In the late 1700s, Spain wanted its power and wealth to grow. It also wanted to keep other European countries out of their territory. Building settlements along the coast would help them meet these goals. The missions were built by the Spanish in 1769 in order to colonize the territory they had claimed in Alta California. There had been various things discussed throughout the years regarding what to do with this territory but nothing was ever done and it was also hard reaching the coast of Alta California from Mexico. The Spanish king finally decided to do something with the territory when he heard rumors that Russian fur trappers were moving farther and farther down the Coast from their base camps in Alaska and were rumored to have been seen near present day San Francisco in 1760. Spain did send a few settlers to help establish a colony but very few people wanted to make the trip.
Missionaries wanted to convert the Indians to the Roman Catholic faith. By 1823 there were 21 missions. The Spanish settlers built forts and towns nearby. The Spanish used forts to protect the missions. The missions were built in places where there was fresh water, rich soil, and resources for building and farming. Missions varied enormously in their economic and religious success. Some missions could not support themselves, and others flourished and developed very fertile fields and huge herds of cattle. In seeking to introduce both Catholicism and European methods of agriculture, the missions encouraged the Indians to establish their settlements close by, where the priests could give them religious instruction and supervise their labor, thus colonizing the territory.
Indians did much of the work to build missions. The first missions were built of wood and later adobe was used to build missions. At first the Indians came by choice, the Missionaries used strategic tactics to get Indians to come to the missions and often offered gifts. As the mission system ...