Forge
Workshops at the mission had the dual purpose of making the mission self-sufficient and to teach the Indians occupations in the Spanish 18th century economy. We see here replicas of implements of that period.
At Misión Espíritu Santo, Goliad. Texas. Full name: Mission Nuestra Señora de la Bahía del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga. The partially restored mission is at Goliad State Park, which I visited on March 16, 2021.
Early in the 18th century, the Spanish crown decided securing its claim to Texas required establishing settlements there. Unable to recruit willing settlers in Spain, the crown turned to missions as an alternative. A mission was a fortified village run by a few priests and supported by a few soldiers. The crown supplied seed money and the soldiers. An Indian group would be persuaded to abandon their nomadic ways, embrace the Roman Catholic faith and move into the mission. The priests instructed them in the faith and in farming, ranching and European skills. The soldiers instructed them in the use of European weapons and tactics. In this win-win arrangement, the crown got its settlement, the Indians got a more dependable food supply and the priests got souls for God. After a generation or two, the Indians no longer needed the mission and would leave it to settle in the vicinity. The mission church sometimes remained in service, to minister to the local community.
Forge
Workshops at the mission had the dual purpose of making the mission self-sufficient and to teach the Indians occupations in the Spanish 18th century economy. We see here replicas of implements of that period.
At Misión Espíritu Santo, Goliad. Texas. Full name: Mission Nuestra Señora de la Bahía del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga. The partially restored mission is at Goliad State Park, which I visited on March 16, 2021.
Early in the 18th century, the Spanish crown decided securing its claim to Texas required establishing settlements there. Unable to recruit willing settlers in Spain, the crown turned to missions as an alternative. A mission was a fortified village run by a few priests and supported by a few soldiers. The crown supplied seed money and the soldiers. An Indian group would be persuaded to abandon their nomadic ways, embrace the Roman Catholic faith and move into the mission. The priests instructed them in the faith and in farming, ranching and European skills. The soldiers instructed them in the use of European weapons and tactics. In this win-win arrangement, the crown got its settlement, the Indians got a more dependable food supply and the priests got souls for God. After a generation or two, the Indians no longer needed the mission and would leave it to settle in the vicinity. The mission church sometimes remained in service, to minister to the local community.