Spanish missions in Mexico
Encyclopedia
The Spanish missions in Mexico are a series of religious outposts established by Spanish
Catholic Franciscan
s, Jesuits
, Augustinians
, and Dominican
s to spread the Christian
doctrine among the local natives. Since 1493, the Kingdom of Spain had maintained a number of missions throughout Nueva España (New Spain
, consisting of what is today Mexico
and what is today the Southwestern
United States
) in order to facilitate colonization of these lands. In 1533, at the request of Hernán Cortés
, Carlos V
sent the first Franciscan monk
s with orders to establish a series of installations throughout the country.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Catholic Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
s, Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, Augustinians
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
, and Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
s to spread the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
doctrine among the local natives. Since 1493, the Kingdom of Spain had maintained a number of missions throughout Nueva España (New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
, consisting of what is today Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and what is today the Southwestern
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) in order to facilitate colonization of these lands. In 1533, at the request of Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
, Carlos V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
sent the first Franciscan monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s with orders to establish a series of installations throughout the country.
Missions
- Misión La Purísima Concepción de Caborca, in CaborcaCaborcaCaborca is both a municipality and a municipal seat in the Mexican state of Sonora. The area of the municipality is 10,721.84 km², which is 5.78 percent of the state total. The municipal population was 81,308 of whom 59,922 lived in the municipal seat...
, SonoraSonoraSonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo.... - Misión San Antonio de Oquitoa, in OquitoaOquitoaOquitoa is a small town surrounded by its municipal area in the northwest of the Mexican state of Sonora.-Area and Population:The municipal area is 636.64 km² with a population of 402 registered in 2000. Most of this population lives in the small municipal seat...
, Sonora - Misión San Diagos de Pitiquito Mission, in PitiquitoPitiquitoPitiquito is both a small town and its surrounding municipal area in the northwest of the Mexican state of Sonora.-Area and population:The municipal area is 11,979.96 km² which makes up 6.46% of the state total. The municipal population counted in 2000 was 9,160. The population of the main...
, Sonora - Mission San Francisco Solano in CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
- Misión San Ignacio de Cabórica, in Sonora
- Mission San Juan Bautista in CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
- Misión San Pedro y San Pablo de Tubutama, in TubutamaTubutamaTubutama is a town, and the surrounding municipality of the same name, in the north-west of the Mexican state of Sonora. It was founded in the late 17th century by Fr. Francisco Eusebio Kino...
, Sonora - Misión Santa Maria Magdalena, in Sonora
- Misión Santa Rosalía in Camargo, ChihuahuaCamargo, ChihuahuaSanta Rosalía de Camargo, originally called Santa Rosalia, and now known as "Camargo City", is a city in the eastern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It serves as municipal seat of Camargo municipality. It is a colonial town steeped in history. The Mission Santa Rosalía has a beautiful park...
- Misión Santiago y Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Cocóspera, in Cocóspera, Sonora
- Misión Dulce Nombre de Jesus de Peyotes in Villa UnionVilla UniónVilla Unión is a city and seat of the municipality of Villa Unión, in the north-eastern Mexican state of Coahuila....
, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico... - Misión San Andres in NavaNavaNava is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is also the name of one of the parishes in this municipality, as well as the name of the municipal capital....
, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico... - Misión San Buenaventura de la Consolación in San BuenaventuraSan BuenaventuraSan Buenaventura is a town and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.It is located at , in the state's central region .There were 19,986 inhabitants in 2000.-External links:*...
, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico... - Misión Nuestra Señora de Dolores de la Punta in Lampazos, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
- Misión San Bernardino de la Candela in CandelaCandelaThe candela is the SI base unit of luminous intensity; that is, power emitted by a light source in a particular direction, weighted by the luminosity function . A common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela...
, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico... - Misión San Buenaventura in Cuatrocienegas, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
- Misión Santa Rosa de Nadadores in NadadoresNadadoresNadadores is a city in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.it serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name.Nadadores is located at ,in the state's central region ....
, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico... - Misión San Francisco de Saltillo in SaltilloSaltilloSaltillo is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located about 400 km south of the U.S. state of Texas, and 90 km west of Monterrey, Nuevo León....
, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico... - Misión San Miguel de Aguayo in MonclovaMonclovaOn the other hand, temperatures during late spring and summer can have bouts of extreme heat, with evenings above 40°C for many consecutive days. In recent decades the hottest records have climbed as high as 43°C on July 13, 2005 and 45°C on May 4, 1984. However nighttime low temperatures are...
, CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico... - Franciscan Missions in the Sierra GordaFranciscan Missions in the Sierra GordaThe Franciscan Missions of the Sierra Gorda in the Mexican state of Querétaro were declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2003. They are credited to Junípero Serra of the Franciscan Order, who also founded important missions in Alta California....
of QuerétaroQuerétaroQuerétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro.... - Monasteries on the slopes of PopocatépetlMonasteries on the slopes of PopocatépetlThe Monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl World Heritage Site are fourteen 16th century monasteries which were built by the Augustinians, the Franciscans and the Dominicans in order to evangelize the areas south and east of the Popocatépetl volcano in central Mexico...
See also
- Franciscan Missions in the Sierra GordaFranciscan Missions in the Sierra GordaThe Franciscan Missions of the Sierra Gorda in the Mexican state of Querétaro were declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2003. They are credited to Junípero Serra of the Franciscan Order, who also founded important missions in Alta California....
- Jesuit Asia missionsJesuit Asia missionsThe Jesuits, or Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order, have had a long history of missions in East and South Asia, in fact from their very foundation in the 16th century as St Francis Xavier, a friend of St...
- Jesuit ReductionsJesuit ReductionsA Jesuit Reduction was a type of settlement for indigenous people in Latin America created by the Jesuit Order during the 17th and 18th centuries. In general, the strategy of the Spanish Empire was to gather native populations into centers called Indian Reductions , in order to Christianize, tax,...
- Reductions