The Missions of San Antonio or a Touch of Spanish Colonialism

Monday, February 8, 2010

It was another rainy day today with the temperature staying around 7 or 8  degrees Celsius, so we decided to take the day off.

Tuesday, February 9 and Wednesday, February 10,2010

We visited a number of missions around San Antonio that were established as part of a whole series of missions by Spain in the New World. Their purpose was to convert the natives to Catholicism and re-create Spanish life here in the Americas.  The San Antonio missions were established in the 1730’s although the Alamo was built in 1718. 

A typical mission consisted of the Church and the surrounding “barracks” where the converted natives dwelt, all safely behind the limestone perimeter walls. Some of the natives were drawn to the missions by the safety and security that it provided. The land that surrounded this mission was used for planting crops and grazing animals.  In addition to one or two Franciscan Friars there would be a few Spanish soldiers.  The soldiers would teach the natives how to defend the mission against the raiding Comanche, Apache or Kiowa.  They would also be trained in the Catholic catechism, various building trades and assorted crafts and arts. Reading and writing in Spanish and Latin was also taught.

Many parts of the missions have fallen into disrepair and the National Parks Service is working to stabilize the remaining structures.  All of the churches and many of the other buildings were covered with brightly covered frescoes. Some of these frescoes were strictly to beautify the rough limestone and others to hide building mistakes or imperfections.  Only in some parts of the Mission Concepcion can you still distinctly see some of the fresco work, while at the other missions they are all but invisible.

The missions were artificially irrigated by “acequia” or irrigation ditches and were able to grow a wide variety of crops to sustain the burgeoning population. At a couple of the missions aqueducts were created to fill the irrigation ditches from the rivers.  Some of these ditches, and aqueducts are still in use today.  The Sheep, goats and cattle roamed outside of the mission walls and created great wealth for the missions.  The aim of the mission was to secularize the surrounding lands within 10 years.  In most cases this took longer but the lands were ultimately distributed to the population of the missions.

FACT –We fuelled the truck at a nearby gas station..this was the cheapest diesel yet…$ 2.58 / gallon.  (Gas here was $ 2.38 / gallon.)