Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert

The Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert (Spanish: Misiones jesuíticas en el desierto de Sonora) are a series of Jesuit Catholic religious outposts established by the Spanish Catholic Jesuits and other orders for religious conversions of the Pima and Tohono O'odham indigenous peoples residing in the Sonoran Desert. An added goal was giving Spain a colonial presence in their frontier territory of the Sonora y Sinaloa Province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and relocating by Indian Reductions (Reducciones de Indios) settlements and encomiendas for agricultural, ranching, and mining labor.

Geography and history

Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert

The missions are in an area of the Sonoran Desert, then called "Pimería Alta de Sonora y Sinaloa" (Upper Pima of Sonora and Sinaloa), now divided between the Mexican state of Sonora and the U.S. state of Arizona. Jesuits in missions in Northwestern Mexico wrote reports that throw light on the indigenous peoples they evangelized. A 1601 report, Relación de la Provincia de Nuestra Señora de Sinaloa was published in 1945. An important Jesuit report concerned the resistance in 1691 of the Tarahumara to evangelization, Historia de la tercera rebelión tarahumara. Another important Jesuit account of evangelization in Sonora is Estado y descripción de Sonora, 1730, which has considerable information about the size of the indigenous population, culture, and languages.

In the Spring of 1687, Jesuit missionary named Father Eusebio Francisco Kino lived and worked with the Native Americans (including the Sobaipuri) in the area called the "Pimería Alta," or "Upper Pima Country," which presently is located in northern Sonora and southern Arizona. During Father Eusebio Kino's stay in the Pimería Alta, he founded over twenty missions in eight mission districts.

On February 3, 1768, King Carlos III ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain and its overseas empire. Despite the order, many Jesuits remained in and around the present day Tucson, Arizona as late as the 1780s.[citation needed]

Missions

List of missions in the Sonoran Desert, from year of first established
Name Image Location Date founded Order Notes
Misión de Cuquiárachi near Fronteras 1645 (1645) Jesuits First mission founded in the Sonoran Desert.
Mission Los Santos Reyes de Cucurpe Cucurpe 1647 (1647) Jesuits Founded by Marcos del Río. In ruins.
Mission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores near Cucurpe 13 March 1687 (1687-03-13) Jesuits First mission founded in the Pimería Alta by Father Kino. Abandoned in 1744.
Mission Nuestra Señora de los Remedios de Doagibubig 1687 (1687) Jesuits Abandoned in 1740. Nonextant.
Mission Nuestro Padre de San Ignacio de Cabórica San Ignacio 1687 (1687) Jesuits
Mission San Pedro y San Pablo del Tubutama Tubutama 1687 (1687) Jesuits
Mission Santa Teresa de Atil Atil 1687 (1687) Jesuits
Mission Santa María Magdalena Magdalena de Kino 1687 (1687) Jesuits Padre Kino's grave is located here.
Mission San José de Imuris Imuris 1687 (1687) Jesuits
Mission Nuestra Señora del Pilar y Santiago de Cocóspera Cocóspera 1689 (1689) Jesuits
Mission San Antonio Paduano del Oquitoa Oquitoa 1689 (1689) Jesuits
Mission San Diego del Pitiquito Pitiquito 1689 (1689) Jesuits
Mission San Cayetano del Tumacácori Tumacacori January 1691 (1691-01) Jesuits The mission abandoned during the 1751 O'odham Uprising and rebuilt as Mission San José de Tumacácori to the west of the Santa Cruz River.
Mission San Lázaro 1691 (1691) Jesuits Abandoned after an Apache raid.
Mission San Luis Bacoancos 1691 (1691) Jesuits Abandoned after an Apache raid.
Mission Los Santos Ángeles de Guevavi near Beyerville 1691 (1691) Jesuits First church built in what is now southern Arizona. Abandoned in 1775. The church ruins date to 1751.
Mission San Xavier del Bac near Tucson 1692 (1692) Jesuits 1692–1770, 1783–1837, 1859–present. The extant mission church was completed in 1797.
Mission San Ignacio de Sonoitac 1692 (1692) Jesuits Also named Los Reyes de Sonoita and Los Reyes del Sonoydag. A ranchería near Patagonia.
Mission La Purísima Concepción de Nuestra Señora de Caborca Caborca 1693 (1693) Jesuits
Mission Santa María Suamca Santa Cruz 1693 (1693) Jesuits Founded as Santa María del Pilar. The location changed and it became known as Santa María Suamca (spellings vary).
Mission Nuestra Señora de Loreto y San Marcelo de Sonoyta 1693 (1693) Jesuits
Mission San Valentin del Bizani near Caborca 14 February 1694 (1694-02-14) Jesuits Established as Visita de San Juan de Bisaning (Bisanig). Elevated to the status of mission on Valentine's Day in 1694. The church ruins date to 1706.
Mission Nuestra Señora de la Ascención de Opodepe 1704 (1704) Jesuits
Mission San Miguel Arcángel de Oposura Moctezuma 1738 (1738) Jesuits Built over 1724 to 1738.
Mission San Cayetano de Calabazas Rio Rico 1755 (1755) Jesuits Abandoned in 1786.
Mission San José de Tumacácori Tumacacori 1757 (1757) Jesuits Located west of the site of Mission San Cayetano del Tumacácori. Abandoned in 1828. The farming land around the mission was sold at auction in 1834. Nonextant.
Mission San Cosme y Damián de Tucsón Tucson 1768 (1768) Franciscans Abandoned in 1828. Nonextant.
Mission Puerto de Purísima Concepción Winterhaven October 1780 (1780-10) Franciscans Located in California but administered as part of the Pimería Alta missions. Destroyed during a Quechan raid from July 17–19, 1781. Nonextant. A reconstruction of the mission was completed in 1923, which currently serves as a parish church.
Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer near Bard 7 January 1781 (1781-01-07) Franciscans Located in California but administered as part of the Pimería Alta missions. Destroyed during a Quechan raid from July 17–19, 1781. Nonextant.

See also

On Spanish Missions in neighboring regions:

On general missionary history:

On colonial Spanish American history:


This page was last updated at 2023-11-20 13:00 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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