1. Father Junipero Serra and the Spanish Missionaries

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

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

4.  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.

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

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

7.  A statue of Father Serra stands in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Father Junipero Serra, 1713-1784

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

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

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

12.  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.

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

16. Mexico

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

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

20.  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.

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

23.  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.