the entire U.S. states of California, Nevada, and Utah, parts of Arizona, Wyoming, and Colorado, and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur.

Between the years of 1539 and 1821, the Spanish Empire explored, colonized, and ruled over what is the state of Arizona in the United States.

References

  1. "San Xavier Mission Organization site". Archived from the original on 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2022-04-25.