Spanish Mission System

Spanish Mission System
Describe the Spanish Mission System. What was its main purpose? Why did the mission priests treat its neophyte Indians the way they did? (Chapter 4)
Located in every fifty to seventy miles between San Francisco and San Diego were missions, which became the most productive and largest Spanish communities in the entire Alta California. Father Junipero Serra established the first nine of these missions between 1769 and 1784. Father-President Fermin de Lasuen, Serra’s successor later founded nine other missions during his tenure spanning between 1785 and 1803 in efforts to strengthen the colony (Rice et al 81). Lasuen strengthened irrigation systems, expanded agriculture, and diversified industrialization to make missions sufficient and productive. With his administration, the population of neophytes rose to 20,000 by the end of the eighteenth century, thus reflecting the system’s greater wealth, maturity, and strong labor forces. In keeping with a close association between the state in Spain and the church and the empire, the Spanish mission system played different and sometimes contradictory roles in California.
As an institution, the Spanish mission system aimed to integrate and indoctrinate the aborigines into the Catholic religion, the Spanish colonial empire, and various aspects of Hispanic culture. Led by Father Junipero Serra, the spiritual leader of the controversial sacred expedition, the institution was to Christianize, turn aborigines into Spaniards, and transform the natives into a robust workforce (Rice et al 81). The mission served as industrial schools in addition to converting the Indians to Catholicism. Priests found it necessary to discipline neophytes, introduce specialized tasks, and appoint highly skilled Indians as leaders. Through the system, the missions cultivated large tracts of land, set up more reliable and large irrigation systems, and become more reliable than other Spanish settlements (Rice et al 87).
Despite the achievements that the missions had in California, mission priests’ attitudes toward the neophyte Indians ranged from kindly paternalism at best to hostile racism at worst. They had established that the neophytes were without government or religion and had more than superstitions and democracy akin to those of ants. As most of the 142 Franciscans serving before the 1840s were idealistic, deeply religions, and committed to save the souls of Indians, they assumed the role as custodians and teachers guiding neophytes into their culture (Rice et al 82). This explains why the mission priests could treat the neophytes the way they did.
Why did the United States wish to purchase California from Spain, then Mexico? Describe the main events in California from 1846 to 1848 that led to its’ annexation by the United States. (Chapter 9)
The United States demonstrated a growing interest to acquire the western territory since the 1820s. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 was particularly part of the efforts of maintaining these interests against encroachment by the Russians, which further led to the relinquishing of the Russian’s claims of the 54o40o north latitude as the U.S. relinquished its claims of north of the line (Rice et al 144). During the 1830s, many developments had increased American interests in California and many Mexicans and Americans wanted a share of Texas. During this time, the American government started to focus more on California and negotiations to acquire the land began in 1835 with Andrew Jackson offering half a million dollars for San Francisco Bay and the north of the territory. Interests in California were also in part of the reactions to other countries’ interests, known as the “ripening pear” on the Pacific. The British, in particular, had proposed to cancel Mexican bonds and instead claim California. These competing interests made the United States to buy California before acquiring Mexico. In March 1845, Congress had finalized plans to annex Texas and its new territories’ disputes with Mexico, particularly the western border. The election of James K. Polk to presidency in 1844 increased expansionist movement in the United States. Two phases of the war in California led to a proclamation that California was henceforth part of the United States. The first phase was almost an uncontested seizure by the American forces while the second phase was a forceful recapture on January 10, 1847 (Rice et al 145). War with Mexicans ended following the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848.
Explain the importance of the rise of the automobile, and of the Hollywood movie industry, in the 1920s, to California’s image as the land of beauty and leisure. (Chapter 10)
Automobiles redefined California as an economic multiplier with the number of cars manufactured increasing from 4000 in 1901 to 5 million by 1917 (Rice et al 377). Du...