A mission is an organized effort to spread Christianity, the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Such an effort is undertaken by people known as missionaries, who travel to various lands and introduce the Christian faith. Missionaries have been at work around the world for thousands of years. The Europeans, for example, attempted to spread Christianity as they colonized the Americas from the 15th to 19th century. Leaders in this effort were the Spanish, who established a string of Christian communities throughout North America, notably in present-day California.

Structure of the missions

The typical California mission was a large, square area enclosed by stone walls. Just inside the walls was an outdoor hallway connecting a series of rooms devoted to workshops, dining and cooking facilities, storage space, and rooms for the priests. Beyond the hallway was an open-air courtyard. The most prominent structure in the mission was the church, which rose high above the outer walls and normally displayed a series of giant bells that summoned the native peoples to work or to pray.

The main role of the mission was to convert the native peoples to Roman Catholicism, a branch of Christianity practiced in Spain. Native Americans who converted lived in or around the mission. In addition to learning the ways of Catholicism, they also learned how to speak Spanish as well as how to tend farms, raise livestock, and learn various trades.

For Native Americans, mission life was highly regimented and restricted. They were not allowed to leave the mission without permission and had to complete a variety of chores and religious exercises each day. While many Native Americans converted to Christianity, many others rejected the Christian faith and refused to participate in life at the mission. A great number of native inhabitants also died from European diseases.

History

In 1769, a group led by the Spanish priest Junípero Serra established the first California mission at the Spanish settlement of San Diego. Eventually 20 more missions were established along the coast as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area.

The California mission system came to an end shortly after the native peoples of Mexico won their independence from Spain in 1821 and claimed the land that now makes up California and the southwestern United States. Between 1833 and 1840, the Mexican government seized the mission lands and awarded them to friends and supporters for ranching purposes. The priests withdrew and many of the Indians were forced to work for the land's new owners.