THE SPANISH COLONIAL MISSION SYSTEM IN THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES AND NORTHERN MEXICO
“The northern frontier contained the gold, silver, and other resources desired by the Spanish Empire, but a well-ordered colonial system was needed to extract them.”
The Missions Initiative proposes a binational collaborative effort to protect and promote Spanish Colonial Mission sites in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Building a case for undertaking this collaboration begins with a brief review of the rich history surrounding these missions and an appraisal of current conditions that reinforces the value and timeliness of such an effort. Significant steps towards realizing the goals of the initiative have already been taken.
Spanning thousands of miles and hundreds of years
Religious missions were an integral part of the northern frontier of New Spain and were established over a vast area. From the early seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century, Franciscan, Dominican, and Jesuit orders of the Roman Catholic Church built missions throughout what is now northern Mexico and the southwestern United States (See map supplement). The northern frontier contained the gold, silver, and other resources desired by the Spanish Empire, but a well-ordered colonial system was needed to extract them. The Church, together with military and secular entities, established European order in the region. The missionaries were the first to enter these frontier zones in an attempt to convert native populations to Christianity. The missions also served as a vanguard for the expansion of Spanish settlements and mining operations (Roca 1979).