The

Mission
System
…
Kayla Brown, Avery Cordova
and Reka Szamosi
 Overview of Lesson
How were the

1 What is a
Mission? 2 Missions
created?

“Create your

3 Life on a
Mission 4 own California
Mission”
Activity
 History/Social Science Standard
4th grade
4.2
4. Describe the mapping of, geographic basis
of, and economic factors in the placement and
function of the Spanish mission…
5. Describe the daily lives of the people, native
and nonnative, who occupied the presidios,
mission, ranches, and pueblos
 What is a Mission?

● Between 1769 and 1823, 21

Spanish Missions were built along
the coast of California
● They were built by Native Santa Clara Mission
Americans with adobe bricks, mud
bricks, stone, tile, and other
natural materials
● The Missions were created in
hopes of converting Native
Americans to Catholicism and
expanding European territory Santa Barbara Mission

● “In addition to saving souls, the

missions focused on agriculture”
(Gastil 65).
● They produced many types of
crops and also raised livestock
San Juan Capistrano Mission
How the Missions Were Created?

● Father Serra was a Spanish Fransciscan priest,

explorer, colonist, and the founder of the California
Missions
● The Missions were under control of Spain, but the
majority of the labor came from local people and the
Native Americans from Mexico
● “While observing abusive practices toward native
people, [Father] Ascención stressed that violence of
any sort did not serve God.” (Gastil 66). *Spanish
leaders did not listen*
● The creation of the Missions should in no way be
glorified
● It produced beautiful places to worship and now to
study history, but it was built on abuse and violence
towards the Native people
● Some praise Father Serra for his devotion to God,
while others blame him for the “missions’ corrupt
and inhumane treatment of Native peoples” (Gastil
67).
 Life on a Mission

● Presidio - a fort where the Spanish soldiers lived to protect

the mission and the Pueblos.
● Pueblo- the farming community built near the mission.
● “The missions grew a wide variety of fruits and vegetables
and raised livestock. They found an excellent home for
many crops they brought over from Spain, such as
grapes and oranges. California also became known for
cattle and had a thriving trade in leather and tallow” (Gastil,
65)
● Living on a mission had a strict schedule for prayer and
work
○ 5:00 am Wake Up
○ 5:30 am church services and breakfast
○ 6:00 am Work
○ 12:00 pm Eat and take a siesta (nap)
○ 2:00 pm Work
○ 5:00 pm Dinner
○ 6:00 pm Religion/Language lessons
○ 9:00/10:00 pm Go to Bed
 Examples of Types of Jobs

● Tanning leather
● Making roof tiles and adobe bricks
● Making soaps and candles
● Grinding corn and making tortillas
● Tending to the cattle/herding
● Shoemaking
● Blacksmithing
 Pablo Tac

Born at Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in

1820, Pablo Tac was a Luiseño Indian and
Indigenous scholar who provided a
contemporary Native American
perspective on the institutions and early
history of Alta California. He created the
first writing system for Luiseño and his
work is the "only primary source of
Luiseño language written by a Luiseño
until the twentieth century.”

His mother and father were native people

who had converted to Christianity before
Pablo was born, so Pablo’s entire life had
been spent on the mission. In 1832 he and
another young man from the same
mission, began a long voyage to Europe.
Their goal was to enter the seminary and
become priests in the Catholic Church.
(Tac made this drawing
depicting two young men
wearing skirts of twine
and feathers with feather
decorations on their
heads and rattles in their
hands)
 Activity:
Create your own
California Mission!

You will have 7 minutes

to complete the activity!

Remember to be
creative and use lots of
color!
 Show and Tell!
Please volunteer to
share your Mission
with the class!