Spanish Missions in Texas 1650-1800

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Spanish Missions in Texas1650-1800
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Race to Claim Texas

• Texas was between Spanish Mexico
• French Louisiana
• La Salle had established Fort Saint Louis for
  France.

Spain
France
Texas
La Salle
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• In 1689 Spaniard Alonso de Leon finds the remains
  of Fort St. Louis
• Alonso de Leon reported favorably on the land of
  East Texas and the Caddo Indians
• Father Damian Massanet who was with de Leon
  requested help from Mexico City to convert the
  Caddo, or the Tejas as they called them, to
  Catholicism

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Missions

• The mission was Spains main tool for colonizing
  Texas.

• Their purpose was to convert Native Texans to the
  Catholic faith,
• In addition the mission workers attempted to
  convert the natives into Spanish subjects.
• Missions in Texas were supported by the Catholic
  church, but they were designed to be self
  sufficient.
• They also would help keep the French out of Texas

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• Most missions in Texas consisted of a square
  compound enclosed by four walls. They also had a
  main chapel which was at the center of life in
  the mission.
• Early missions were small and made of wood. While
  later missions were large and built with stone.

• The land around the mission was also used for
  animals and growing crops for food.

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Spains First East Texas Mission

• In 1690 de Leon and Massanet , a few other priest
  and 100 soldiers set off to build a mission in
  east Texas.
• They build the Mission San Francisco de los Tejas

Reconstruction of San Francisco de los Tejas
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• A year later the mission was in trouble. Drought
  had caused the crops to fail.
• Disease caused the Native Texans to become
  hostile they refused to work in the missions
• The Mission could not survive so in 1693 it was
  abandoned.

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The French Return

• By 1700 the French return to Louisiana and
  developed trading relationship with Native
  Americans
• In 1713 Spanish Priest Father Francisco Hidalgo
  asked French priests to provide churches to East
  Texas Natives
• The French sent Louis de St. Denis to visit
  Father Hidalgo

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• France and Spain were at war
• But St. Denis and Hidalgo both wanted to convert
  the east Texas Indians.
• Spanish government had St. Denis arrested
• Spain decided to establish more missions to
  protect their territory

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Spain Reclaims East Texas

• In 1716 San Francisco de los Tejas was reopened
• A mid-point for supply caravans was needed.
• In modern day San Antonio the Mission San Antonio
  de Valero and the Mission San Antonio de Bexar
  was built.
• Valero would become the Alamo

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Mission San Antonio de Valero
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The Chicken War

• East Texas missions were unsuccessful because of
  the same reasons as before.
• The Indians didnt want to live in them.
• In 1719 French Lt. Philippe Blondel invaded
  Texas with 6 soldiers. They captured a mission
  near Nacogdoches.

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• Blondel and his men looted the mission and
  Blondel took and tied a few chickens to his
  saddle.
• The chickens made his horse buck (jump) and
  Blondel fell from his horse. The Spanish
  missionaries escaped when this happened.

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• The Incident referred to as The Chicken War
• The escaped Spanish exaggerated the news claiming
  that a huge French army was invading
• The Spanish panicked and retreated back to San
  Antonio abandoning East Texas
• The Spanish realized how weak they were in Texas