California Missions
Explore a pivotal chapter of history through the stories of 21 religious & military outposts on “The Royal Road”
The human cost of the quest to expand the Spanish Empire
Beginning with Mission San Diego de Alcalá and ending with Mission San Francisco Solano
Exhibit Artifacts
School Daze, Pete Ethan Castro, 2011
Painting of Mission San Luis Rey on Tile, 1893
Vaquero Style Spur
CALIFORNIA MISSIONS:
A Journey Along the El Camino Real
This signature exhibit explores the 21 religious and military outposts founded by Spanish Catholic missionaries of the Franciscan Order on “The Royal Road.”
Beginning with Mission San Diego de Alcalá founded in 1769 and ending with Mission San Francisco Solano founded in 1823, the California missions served as the first major European effort to colonize the Pacific Coast, which gave Spain a valuable toehold in the New World. In addition to introducing livestock, farming and ranching to the region, the settlers of “Alta California” assisted the quest to expand the Spanish Empire in North American by subjugating many of the Indigenous peoples into European culture and the Catholic religion as citizens of Nueva España, or “New Spain.”
Secularized by the Mexican government in 1833, the missions represent a pivotal chapter of California history, covering a period of great transition.
Visit MissionsCalifornia.com to search the web’s most comprehensive missions site.
CA Missions Primary Sources
