Although the Alamo is the most famous of the Spanish missions in Texas, a short drive south of San Antonio lies one of the largest and most historically preserved – Mission San Jose. This stone-walled encampment housed up to 350 Native Americans at a time, all convinced by the Spaniards that living and working at the mission, adopting Catholicism and sacrificing their age-old traditions would bring them safety and prosperity.
The quest of the Spanish missionaries to bring Christianity to the native Texans was not purely altruistic, however (those sneaky Catholics!). They needed a quick way to colonize the area so that the French couldn’t claim it for themselves. What better way to stake your claim than by pretty much enslaving the nomadic people of the area and teaching them to be ‘Spanish citizens’? And, because many of them are sick and dying from some miserable new diseases (brought over to the New World by you know who), they’ll probably take you up on your offer of safety, medicine and ample food. Too bad it took over 100 years for you to give their land back (split up in bits and pieces), after 70% of them died from small pox anyways (even after learning Latin and praying to a new Lord).
Can you tell I’m a little bitter? Overall, visiting Mission San Jose was very eye-opening, though. They have a great little movie and diorama that give you the history lesson. And they’ve reconstructed the church, rectory, dorms, etc. so that you get a sense of how people lived. It would be interesting to talk with some of the descendants of the tribes who were housed in the missions – I wonder if any of the traditional stories or rituals have endured.
I would call Mission San Jose a ‘must-see’ if you visit south Texas!
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