1.
Spanish missions in California
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The missions were part of a major effort by the Spanish Empire to extend colonization into the most northern and western parts of Spains North American claims. Following a long-term secular and religious policy of Spain in Latin America, Mexico achieved independence in 1821, taking Alta California along with it, but the missions maintained authority over native neophytes and control of vast land holdings until the 1830s. At the peak of its development in 1832, the mission system controlled an area equal to approximately one-sixth of Alta California. The Alta California government secularized the missions after the passage of the Mexican secularization act of 1833 and this divided the mission lands into land grants, which became many of the Ranchos of California. In the end, the missions had mixed results in their objectives, to convert, educate, today, the surviving mission buildings are the states oldest structures, and its most-visited historic monuments. Prior to 1754, grants of lands were made directly by the Spanish Crown. The missions were to be interconnected by a route which later became known as the Camino Real. The detailed planning and direction of the missions was to be carried out by Friar Junípero Serra, work on the coastal mission chain was concluded in 1823, completed after Serras death in 1784. Plans to build a mission in Santa Rosa in 1827 were canceled. The Santa Ysabel Asistencia had been founded in 1818 as a mother mission, in addition to the presidio and pueblo, the misión was one of the three major agencies employed by the Spanish sovereign to extend its borders and consolidate its colonial territories. Each frontier station was forced to be self-supporting, as existing means of supply were inadequate to maintain a colony of any size. California was months away from the nearest base in colonized Mexico, to sustain a mission, the padres required converted Native Americans, called neophytes, to cultivate crops and tend livestock in the volume needed to support a fair-sized establishment. The scarcity of imported materials, together with a lack of skilled laborers, compelled the missionaries to employ simple building materials, although the missions were considered temporary ventures by the Spanish hierarchy, the development of an individual settlement was not simply a matter of priestly whim. The padres blessed the site, and with the aid of their military escort fashioned temporary shelters out of tree limbs or driven stakes and it was these simple huts that ultimately gave way to the stone and adobe buildings that exist to the present. The first priority when beginning a settlement was the location and construction of the church, once the spot for the church had been selected, its position was marked and the remainder of the mission complex was laid out. The cuadrángulo was rarely a perfect square because the missionaries had no surveying instruments at their disposal and it was a doctrine established in 1531, which based the Spanish states right over the land and persons of the Indies on the Papal charge to evangelize them. It was employed wherever the indigenous populations were not already concentrated in native pueblos, the civilized and disciplined culture of the natives, developed over 8,000 year, was not considered. A total of 146 Friars Minor, mostly Spaniards by birth, were ordained as priests, sixty-seven missionaries died at their posts, while the remainder returned to Europe due to illness, or upon completing their ten-year service commitment
2.
Spanish missions in Texas
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The missions introduced European livestock, fruits, vegetables, and industry into the Texas area. In addition to the presidio and pueblo, the misión was one of the three major agencies employed by the Spanish crown to extend its borders and consolidate its colonial territories. In all, twenty-six missions were maintained for different lengths of time within the boundaries of the state of Texas. Since 1493, Spain had maintained missions throughout New Spain to facilitate colonization, following government policy, Franciscan missionaries sought to make life within mission communities closely resemble that of Spanish villages and Spanish culture. To become Spanish citizens and productive inhabitants, Native Americans learned vocational skills, as plows, farm implements, and gear for horses, oxen, and mules fell into disrepair, blacksmithing skills soon became indispensable. Weaving skills were needed to clothe the inhabitants. As buildings became more elaborate, mission occupants learned masonry and carpentry under the direction of craftsmen contracted by the missionaries, then their communities could be incorporated as such into ordinary colonial society. This transition from official status to ordinary Spanish society, when it occurred in an official manner, was called secularization. Although colonial law specified no precise time for transition to take effect. This had resulted too often in the abuse and even enslavement of the Indians, Spanish Texas was a part of New Spain. On its southern edge, Texas was bordered by the province of Coahuila, the boundary between the provinces was set at the line formed by the Medina and the Nueces Rivers,100 miles northeast of the Rio Grande. On the east, Texas bordered French Louisiana, although Spain claimed that the Red River formed the boundary between the two, France insisted that the border was the Sabine River,45 miles to the west. The first mission established within the boundaries of Spanish Texas was San Francisco de la Espada, in 1689, Spanish authorities found the remnants of a French settlement, Fort Saint Louis. During their expedition, the Spanish met representatives of the Caddo people, the Caddo expressed interest in learning about Christianity, and the following year Alonso De León led an expedition to establish a mission in East Texas. It was completed near the Hasinai village of Nabedaches in late May, in its first two years of existence, the mission faced much hardship, as floodwaters and then drought destroyed their crops. After an epidemic killed half of the population, the Hasinai became convinced that the missionaries had caused the deaths. Fearing an attack, on October 25,1693 the missionaries buried the bell, set the building ablaze. The mission was reestablished on July 3,1716, as Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas, in 1721, it was renamed Mission San Francisco de los Neches
3.
New Mexico
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New Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. It was admitted to the Union as the 47th state on January 6,1912 and it is usually considered one of the Mountain States. New Mexico is fifth by area, the 36th-most populous, inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years before European exploration, New Mexico was colonized by the Spanish in 1598 Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain. Later, it was part of independent Mexico before becoming a U. S. territory and eventually a U. S. state as a result of the Mexican–American War. Among U. S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics, the major Native American nations in the state are Navajo, Pueblo, and Apache peoples. The demography and culture of the state are shaped by these strong Hispanic and Native American influences and its scarlet and gold colors are taken from the royal standards of Spain, along with the ancient sun symbol of the Zia, a Pueblo-related tribe. New Mexico, or Nuevo México in Spanish, is incorrectly believed to have taken its name from the nation of Mexico. The name simply stuck, even though the area had no connection to Mexico or the Mexica Indian tribes, Mexico, formerly a part of New Spain, adopted its name centuries later in 1821, after winning independence from Spanish rule. New Mexico was a part of the independent Mexican Empire and Federal Republic of Mexico for 27 years,1821 through 1848, New Mexico and Mexico developed as neighboring Spanish-speaking communities under Spanish rule, with relatively independent histories. The states total area is 121,412 square miles, the eastern border of New Mexico lies along 103° W longitude with the state of Oklahoma, and 2.2 miles west of 103° W longitude with Texas. On the southern border, Texas makes up the eastern two-thirds, while the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora make up the western third, the western border with Arizona runs along the 109°03 W longitude. The southwestern corner of the state is known as the Bootheel, the 37° N latitude parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The states New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in the corner of New Mexico. New Mexico, although a state, has very little water. Its surface water area is about 250 square miles, the New Mexican landscape ranges from wide, rose-colored deserts to broken mesas to high, snow-capped peaks. Despite New Mexicos arid image, heavily forested mountain wildernesses cover a significant portion of the state, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the southernmost part of the Rocky Mountains, run roughly north-south along the east side of the Rio Grande in the rugged, pastoral north. The most important of New Mexicos rivers are the Rio Grande, Pecos, Canadian, San Juan, the Rio Grande is tied for the fourth-longest river in the United States. Tourists visiting these sites bring significant money to the state, other areas of geographical and scenic interest include Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument and the Gila Wilderness in the southwest of the state
4.
Franciscans
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The Franciscans are a group of related mendicant religious orders within the Catholic Church, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. These orders include the Order of Friars Minor, the Order of Saint Clare, Francis began preaching around 1207 and traveled to Rome to seek approval from the Pope in 1209. The original Rule of Saint Francis approved by the Pope disallowed ownership of property, the austerity was meant to emulate the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Franciscans traveled and preached in the streets, while boarding in church properties, Saint Clare, under Franciss guidance, founded the Poor Clares in 1212, which remains a Second Order of the Franciscans. The extreme poverty required of members was relaxed in final revision of the Rule in 1223, the degree of observance required of members remained a major source of conflict within the order, resulting in numerous secessions. The Order of Friars Minor, previously known as the Observant branch, is one of the three Franciscan First Orders within the Catholic Church, the others being the Capuchins and Conventuals. The Order of Friars Minor, in its current form, is the result of an amalgamation of smaller orders completed in 1897 by Pope Leo XIII. The latter two, the Capuchin and Conventual, remain distinct religious institutes within the Catholic Church, observing the Rule of Saint Francis with different emphases, Franciscans are sometimes referred to as minorites or greyfriars because of their habit. In Poland and Lithuania they are known as Bernardines, after Bernardino of Siena, the name of original order, Friars Minor, means lesser brothers, and stems from Francis of Assisis rejection of extravagance. Francis was the son of a cloth merchant, but gave up his wealth to pursue his faith more fully. Francis adopted of the tunic worn by peasants as the religious habit for his order. Those who joined him became the original Order of Friars Minor and they all live according to a body of regulations known as the Rule of St Francis. First Order The First Order or the Order of Friars Minor are commonly called simply the Franciscans and this Order is a mendicant religious order of men, some of whom trace their origin to Francis of Assisi. Their official Latin name is the Ordo Fratrum Minorum, St. Francis thus referred to his followers as Fraticelli, meaning Little Brothers. Franciscan brothers are informally called friars or the Minorites and they all live according to a body of regulations known as the Rule of St Francis. These are The Order of Friars Minor, known as the Observants, most commonly simply called Franciscan friars, official name, the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin or simply Capuchins, official name, Friars Minor Capuchin. The Conventual Franciscans or Minorites, official name, Friars Minor Conventual, Second Order The Second Order, most commonly called Poor Clares in English-speaking countries, consists of religious sisters. The order is called the Order of St. Clare, but in the century, prior to 1263, this order was referred to as The Poor Ladies, The Poor Enclosed Nuns
5.
Spanish Empire
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The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in history. The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power of its time and was the first to be called the empire on which the sun never sets, the Spanish Empire originated during the Age of Discovery after the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Following the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain ceded its last colonies in the Caribbean and its last African colonies were granted independence or abandoned during Decolonisation of Africa finishing in 1976. The unity did not mean uniformity, nevertheless, some historians assert that Portugal was part of the Spanish monarchy at the time, while others draw a clear distinction between the Portuguese and Spanish empires. During the 15th century, Castile and Portugal became territorial and commercial rivals in the western Atlantic. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when the islands of Gran Canaria, La Palma, and Tenerife were subjugated. The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast in the Gulf of Guinea, chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of the treasures of Guinea spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there. Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea, every caravel had to get a government license, the treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, establishing the principle of the Mare clausum. It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV, in the papal bull Æterni regis, thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced worlds division would be reached at Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, Ferdinand and Isabella drove the last Moorish king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war. The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu by sailing west, Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. Columbus discoveries inaugurated the Spanish colonization of the Americas and these actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south, as well as the easternmost parts of Asia. The treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506, Spains expansion and colonization was driven by economic influences, a yearning to improve national prestige, and a desire to spread Catholicism into the New World. The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children in order to isolate their long-time enemy, the Spanish princes married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg. Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Catalan-Aragonese house of Naples against Charles VIII of France in the Italian Wars beginning in 1494. As King of Aragon, Ferdinand had been involved in the struggle against France and Venice for control of Italy, these conflicts became the center of Ferdinands foreign policy as king. Only a year later, Ferdinand became part of the Holy League against France and this war was less of a success than the war against Venice, and in 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre
6.
New Spain
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New Spain was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire, in the New World north of the Isthmus of Panama. It was established following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521, after 1535 the colony was governed by the Viceroy of New Spain, an appointed minister of the King of Spain, who ruled as monarch over the colony. The capital of New Spain was Mexico City and it developed highly regional divisions, which reflect the impact of climate, topography, the presence or absence of dense indigenous populations, and the presence or absence of mineral resources. The areas of central and southern Mexico had dense indigenous populations with complex social, political, silver mining not only became the engine of the economy of New Spain, but vastly enriched Spain, and transformed the global economy. New Spain was the New World terminus of the Philippine trade, although New Spain was a dependency of Spain, it was a kingdom not a colony, subject to the presiding monarch on the Iberian Peninsula. Every privilege and position, economic political, or religious came from him and it was on this basis that the conquest, occupation, and government of the New World was achieved. The Viceroyalty of New Spain was established in 1535 in the Kingdom of New Spain and it was the first New World viceroyalty and one of only two in the Spanish empire until the 18th century Bourbon Reforms. The Spanish Empire comprised the territories in the north overseas Septentrion, from North America, to the west of the continent, New Spain also included the Spanish East Indies. To the east of the continent, it included the Spanish West Indies and this was not occupied by many Spanish settlers and were considered more marginal to Spanish interests than the most densely populated and lucrative areas of central Mexico. To shore up its claims in North America starting in the late 18th century, Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest explored and claimed the coast of what is now British Columbia and Alaska. The indigenous societies of Mesoamerica brought under Spanish control were of unprecedented complexity, the societies could provide the conquistadors, especially Hernán Cortés, a base from which the conquerors could become autonomous, or even independent, of the Crown. As a result, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, since the time of the Catholic Monarchs, central Iberia was governed through councils appointed by the monarch with particular jurisdictions. Thus, the creation of the Council of the Indies became another, the crown had set up the Casa de Contratación in 1503 to regulate contacts between Spain and its overseas possessions. A key function was to gather information about navigation to make trips less risky and they were accompanied by maps of the area discussed, many of which were drawn by indigenous artists. The Francisco Hernández Expedition, the first scientific expedition to the New World, was sent to gather information medicinal plants, an earlier Audiencia had been established in Santo Domingo in 1526 to deal with the Caribbean settlements. That Audiencia, housed in the Casa Reales in Santo Domingo, was charged with encouraging further exploration, management by the Audiencia, which was expected to make executive decisions as a body, proved unwieldy. Therefore, in 1535, King Charles V named Don Antonio de Mendoza as the first Viceroy of New Spain. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1532 opened up the vast territories of South America to further conquests, the Crown established an independent Viceroyalty of Peru there in 1540
7.
George A. Grant
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George Alexander Grant, an American photographer, was the first Chief Photographer for the U. S. National Park Service. Early life George Alexander Grant was born in Milton, PA, on March 4,1891, as a child he watched the boats travel the Susquehanna River and the trains roll through town and dreamed of far away adventures. After high school, he had a series of manufacturing jobs before employment in 1912 as a craftsman and metalsmith at the Roycroft Community in East Aurora. Roycroft was renowned for its craftsmanship of furnishings, fixtures, following Americas entry in to the Great War in 1917, Grant resigned to enlist in the Army. He was sent to Fort Russell in Wyoming for artillery training, the experience transformed him as he fell in love with the Wests grand landscapes and natural beauty. Following his discharge he returned to Pennsylvania to work at a series of construction and factory jobs, in early 1921, he wrote a letter to the chief ranger at Yellowstone National Park inquiring about a position, but nothing came from the correspondence. Upon learning that the park had a new chief ranger in 1922 and this time the ranger, Sam Woodring, passed the information on to park superintendent Horace Albright. Both men liked Grants resume, notably his experience in Wyoming during the war and it is unclear if Grant brought a camera with him to the park or located one after his arrival, but he began taking photographs and teaching himself how to process and print film. Superintendent Albright was impressed with his work and encouraged him to snap pictures when he was not involved in other duties, at summers end, Grant was awarded a permanent ranger position. He reluctantly resigned, explaining to Albright that he wanted to pursue photography with hopes of returning to the Park Service as a photogapher, in early 1923, George Grant took photography courses in New York City and then accepted a position as a photographer for Pennsylvania State College. He held the position for four years, even serving as an instructor in photography, during that time, he maintained a steady correspondence with Horace Albright seeking an opportunity to return to the National Park Service. Finally, in 1927 a position was approved for a Park Service photographer, Grant resigned from Penn State and drove to southern California to be available to begin work. Finally, in early 1929, Albright succeeded Park Service Director Stephen Mather who was gravely ill, during his first field season, he traveled thousands of miles in a Park Service vehicle to produce photographs at more than a dozen national parks across the West and Southwest. In November 1929, he gave presentations on the value of photography in the parks to attendees of the first Park Naturalists Conference, in 1931, Grant was promoted to Chief Photographer and transferred to Washington, DC. He continued to many of his field seasons traveling the west in a specially outfitted panel truck - part darkroom. George Grant was principally a documentary photographer who skillfully carried out projects for the Park Service. With the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in March,1933 and he also accompanied teams traveling to different regions to survey for planned or proposed national parks. Grant continued active work with the Park Service and the Department of the Interior until his retirement in 1954, after his retirement Grant was recognized with a Meritorious Service Award from the National Park Service
8.
San Miguel Mission
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San Miguel Mission, also known as San Miguel Chapel, is a Spanish colonial mission church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Built between approximately 1610 and 1626, it is the oldest known church in the United States, the church was damaged during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 but was rebuilt in 1710 following the Spanish reconquest and served for a time as a chapel for the Spanish soldiers. The wooden reredos, which includes a statue of Saint Michael dating back to at least 1709, was added in 1798. Though the church has been repaired and rebuilt numerous times over the years, the church is a contributing property in the Barrio De Analco Historic District, which is a U. S. National Historic Landmark. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is still offered at the chapel on Sundays, Oldest buildings in the United States Oldest churches in the United States Historic American Buildings Survey No. NM-1, San Miguel Church, Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, NM,11 photos,19 measured drawings,4 data pages, supplemental material
9.
Puebloans
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The Pueblo peoples speak languages from several different groups and are also divided culturally by their kinship systems and agricultural practices, although all cultivate varieties of corn. In addition to differing kinship systems, the peoples have differing marriage practices and those who have a matrilineal system, in which children are considered born into the mothers clan and her line is used for inheritance and descent, are the Hopi, Keres, Towa and Zuni. The non-Towa Tanoan have a system, with clan membership, inheritance. All the Pueblo peoples have traditional economies based on agriculture and trade, at the time of Spanish encounter beginning in the 16th century, these peoples were living in complex, multi-story villages often built around a central courtyard. The Spanish called these pueblos, meaning towns, and applied the name to all the living in such complexes. In the 21st century there are 21 surviving pueblos in the Southwest of the United States, Taos, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi are the best-known. The main pueblos are located primarily in the states of New Mexico. Anthropologists have studied these peoples extensively and published various classifications of their subdivisions, in 1950, Fred Russell Eggan contrasted the peoples of the Eastern and Western Pueblos, based largely on their subsistence farming techniques. The Western or Desert Pueblos of the Zuñi and Hopi specialize in dry farming, in 1954, Paul Kirchhoff published a division of the Pueblo peoples into two groups based on culture, one includes the Hopi, Zuni, Keres and Jemez. They each have matrilineal kinship systems, children are considered born into their mothers clan and must marry a spouse outside it and they maintain multiple kivas for sacred ceremonies. Their creation myth tells that humans emerged from the underground and they emphasize four or six cardinal directions as part of their sacred cosmology, beginning in the north. Four and seven are considered significant in their rituals and symbolism. In contrast, the Tanoan-speaking Pueblos have a kinship system. They practice endogamy, or marriage within the clan and they have two kivas or two groups of kivas in their pueblos. Their belief system is based in dualism, the creation story recounts the emergence of the people from underwater. They use five directions, beginning in the west and their ritual numbers are based on multiples of three. The Pueblo peoples speak languages from different language families, demonstrating their diverse ethnic origins. The Hopi language is Uto-Aztecan, Zuni is an isolate, and Keresan is a dialect continuum that includes Acoma, Laguna, Santa Ana, Zia, Cochiti, Santo Domingo
10.
Navajo
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The Navajo are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. After the Cherokee, they are the second-largest federally recognized tribe in the United States, the Navajo language is spoken throughout the region, with most Navajos speaking English, as well. The states with the largest Navajo populations are Arizona and New Mexico, over three-quarters of the Navajo population reside in these two states. The Navajos are speakers of a Na-Dené Southern Athabaskan language known within the language as Diné bizaad, the language comprises two geographic, mutually intelligible dialects. It is closely related to the Apache language, as the Navajos and Apaches are believed to have migrated from northwestern Canada and eastern Alaska, speakers of various other Athabaskan languages located in Canada may still comprehend the Navajo language despite the geographic and linguistic deviation of the languages. Additionally, some Navajos speak Navajo Sign Language, which is either a dialect or daughter of Plains Sign Talk, archaeological and historical evidence suggests the Athabaskan ancestors of the Navajos and Apaches entered the Southwest around 1400 CE. The Navajo oral tradition is said to retain references of this migration, until contact with Pueblos and the Spanish, the Navajos were largely hunters and gatherers. The tribe adopted crop-farming techniques from the Pueblo peoples, growing corn, beans. When the Spanish arrived, the Navajos began herding sheep and goats as a source of trade and food. Sheep also became a form of currency and status symbols among the Navajos based on the quantity of herds a family maintained. In addition, the practice of spinning and weaving wool into blankets and clothing became common, in the 18th century, the Spanish reported the Navajos maintaining large herds of livestock and cultivating large crop areas. Navahu comes from the Tewa, meaning area of cultivated lands. By the 1640s, the Spanish began using the term Navajo to refer to the Diné, during the 1670s, the Spanish wrote that the Diné lived in a region known as Dinétah, about 60 miles west of the Rio Chama valley region. In the 1780s, the Spanish sent military expeditions against the Navajos in the Mount Taylor, the Navajos came into contact with the United States Army in 1846, when General Stephen W. Kearny invaded Santa Fe with 1,600 men during the Mexican–American War. The treaty was not honored by many young Navajo raiders, who continued to steal livestock from New Mexican villages, New Mexicans, on their part, together with Utes, continued to raid Navajo country, stealing livestock and taking women and children for sale as slaves. In 1849, the governor of New Mexico, Colonel John MacRae Washington—accompanied by John S. The treaty acknowledged the jurisdiction of the United States and allowed forts, the United States, on its part, promised such donations such other liberal and humane measures, as may deem meet and proper. While en route to this treaty signing, Narbona, a prominent Navajo peace leader, was killed, during the next 10 years, the U. S. established forts on traditional Navajo territory
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