Spanish missions in Florida

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A plaque showing the locations of a third of the missions between 1565 and 1763
A plaque showing the locations of a third of the missions between 1565 and 1763

Beginning in the sixteenth century, the Kingdom of Spain established a number of missions throughout la Florida in order to convert the Indians to Christianity, to facilitate control of the area and to prevent its colonization by other countries, in particular, England and France. Spanish Florida originally included much of what is now the Southeastern United States, although Spain never exercised long-term effective control over more than the northern part of what is now the State of Florida from St. Augustine to the area around present-day Tallahassee, southeastern Georgia and some coastal settlements, such as Pensacola, Florida. A few short-lived missions were established in other locations, including Mission Santa Elena in present day South Carolina, around the Florida peninsula and in the interior of Georgia and Alabama.

The missions of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia were divided into four provinces: Apalachee, Guale, Mayaca-Jororo and Timucua. These provinces corresponded more or less to the areas in which the Apalachee, Guale, Mayaca and Timucua languages were spoken. Apalachee Province occupied the easternmost part of what is now the Florida panhandle, along the Gulf of Mexico coast from the Aucilla River to the Apalachicola River. Guale Province consisted of most of the Sea Islands of Georgia and the adjacent mainland, and included some missions to the Yamassees as well as the Guales. Timucua Province extended along the Atlantic Ocean coast from the southernmost part of Georgia south to just below St. Augustine, across northern Florida to the Aucilla River, and south into the interior of the Florida peninsula along the St. Johns River and its tributary, the Oklawaha River. Mayaca-Jororo Province occupied an area just to the south of Lake George, on the upper (southern) St. Johns River.[1][2][3]

The first Spanish missions to the Indians of la Florida began soon after the founding of St. Augustine in 1565, carried forth by the Jesuits. Due to the hostility of the Indians, which resulted in the murder of several of the missionaries, the Jesuits withdrew from the mission field in la Florida in 1572. Franciscan friars entered into la Florida in 1573, but at first confined their activities to the immediate vicinity of St. Augustine. The Franciscans began taking their mission to the Guale and Timucua Indians along the Atlantic coast in 1587. Starting in 1606 the Franciscans expanded their mission efforts westward across Timucua territory, and by 1633 had established missions in Apalachee Province. The mission system functioned throughout the 17th century, but collapsed at the beginning of the 18th century after raids by soldiers from the Province of Carolina and their Indian allies had depopulated all three provinces.[4]

The mission buildings of la Florida were built with posts set into the ground. The walls were palmetto thatch, wattle and daub or plank, or left open. The floors were clay, and the roofs are presumed to have been thatched. The church buildings in the missions averaged some 20 m by 11 m. Other buildings situated within a palisade included a convento to house the missionaries, a barracks for the soldiers, and often a separate kitchen.[5][6]

[edit] Missions

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Griffin. P. xv.
  2. ^ Saunders. Pp. 35-6
  3. ^ Hann 1993. P. 128.
  4. ^ McEwan 1993a. Pp. xix-xx.
  5. ^ Saunders. Pp. 51-6.
  6. ^ Thomas. Pp. 9-19.

[edit] References

  • Griffin, John W. 1993. "Foreword", in McEwan, Bonnie G. ed. The Spanish Missions of "La Florida". University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1232-5.
  • Hann, John H. 1993. "The Mayaca and Jororo and Missions to Them", in McEwan, Bonnie G. ed. The Spanish Missions of "La Florida". University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1232-5.
  • Hann, John H. 1996. "The Missions of Spanish Florida". in Gannon, Michael, ed. The New History of Florida. University Presses of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1415-8
  • McEwan, Bonnie G. 1993a. "Preface", in McEwan, Bonnie G. ed. The Spanish Missions of "La Florida". University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1232-5.
  • Saunders, Rebecca. 1993. "Architecture of the Missions Santa María and Santa Catalina de Amelia", in McEwan, Bonnie G. ed. The Spanish Missions of ""La Florida". University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1232-5.
  • Slade, Alissa M. 2006. An Analysis of Artifacts and Archaeology at 8JE106, a Spanish Mission Site in Florida. Florida State University master's thesis. Found at [1]
  • Thomas, David Hurst. 1993. "The Archeology of Mission Santa Catalina de Guale:Our First 15 Years, in McEwan, Bonnie G. ed. The Spanish Missions of ""La Florida". University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1232-5..
  • The New Georgia Encyclopedia: Spanish Missions
  • Florida of the Spanish
  • Reconstructing a Spanish Mission: San Luis de Talimali
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