The Spanish Mission System
The Spanish conquistadors found incredible wealth in South and Central America with the Mesoamerican empires such as the Inca, Maya and Aztec. They expected to find such wealth in North America and were sorely disappointed. What they found instead was land, which could yield treasure of a different sort in the shape of crops and plenty of people to farm them, willingly or not. Beginning in the late 16th century, Spanish outposts cropped up in what is now Florida, Texas, New Mexico and Texas. The Spanish reach would extend as far as South Carolina, but those missions wee short-lived. With exploration came settlement, as well as missionaries, both of which proved deadly and disastrous for the Native populations.
The Spanish utilized a land-grant system called the encomienda to disburse large parcels of land to wealthy adventurers who had the capital and influence to bring settlers onto the land. These land grants also entitled the encomendero to the services of set numbers of Native tribesmen, who would work the land and provide tribute in the way of foodstuffs, hides, etc. There was no agreement on the part of the Natives. They were informed what was required and leaders appointed according to their willingness to cooperate, and without regard to traditional methods of appointing leaders. Any resistance on the part of the Natives would be met with instant punitive military reprisals by the Spanish, who also established military outposts to keep the local populations in check. Though various Spanish sovereigns, including Ferdinand and Isabella, laid down that the Natives were not slaves and were to be treated fairly, the royal court was a long ways away. Natives were forced to work in the fields as hard as any slave would be treated.
The mission system was an outgrowth of the encomienda, and satisfied the third prong of the Spanish trial, Gold, Glory and God. Franciscan missionaries were sent to North America to establish missions and begin to teach the Natives Christianity. In return, the Natives were required to provide foodstuffs and work the mission lands. They were also required to attend church, send their children to mission schools, learn trades such as woodworking, weaving and farming, and give up their Native beliefs and ceremonies. Though technically, the Inquisition was not allowed to operate in the Americas, under the theory that new converts couldn't legally commit heresy if they backslid into their old ways, inquisitorial type methods were often used by missionaries to stamp out practices they considered to be of the Devil.
The results of the system were immediate and drastic. Disease and overwork took their toll. In California, in the 17th century, there was an estimated 225,000 Natives living. By the time Americans took over California in 1848, only 1/3 of the Native population remained. It had dwindled to barely 30,000 in 1870. Large portions of central Florida were depopulated by the late 16th century. Destruction would be final during the windup to Queen Anne's War in 1701, when English slavers raided Spanish mission lands and sparked a large-scale revolt on the part of the Apalachee and other Native tribes. The revolt was put down by 1704, and large numbers of Apalachee fled to French-held Louisiana.
The only way to escape being worked to death on the missions or losing all since of one's heritage was to revolt, and to do it in such a massive scale that the Spanish would think twice about repressing the local population. Po'pay's Revolt in New Mexico in 1680 would force the Spanish out of New Mexico for several years. When they returned, they did not institute the encomienda system in that territory and priests wisely turned a blind eye to parishioners who also held to the old ways.
The Spanish utilized a land-grant system called the encomienda to disburse large parcels of land to wealthy adventurers who had the capital and influence to bring settlers onto the land. These land grants also entitled the encomendero to the services of set numbers of Native tribesmen, who would work the land and provide tribute in the way of foodstuffs, hides, etc. There was no agreement on the part of the Natives. They were informed what was required and leaders appointed according to their willingness to cooperate, and without regard to traditional methods of appointing leaders. Any resistance on the part of the Natives would be met with instant punitive military reprisals by the Spanish, who also established military outposts to keep the local populations in check. Though various Spanish sovereigns, including Ferdinand and Isabella, laid down that the Natives were not slaves and were to be treated fairly, the royal court was a long ways away. Natives were forced to work in the fields as hard as any slave would be treated.
The mission system was an outgrowth of the encomienda, and satisfied the third prong of the Spanish trial, Gold, Glory and God. Franciscan missionaries were sent to North America to establish missions and begin to teach the Natives Christianity. In return, the Natives were required to provide foodstuffs and work the mission lands. They were also required to attend church, send their children to mission schools, learn trades such as woodworking, weaving and farming, and give up their Native beliefs and ceremonies. Though technically, the Inquisition was not allowed to operate in the Americas, under the theory that new converts couldn't legally commit heresy if they backslid into their old ways, inquisitorial type methods were often used by missionaries to stamp out practices they considered to be of the Devil.
The results of the system were immediate and drastic. Disease and overwork took their toll. In California, in the 17th century, there was an estimated 225,000 Natives living. By the time Americans took over California in 1848, only 1/3 of the Native population remained. It had dwindled to barely 30,000 in 1870. Large portions of central Florida were depopulated by the late 16th century. Destruction would be final during the windup to Queen Anne's War in 1701, when English slavers raided Spanish mission lands and sparked a large-scale revolt on the part of the Apalachee and other Native tribes. The revolt was put down by 1704, and large numbers of Apalachee fled to French-held Louisiana.
The only way to escape being worked to death on the missions or losing all since of one's heritage was to revolt, and to do it in such a massive scale that the Spanish would think twice about repressing the local population. Po'pay's Revolt in New Mexico in 1680 would force the Spanish out of New Mexico for several years. When they returned, they did not institute the encomienda system in that territory and priests wisely turned a blind eye to parishioners who also held to the old ways.
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