"Texas was claimed by Spain in the 16th century and began establishing mission complexes between 1680 and 1690. The purpose of these missions was to convert Native Americans to Catholicism, educate them according to the European concepts of history and civilization, and make them Spanish citizens. It was hoped that, in time, the indigenous converts would maintain the sites as self-sustaining communities."
"In 1718, Martín de Alarcón, governor of Spanish Texas, founded the town of San Antonio de Béxar and, nearby, the Misión San Antonio de Valero, named in honor of San Antonio de Padua (St. Anthony of Padua) and the Marquess of Valero, the viceroy of New Spain. The first mission was a modest mud and straw structure destroyed by hurricanes in 1724. The site of the mission was then moved to the west bank of the San Antonio River (its present location),"
Spain claimed Texas in the 16th century and began establishing mission complexes between 1680 and 1690 to convert Native Americans to Catholicism, educate them in European concepts, and make them Spanish citizens. In 1718 Martín de Alarcón founded San Antonio de Béxar and the nearby Misión San Antonio de Valero. The first mission was a modest mud and straw structure destroyed by hurricanes in 1724 and then moved to the west bank of the San Antonio River. Early site buildings included the priests' residence, Native American barracks, a textile workshop, and a chapel. The first chapel collapsed in 1756; a new chapel begun in 1758 was planned as an ornate three-story structure but only two stories were completed and the chapel never received a roof. The Long Barracks remains the only other original structure on the site. The mission was secularized and abandoned in 1793.
Read at World History Encyclopedia
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]