Blog entries collection for the tag mission
A Diplomatic Guide to Five of Southern California’s Missions
22nd May, 2017
Spain claimed California in the early 1500s but for more than 200 years did nothing to advance that claim. Then, in 1769 as Russian interest in the area rejuvenated following the ascension of Catherine the Great and as British ships intruded on the Alta California coastline, Spain began to mark its territory by establishing a series of missions.
The missions were not only religious institutions. They were intended as anchors for further colonization.
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