Father Junipero Serra and the Spanish Missionaries

 The Spanish sent many explorers to the areas of Mexico and California.  The Spanish government worked with the church.

 They had two reasons for wanting to conquer other worlds: they wanted more land and they wanted the natives to become Christians.

 In 1769, father Junipero Serra entered the San Diego area to build the first California Mission.  His group met a large group of Native Americans who were friendly and peaceful.

 They forced the Kumeyaay to help build Mission San Diego de Alcala. Mission San Diego de AlcalaMission San Diego de Alcala

 Click here to see more pictures of the mission. here

 A statue of Father Serra stands in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Father Junipero Serra,

 The Spanish Missionaries tried to get the Kumeyaay to become Christians.  Soldiers forced the Kumeyaay to work for the Spanish.

 Many Kumeyaay didn’t like this and they fought the Spanish soldiers.  After one year Father Serra thought about leaving the mission.

 Not a single Kumeyaay had agreed to become a Christian.

 On November 4 th and 5 th, 1775, a group of Kumeyaay surrounded the Mission San Diego de Alacala and set fire to it.  They attacked the Spanish soldiers and killed two people.

 The soldiers chased the Kumeyaay warriors into the mountains and deserts.

Mexico

 In 1821, Mexico overthrew the Spanish government and took all of the mission lands.

 Many of the Indians who had remained at the mission or lived nearby became slaves.  Others fled east.

 By this time there were only about 3,000 Kumeyaay people left in the area.  Many Kumeyaay had died off before 1821 because of loss of land, disease, or war.

 Village groups broke up because it was easier to feed small groups than a large village.

 Most of the remaining 3,000 Kumeyaay moved to the mountains so they would not have to work for the Mexican army.  Then the Kumeyaay population began to grow.