The Spanish Missions in New Mexico
From 1540 to 1616, Catholics from Spain explored the New Mexico region. Some missionary outreaches were launched. Here is their history.
CONTENTS
- The Missionaries were coworkers of Murdering Conquerors
- The Christian Message is associated with Insatiable Greed
- Christian leaders were comfortable with Human Rights violations
1. The Coronado Expedition
A Spanish conquistador and explorer named Francisco Vázquez de Coronado launched an expedition that departed Mexico in 1540.
His expedition was a quest for the Seven Cities of Gold, a mythical land of great wealth.
The expedition was absolutely massive, including the following:
- 400 armed Europeans
- 1,300 to 2,000 Mexican Indian allies
- Four Franciscan friars, including Juan de Padilla
- Several slaves, both natives and Africans
- Family members and servants
They explored New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. They completed their expedition and returned to Mexico in 1542 with nothing of value.
Upon his return, the expedition had forced Coronado into bankruptcy. It also resulted in charges of war crimes being brought against him and his field master.
2. Early Missionary Efforts
A Franciscan priest named Juan de Padilla was part of the Coronado Expedition.
After the expedition ended, Padilla returned to the southwestern United States. He ended up going to Kansas to preach to the Wichita People. He was killed in Kansas in 1542 by Native Americans.
No further missionary effort ensued until June 1581, when three friars along with others made their way into the land of the Pueblo People. But none of the friars survived. A rescue team discovered they were murdered.
3. Establishing San Juan
In 1595, a Spanish conquistador and explorer named Juan de Oñate was tasked by the Viceroy to explore and colonize the newly acquired territory of New Mexico.
In 1598 he launched an expedition. He had 130 soldiers, ten friars, and 7,000 livestock.
On April 30, 1598, Oñate assembled the exploration party on the south bank of the Rio Grande. He led the party in prayer, claiming all of the territory across the river for the Spanish Empire.
In December of 1598, they established the city of San Juan along the Rio Grande river.
In 1599, a dispute led to the death of thirteen Spaniards at the hands of the Ácoma People. Oñate ordered a brutal retaliation. Around 800–1000 Ácoma were killed. This incident is referred to as the 1599 Ácoma Massacre. Oñate is notorious for it.
Back in San Juan, they faced great difficulties. The farm land was inadequate, there were no silver mines to discover, and relations with the Indigenous Peoples were very difficult. Some thought they should abandon New Mexico.
An appeal was made for the support of the king of Spain. Thus San Juan was named a Royal Colony.
By 1616 there were 25 friars at eleven missionary stations caring for 10,000 converts.
Unfortunately, there hadbeen a difficult conflict between Ordoniaz, head of the friars, and Governor Peralta. In retaliation, Ordoniaz excommunicated Governor Peralta for having withdrawn his troops.
Governor Peralta broke into a church where Ordoniaz was preaching and picked a fight with him, injuring him. Thus a pattern of strong conflict between religious and civil leaders was set up.
The situation was very tense.
4. Our Observations
Observation 1. The Missionaries were coworkers of Murdering Conquerors
The Coronado expedition included four Franciscan friars. On the one hand, we esteem their courage to launch out into this daring mission.
On the other hand, the friars were allied with people who committed heinous acts and were charged with war crimes.
Anywhere the expedition went, the Indigenous People witnessed that the Christian message is closely allied with war criminals.
Observation 2. The Christian Message is associated with Insatiable Greed
The mission of the Coronado expedition was to find the Seven Cities of Gold, a mythical land of great wealth. It was propelled by insatiable greed.
Anywhere the expedition went, the Indigenous People witnessed that the Christian missionaries are teamed up with insatiable greed.
Observation 3. Christian leaders were comfortable with Human Rights violations
The Coronado expedition included s>everal slaves.
Anywhere the expedition went, the Indigenous People witnessed that the missionaries were comfortable with the owning of slaves.
These Christian leaders were comfortable with this heinous violation of Human Rights.
HISTORY – U.S. CATHOLIC
MAJOR ERAS:
- The Spanish Missions in New Mexico: 1540 to 1616
- The Spanish Missions in Florida: 1549 to 1763
- The English Missions in the Mid-Atlantic region: beginning in the 1570s
- Catholics and the American Revolutionary War: 1775–1783
- Archbishop John Carroll: 1774-1815
- Archbishop Leonard Neale: 1815-1817
- Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal: 1817 -1828
- Archbishop James Whitfield: 1828 to 1834
- Archbishop Samuel Eccleston: 1834-1851
- Archbishop Francis Kenrick: 1851–1863
SEE ALSO: References, Church History
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.