The Spanish missions in Baja California were a large number of
religious outposts established by
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
religious orders, the
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
, the
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
s and the
Dominicans, between 1683 and 1834 to spread the
Christian doctrine among the
Native Americans or Indians living on the
Baja California peninsula. The missions gave Spain a valuable toehold in the frontier land, and introduced
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...
,
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...
s,
vegetables, and
industry into the region. The Indians were severely impacted by the introduction of European diseases such as
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
and
measles and by 1800 their numbers were a fraction of what they had been before the arrival of the Spanish.
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
secularized all missions in its territory in 1834 and the last of the missionaries departed in 1840. Some of the mission churches survive and are still in use.
Background
As early as the voyages of
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
, the Kingdom of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
sought to establish missions to convert
pagans Pagans may refer to:
* Paganism, a group of pre-Christian religions practiced in the Roman Empire
* Modern Paganism, a group of contemporary religious practices
* Order of the Vine, a druidic faction in the ''Thief'' video game series
* Pagan's M ...
to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in ''Nueva España'' (
New Spain). New Spain consisted of the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
, and portions of what is now the
Southwestern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. To facilitate
colonization, the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
awarded these lands to Spain.
In addition to the
presidio (royal fort) and
pueblo (town), the
misión was one of three major agencies employed by the Spanish crown to extend its borders and consolidate its
colonial territories.
Asistencias ("sub-missions" or "contributing chapels") were small-scale missions that regularly conducted Catholic religious services on days of obligation, but lacked a resident priest. Smaller sites called visitas ("visiting chapels") also lacked a resident priest, and were often attended only sporadically. Since 1493, the
Crown of Spain had maintained missions throughout ''Nueva España''.
Each frontier station was forced to be self-supporting, as existing means of supply were inadequate to maintain a colony of any size. To sustain a mission, the ''padres'' needed
colonist
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer.
Settle ...
s or converted
Indigenous Americans, called ''neophytes'', to cultivate
crops and tend livestock in the volume needed to support a fair-sized establishment. Scarcity of imported materials and lack of skilled laborers compelled the Fathers to employ simple building materials and methods. Although the Spanish
hierarchy considered the missions temporary ventures, individual settlement development was not based simply on "priestly whim." The founding of a mission followed longstanding rules and procedures. The paperwork involved required months, sometimes years of correspondence, and demanded the attention of virtually every level of the bureaucracy. Once empowered to erect a mission in a given area, the men assigned to it chose a specific site that featured a good water supply, proximity to a population of indigenous peoples, and arable land. The padres, their military escort and often converted mainland indigenous people or mestizos initially fashioned defendable shelters, from which a base was established and the mission could grow.
Construction of the
iglesia (church) constituted the focus of the settlement, and created the center of the community. The majority of mission sanctuaries were oriented on a roughly east–west axis to take the best advantage of the sun's position for interior illumination. The workshops, kitchens, living quarters, storerooms, and other ancillary chambers were usually grouped in the form of a quadrangle, inside which religious celebrations and other events often took place.
The Native Americans
Indian peoples encountered by the Spanish missionaries in Baja California (from north to south) were the
Kumeyaay,
Cocopah,
Pai Pai,
Kiliwa,
Cochimi,
Monqui
The Monqui were indigenous peoples of Mexico (American Indians), who lived in the vicinity of Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico, at the time of Spanish contact. Monqui territory included about of coast along the Gulf of California and extended ...
,
Guaycura, and
Pericu. The Kumeyaay and Cocapah practiced limited agriculture, but the majority of the Baja Californians were nomadic or semi-nomadic
hunter-gatherers who eked out a living under difficult desert conditions and scarcity of fresh water.
In a policy followed throughout much of Latin America called
reductions, the missionaries concentrated the Indians at or near the mission for religious instruction and training to become sedentary farmers and stock herders. Their goal was to create a self-sufficient theocracy in which the missionary, usually supported by Spanish soldiers and laymen, attempted to rule over every facet of the Indian's religious and secular lives. The Indigenous peoples were housed often by gender, forcibly converted to Catholicism and acculturated to the Spanish Empire within the confines of the mission. Recalcitrant indigenous peoples often ran away or revolted, and many missions maintained a precarious existence during the colonial era. Use of firearms, corporal punishment in the form of whippings and religious ritual and psychological punishments were all methods employed by the missionaries to maintain and expand control. There were instances of armed resistance by the Indians against the missions, notably the Pericue revolt of 1734-1737, and Indians at the missions frequently ran away to escape the religious and labor regime forced on them by the missionaries or sabotaged the missionary's efforts by passive resistance.
At the time of first contact with the Spanish, the Native Americans living in Baja California may have numbered as many as 60,000. By 1762, their numbers had fallen to 21,000 and by 1800 to 5,900. The primary reason for the decline was recurrent epidemics of European diseases, primarily
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
,
measles, and
typhus. The spread of disease was facilitated by the missionary's practice of congregating the population near the mission. Endemic
Syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, a ...
resulted in higher child mortality and a reduced birth rate. By the early 19th century, the tribes of Baja California were culturally extinct, except for the Kumeyaay, Cocopah, and Pai Pai.
Missions in Baja California
Fortún Jiménez de Bertadoña discovered the
Baja California Peninsula in early 1534. However, it was
Hernán Cortés who recognized the peninsula as the "
Island of California" in May 1535, and is therefore officially credited with the discovery. In January 1683, the
Spanish government chartered an expedition consisting of three ships to transport a contingent of 200 men to the southern tip of
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
. Under the command of the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Sinaloa,
Isidoro de Atondo y Antillón, and accompanied by Jesuit priest
Eusebio Francisco Kino, the ships made landfall in
La Paz. The landing party was eventually forced to abandon its initial settlement due to the hostile response on the part of the natives. The
missionaries attempted to establish a settlement near present-day
Loreto, which they named
Misión San Bruno
Mission San Bruno ( es, Misión San Bruno) was a short-lived Spanish mission established by Jesuit order on October 7, 1684, in what is now the Loreto Municipality of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The mission was the first Spanish mission establ ...
but failed for lack of supplies. Kino went on to establish a number of missions in the
Pimería Alta, now located in southern
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, USA and
Sonora,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
.
The Jesuit priest
Juan María de Salvatierra
Juan María de Salvatierra, S.J., (November 15, 1648 – July 17, 1717) was a Catholic missionary to the Americas.
Life history
Salvatierra was born Gianmaria Salvatierra in Milan, then the capital of the Duchy of Milan, a part of the Holy Rom ...
eventually managed to establish the first permanent Spanish settlement in Baja California, the
Misión Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó. Founded on October 19, 1697, the mission become the religious center of the peninsula and administrative capital of ''Las Californias''. From there, other Jesuits went out to establish other settlements throughout the lower two-thirds of the
peninsula, founding 17 missions and several ''visitas'' (sub-missions) between 1697 and 1767.
Unlike the mainland settlements that were designed to be self-sustaining enterprises, the remote and harsh conditions on the peninsula made it all but impossible to build and maintain these missions without ongoing assistance from the mainland. Supply lines from across the
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...
, including from the missions and ranches of Padre Eusebio Kino on the mainland to the Port of
Guaymas, played a crucial role in keeping the Baja California mission system intact.
During the sixty years that the Jesuits were permitted to work among the natives of California, 56 members of the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
came to the Baja California peninsula, of whom 16 died at their posts (two as martyrs). Fifteen priests and one lay brother survived the hardships, only to be subjected to enforcement of the decree launched against the Society by
King Carlos III of Spain. It was rumored that the Jesuit priests had amassed a fortune on the peninsula and were becoming very powerful. On February 3, 1768 the King ordered the Jesuits forcibly expelled from the Americas and returned to the home country.
Gaspar de Portolà was appointed Governor of
Las Californias
The Californias (Spanish: ''Las Californias''), occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexica ...
, with orders to supervise the Jesuit expulsion and oversee the installation of replacement
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
priests.
The Franciscans, under the leadership of Fray
Junípero Serra, took charge of the missions and closed or consolidated several of the existing installations. A total of 39
Friars Minor toiled on the peninsula during the five years and five months of Franciscan rule. Four of them died, 10 were transferred to new northern missions, and the remainder returned to Europe.
Governor Portolà was put in command of an
expedition to travel north and establish new settlements at
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
and
Monterey. Serra went along as leader of the missionaries, to establish missions in those places. On the way north, Serra founded
Misión San Fernando Rey de España de Velicatá.
Francisco Palóu was left in charge of the existing missions, and founded the
Visita de la Presentación in 1769.
Representatives of the
Dominican order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...
arrived in 1772, and by 1800, had established nine more missions in northern
Baja, all the while continuing with the administration of the former Jesuit missions. The peninsula was divided into two separate entities in 1804, with the southern one having the seat of government established in the Port of Loreto. In 1810, Mexico sought to end Spanish colonial rule, gaining her
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...
in 1821, after which Mexican President
Guadalupe Victoria
Guadalupe Victoria (; 29 September 178621 March 1843), born José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, was a Mexican general and political leader who fought for independence against the Spanish Empire in the Mexican War of Independence. ...
named Lt. Col.
José María Echeandía governor of Baja California Sur and divided it into four separate ''municipios'' (
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
). The capital was moved to
La Paz in 1830, after Loreto was partially destroyed by heavy rains. In 1833, after Baja California was designated as a federal territory, the governor formally put an end to the mission system by converting the missions into parish churches.
Mission administration
System Father-Presidentes
* Father
Junípero Serra (1769–1784)
* Father
Francisco Palóu (acting) (1784–1785)
* Father
Fermín Francisco de Lasuén (1785–1803)
* Father
Pedro Estévan Tápis (1803–1812)
* Father
José Francisco de Paula Señan (1812–1815)
* Father
Mariano Payeras (1815–1820)
* Father José Francisco de Paula Señan (1820–1823)
* Father
Vicente Francisco de Sarría Father Vicente Francisco de Sarría (1767 Etxebarri, Spain – 1835 Soledad) was a Basque missionary to the Americas.
Venture into Alta California
Father Sarría baptized John Gilroy, the first foreigner to permanently settle in California. ...
(1823–1824)
* Father
Narciso Durán (1824–1827)
* Father
José Bernardo Sánchez
Father José Bernardo Sánchez (September 7, 1778 – January 15, 1833) was a Spanish missionary in colonial Mexico and Alta California.
Early life
Born in Robledillo de Mohernando, Old Castile, Spain, Sánchez became a Franciscan on October ...
(1827–1830)
* Father
García Diego (1831–1835)
* Father
José María González Rubio (1835–1843)
* Father
José Anzar (1843–?)
The "Father-Presidente" was the head of the Catholic missions in Alta and Baja California. He was appointed by the
College of San Fernando de Mexico until 1812, when the position became known as the "Commissary Prefect" who was appointed by the Commissary General of the Indies (a Franciscan residing in Spain). Beginning in 1831, separate individuals were elected to oversee Upper and Lower California.
Mission headquarters
*
Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá ( es, Misión San Diego de Alcalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in The Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, ...
(1769–1771)
*
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (1771–1815)
*
Mission La Purísima Concepción*(1815–1819)
* Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (1819–1824)
*
Mission San José Mission San José may refer to:
*Mission San José (California), a Spanish mission in Fremont, California
* Mission San Jose, Fremont, California, a neighborhood
*Mission San Jose High School, a high school in Fremont, California
* Mission San José ...
*(1824–1827)
* Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (1827–1830)
* Mission San José*(1830–1833)
*
Mission Santa Barbara (1833–1846)
† The Rev. Payeras and the Rev. Durán remained at their resident missions during their terms as ''Father-Presidente'', therefore those settlements became the
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
headquarters (until 1833, when all mission records were permanently relocated to Santa Barbara).
[Yenne, pp. 18–19][In 1833 Figueroa replaced the ''padres'' at all of the settlements north of Mission San Antonio de Padua with Mexican-born Franciscan priests from the College of Guadalupe de Zacatecas. In response, Father-Presidente Narciso Durán transferred the headquarters of the Alta California Mission System to Mission Santa Bárbara, where they remained until 1846.][Yenne, p. 186]
Mission locations
There were 30
missions and 11
visitas in
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
stretching the entire length of the
Baja California Peninsula. From
Playas de Rosarito through to the southernmost mission in
San José del Cabo, the missions were:
Visita locations
''
Visitas'' were branch missions that allowed the priests to extend their reach into the native population at a modest cost.
In chronological order
Jesuit Establishments (1684–1767)
*
Misión San Bruno
Mission San Bruno ( es, Misión San Bruno) was a short-lived Spanish mission established by Jesuit order on October 7, 1684, in what is now the Loreto Municipality of Baja California Sur, Mexico. The mission was the first Spanish mission establ ...
, founded in 1684
*
Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, founded in 1697
*
Visita de San Juan Bautista Londó, founded in 1699
*
Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó, founded in 1699
*
Misión San Juan Bautista Malibat (Misión Liguí), founded in 1705
*
Misión Santa Rosalía de Mulegé, founded in 1705
*
Misión San Jose de Comondú founded in 1709
*
Misión La Purísima Concepción de Cadegomó founded in 1720
*
Misión de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de La Paz Airapí founded in 1720
*
Misión Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Huasinapi founded in 1720
*
Misión Santiago de Los Coras founded in 1721
*
Misión Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Sur Apaté, founded in 1721
*
Visita de Angel de la Guarda (El Zalato), founded in 1721
*
Misión Santiago el Apóstol Aiñiní (Las Coras), founded in 1724
*
Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán
Mission San Ignacio Kadakaaman ( es, Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán) was founded by the Jesuit missionary Juan Bautista de Luyando in 1728 at the site of the modern town of San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
History
The site for the futur ...
, founded in 1728
*
Misión Estero de las Palmas de San José del Cabo Añuití, founded in 1730
*
Misión Santa Rosa de las Palmas (Misión Todos Santos), founded in 1733
*
Misión San Luis Gonzaga Chiriyaqui, founded in 1740
*
Misión Nuestra Señora de los Dolores del Sur Chillá (Misión La Pasión), founded in 1741
*
Misión Nuestra Señora del Pilar de la Paz, founded in 1748
*
Misión Santa Gertrudis, founded in 1752
*
Misión San Francisco Borja de Adac, founded in 1762
*
Visita de Calamajué (Visita de Calamyget), founded in 1766
*
Misión Santa María de los Ángeles, founded in 1767
Franciscan Establishments (1768–1773)
*
Misión San Fernando Rey de España de Velicatá, founded in 1769
*
Visita de San Juan de Dios, founded in 1769
*
Visita de la Presentación, founded in 1769
Dominican Establishments (1774–1834)
*
Misión Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de Viñadaco, founded in 1774
*
Visita de San José de Magdalena, founded in 1774
*
Misión Santo Domingo de la Frontera
Misión Santo Domingo was founded among the Kiliwa Indians of Baja California, Mexico, by the Dominicans Miguel Hidalgo and Manuel García in 1775. It is located near Colonia Vicente Guerrero and northeast of San Quintín Bay.
History
The fir ...
, founded in 1775
*
Misión San Vicente Ferrer
Mission San Vicente Ferrer ( es, Misión San Vicente Ferrer) was founded in August 1780 by the Dominican missionaries Miguel Hidalgo and Joaquin Valero among the Paipai Indians of northwestern Baja California, Mexico.
San Vicente was one of the ...
, founded in 1780
*
Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera, founded in 1787
*
Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino
Mission Santo Tomás de Aquino ( es, Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino) was founded in what is now Baja California on April 24, 1791 by the Dominican order, Dominican missionary José Loriente, with the authorization of the president of the missions ...
, founded in 1791
*
Misión San Pedro Mártir de Verona, founded in 1794
*
Misión Santa Catarina Virgen y Mártir, founded in 1797
*
Visita de San Telmo
The Visita de San Telmo was a Catholic visita located along the Arroyo de San Telmo in Baja California, Mexico. The visita was founded by Dominican missionaries sometime between 1798-1800 as an extension of Misión Santo Domingo de la Fronter ...
, founded in 1798
*
Misión El Descanso (Misión San Miguel la Nueva), founded in 1810
*
Misión de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Norte, founded in 1834
See also
On Spanish Missions in neighboring regions:
*
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California ( es, Misiones españolas en California) comprise a
series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. Founded by Catholic priests of ...
*
Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert
The Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert ( es, Misiones jesuíticas en el desierto de Sonora) are a series of Jesuit Catholic religious outposts established by the Spanish Catholic Jesuits and other orders for religious conversions of the ...
On general missionary history:
*
Catholic Church and the Age of Discovery
*
List of the oldest churches in Mexico
The following is a list of the oldest extant church in each of the administrative divisions of Mexico. The first place of Christian worship in what would become Mexico was in what is now known as La Antigua, Veracruz, founded by the Spanish in 1519 ...
On colonial Spanish American history:
*
Spanish colonization of the Americas
*
California mission clash of cultures
Notes
References
Further reading
* Bolton, Herbert Eugene. 1936. ''Rim of Christendom''. Macmillan, New York.
* Burrus, Ernest J. 1954. ''Kino Reports to Headquarters: Correspondence of Eusebio F. Kino, S.J., from New Spain with Rome''. Instituto Historicum S.J., Rome.
* Burrus, Ernest J. 1965. ''Kino Writes to the Duchess''. Jesuit Historical Institute, Rome.
*
Mathes, W. Michael. 1969. ''First from the Gulf to the Pacific: The Diary of the Kino-Atondo Peninsular Expedition, December 14, 1684-January 13, 1685''. Dawson's Book Shop, Los Angeles.
* Engelhardt, Zephyrin, O.F.M. ''Missions and Missionaries, Volume One'', San Francisco: The James H. Barry Co., 1908.
* Jackson, Robert H. "Epidemic Disease and Population Decline in the Baja California Missions, 1697-1834" ''Southern California Quarterly'' 63:308-346,
* Mathes, W. Michael. 1974. ''Californiana III: documentos para la historia de la transformación colonizadora de California, 1679-1686''. José Porrúa Turanzas, Madrid.
* Van Handel, Robert Michael. "The Jesuit and Franciscan Missions in Baja California." M.A. thesis. University of California, Santa Barbara, 1991.
* Vernon, Edward W. 2002. ''Las Misiones Antiguas: The Spanish Missions of Baja California, 1683-1855''. Viejo Press, Santa Barbara, California.
External links
www.ca-missions.org— The official website of the California Mission Studies Association, a good source of accurate, peer-reviewed information on Mission Era history with an extensive links page.
article at ''
The Catholic Encyclopedia''
Missions of Baja California and Baja California Surby Dr. W. Michael Mathes (in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanish Missions In Baja California
Jesuit history in North America
Spanish colonization of the Americas
New Spain