San Antonio: Mission Espada
The Franciscan Mission Espada (Misión San Francisco de la Espada) was the southernmost of the five baroque mission churches and defense complexes the Spaniards built in the early 18th century to defend the Northern boundary of the Spanish colonial empire against French incursions. The five fortified Franciscan mission churches were built along the San Antonio River about three miles apart from each other.
The Mission Espada was originally founded in East Texas in 1690 as San Francisco de los Tejas but relocated to the banks of the San Antonio River in 1731. A friary was built in 1745, and the church was completed in 1756. Following Spanish government policy, Franciscan missionaries sought to make life within mission communities closely resemble that of Spanish villages and Spanish culture, and Native Americans were taught necessary vocational skills.
www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/espada.htm
San Antonio: Mission Espada
The Franciscan Mission Espada (Misión San Francisco de la Espada) was the southernmost of the five baroque mission churches and defense complexes the Spaniards built in the early 18th century to defend the Northern boundary of the Spanish colonial empire against French incursions. The five fortified Franciscan mission churches were built along the San Antonio River about three miles apart from each other.
The Mission Espada was originally founded in East Texas in 1690 as San Francisco de los Tejas but relocated to the banks of the San Antonio River in 1731. A friary was built in 1745, and the church was completed in 1756. Following Spanish government policy, Franciscan missionaries sought to make life within mission communities closely resemble that of Spanish villages and Spanish culture, and Native Americans were taught necessary vocational skills.
www.nps.gov/saan/planyourvisit/espada.htm