SPANISH MISSIONS: How Many on the peninsula?

I have been reading a new book on the Spanish mission church buildings in Baja California, and while it is a book I would recommend be part of your collection there are just some real historic inaccuracies that were not caught in the editing. Believe me, I know things can slip through having been a part of a mission book published last year!

One of the errors in this book (and also in other publications and websites) is the number of missions founded in (Baja) California.

Even in our book on all the California missions (Baja & Alta), we indicate that some were founded after Mexico's independence from Spain (1821) and two in Baja were really new locations for an earlier mission, but are strongly considered separate missions by some in history and so in many books.

'The Old Missions of Baja & Alta California, 1697-1834' has already made waves by being the first book to correctly list all the California missions in the order they were founded, and not by their location north or south of a border that did not exist when they were founded!

"California" was the name of the 'Baja' peninsula' first and there was no separate names for the vast area north of the peninsula until 1769 when the padres wanted to describe the new region to the north... It became 'Nueva (New) California' and the peninsula became 'Antigua' (Old) California'... the original California. By 1800 the names had changed to Alta (Upper) California and Baja (Lower California) and not until 1804 were they made into two separate administrative zones.

CALIFORNIA MISSIONS that were all interlinked, began in LORETO in 1697 as a way to colonize the Spanish claimed territory, discovered by early 1534. A 'mission' was an enterprise operated by the Catholic church under the direction of the Spanish government using private funds from wealthy benefactors. In order for there to be a new mission, it required the government's authorization, funds donated by European families, and a priest assigned to operate it, at the new site.

Because of these three parts required (authorization, financing, and an available priest), the number of missions is easy to determine with all the historic records that have been published and preserved.

On the California peninsula, the Jesuit Order (1697-1767) founded 17 missions. The first 14 were in the southern half of the peninsula with no effort to go north of San Ignacio until the 1740's. Many believed California was an island, despite several expeditions proving otherwise. It was Padre Fernando Consag's expedition by canoe (in 1746) that finally ended the questioning of the peninsular nature of California.

The Jesuits were then anxious to connect the California missions (San Ignacio to San Jose del Cabo) with their missions in Sonora, and founded three more missions north of San Ignacio until they were forced to leave the New World, by order of the King.

Here is a summary of the 17 Jesuit founded California missions, common name used:

1) LORETO, 1697, one location.
2) SAN JAVIER, 1699, two locations.
3) LIGUI, 1705, one location, abandoned in 1721.
4) MULEGE, 1705, one location.
5) COMONDU, 1708, three locations.
6) LA PURISIMA, 1720, two locations.
7) LA PAZ, 1720, two locations, name changed when moved to Todos Santos in 1748.
8) GUADALUPE, 1720, one location.
9) DOLORES, 1721, three locations, name changed when moved final time in 1741.
10) SANTIAGO, 1724*, three locations.
11) SAN IGNACIO, 1728, one location.
12) SAN JOSE DEL CABO, 1730, four locations, abandoned by the Jesuits in 1748 and re-established in 1768.
13) SANTA ROSA (TODOS SANTOS), 1733, one location, ended and replaced by moved La Paz mission in 1748.
14) SAN LUIS GONZAGA, 1737, one location.
15) SANTA GERTRUDIS, 1752, one location, was originally to be called Dolores del Norte.
16) SAN BORJA, 1762, one location.
17) SANTA MARIA, originally founded at Calamajue in 1766, two locations, name changed to Santa Maria when moved in 1767.

When the Jesuits were removed, there were 14 missions of their 17 missions operating (Ligui, San Jose del Cabo and Santa Rosa were terminated as missions).

*Santiago was first founded at Santa Ana in 1722, but failed there and not reestablished until some time had passed

The Franciscan Order replaced the Jesuits and were given new instructions from Spain to head north to the ports of San Diego and Monterey to occupy the area before Russia or England did. They founded one mission on the peninsula, before San Diego:

18) SAN FERNANDO de VELICATA, 1769, one location.

San Diego would become the 19th California mission and Carmel (near Monterey) the 20th. The Franciscans saw no future with the missions on the peninsula and continued to establish missions in Nueva/ Alta California in no special order, and convinced Spain to give peninsula missions still operating and new peninsula mission duties to the Dominican Order.

Counting only the peninsula missions below, founded during the same years as the Franciscans were building missions in Alta California:

19) EL ROSARIO, 1774, two locations.
20) SANTO DOMINGO, 1775, two locations.
21) SAN VICENTE, 1780, one location.
22) SAN MIGUEL, 1787, two+ locations*.
23) SANTO TOMAS, 1791, three locations.
24) SAN PEDRO MARTIR, 1794, two locations.
25) SANTA CATALINA, 1797, one location.

Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1810 and was at war the next 11 years. Many historians consider Santa Catalina as the final Spanish mission founded on the peninsula...

*26) DESCANSO, 1810, two locations called Descanso, considered more of a new location for San Miguel.
*27) GUADALUPE (del Norte), 1834, one location, operated by the priest of San Miguel and Descanso and opened when those two were abandoned.

In summary, there were 25 missions now in Baja California that meet the original definition of a mission and two more that are popularly listed as separate missions.

One will often see the mistake of adding a mission's moved site as a separate mission, or the listing of a visita (satellite mission visiting station) as being a mission. That is how one comes up with as many as 35 or more missions in Baja California when there was 25-27 unique missions.

Some of the non-missions included in books as being missions, were visitas or moved mission locations:

La Pasion, which was the final site for Dolores.
La Presentacion, which was a visita of San Javier.
San Miguel (de Comondu), was a visita of San Javier then of Comondu.
Londo, was a visita of Loreto.
Santa Maria Magdalena, was a proposed mission.
Dolores del Norte, was the original name for the Santa Gertrudis mission.
Calamajue, was the first location for the mission that would become Santa Maria.
San Bruno, which was a failed attempt to establish a mission in 1685.

I enjoy the history of Old California, and would enjoy discussing it further... Let me know what is interesting about the old missions to you or what questions you have I may be able to answer...



[Edited on 10-12-2014 by David K]

The first 14 California missions were all in Baja California Sur:



The numbers are the mission locations in order of the date founded, at the final location if moved (except #7 and #9 which are at the first location locations). #7 moved south to #13 and replaced it. #9 moved west, closer to #14.

As the map clearly shows, there was no special direction or distance to the next mission. The Jesuits simply were finding sites with a population of potential converts, at water sources, with areas that could become farmland to develop.

13 missions in Baja Ca Norte and 21 in Alta California

Once able to expand the missions to the north, the Jesuits founded #15, #16 and #17 and had discovered the site that became #18, but were removed before it could be developed.

The Franciscans founded #18 and founded all 21 of the Alta California mission. The Dominicans took over all the Baja California missions and founded 9 more missions between #18 and San Diego (#19). As the numbers clearly show, none of the missions were founded in any special order or distance from each other... simply were established were natives lived, water flowed, and land could be cultivated when funds and a priest became available with an okay from Spain.





1 -1697 Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó
2 -1699 San Francisco Javier Biaundó
3 -1705 San Juan Bautista de Malibat (Ligüí)
4 -1705 Santa Rosalía de Mulegé
5 -1708 San José de Comondú
6 -1720 La Purísima Concepción de Cadegomó
7 -1720 Nuestra Señora del Pilar de la Paz Airapí
8 -1720 Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Huasinapí
9 -1721 Nuestra Señora de los Dolores Apaté
10-1724 Santiago el Apóstol Aiñiní
11-1728 San Ignacio de Kadakaamán
12-1730 San Jose del Cabo Añuítí
13-1733 Santa Rosa de las Palmas (Todos Santos)
14-1737 San Luis Gonzaga Chiryaqui
15-1752 Santa Gertrudis
16-1762 San Francisco de Borja Adac
17-1766 Santa María de los Ángeles
18-1769 San Fernando de Velicatá
19-1769 San Diego de Alcalá
20-1770 San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo
21-1771 San Antonio de Padua
22-1771 San Gabriel Arcángel
23-1772 San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
24-1774 Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Viñadaco
25-1775 Santo Domingo
26-1776 San Francisco de Asís (Dolores)
27-1776 San Juan Capistrano
28-1777 Santa Clara de Asís
29-1780 San Vicente Ferrer
30-1782 San Buenaventura
31-1786 Santa Bárbara
32-1787 San Miguel Arcángel (Dominican)
33-1787 La Purísima Concepción
34-1791 Santo Tomás de Aquino
35-1791 Santa Cruz
36-1791 Nuestra Señora de la Soladad
37-1794 San Pedro Mártir de Verona
38-1797 San José
39-1797 San Juan Bautista
40-1797 San Miguel Arcángel (Franciscan)
41-1797 San Fernando Rey de España
42-1797 Santa Catalina Virgen y Mártir
43-1798 San Luis Rey de Francía
44-1804 Sants Inés Virgen y Mártir
45-1810 El Descanso (San Miguel la Nueva)
46-1817 San Rafael Arcángel
47-1823 San Francisco Solano (Sonoma)
48-1834 Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

[Edited on 10-12-2014 by David K]

Baja California Missions in BOLD text