Mission Late

Was father Juniper Sierra good or bad?

Public Comments

1. idk but thank you 4 2 pts :)
2. I think this depends on your point of view. First, though, a little background since most people probably don't know who Father Junipero Serra was. He was the head of the Catholic church in California during the 1700's. He lived from 1713 to 1784. Father Serra was born in Spain and did work for the Catholic Church in Mexico City. He was a member of the Franciscan order and in 1767 he became the head of the missions in Baja California (the part of California in modern Mexico). In 1768, the Spanish governor in Mexico decided to build missions and colonize Alta California (the modern state of California). Father Serra was put in charge of this project. Father Serra was the man who founded the California Missions and had nine of them built, including the first one in San Diego. Now, if you were Spanish or Catholic, Father Serra was a great man becauses he founded the missions. This both "Christianized" the Native Californians and protected Spain's interests in Alta California from the Russians, who were also exploring the area, especially to the north. Many of California's major cities were a direct result of the missions, the pueblos (towns) and the presidios (soldier's barracks). On the other hand, if you were a Native Californian, you would not have liked Father Serra at all. You see, the Spanish priests who ran the missions were not nice to the natives at all. The Padres basically enslaved the native Californians. They forced the "neophytes" to convert to Christianity and renounce their ancient and savage ways. The Padres forced them to do the work of the mission, including the farming, tending the livestock, construction of new buildings, housework, etc. The punishment for not going along with the Padres' program was corporal punishment at best. Life for Native Californians unfortunate enough to live at the missions was very hard. In addition, the Padres brought European diseases such as small pox to California. Many natives got sick and died. The history of the California Missions is very interesting. It's definitely something to read up on. And if you ever have the chance to go to one or more of the missions that dot the California coast line, you should definitely take advantage of it and go. I highly recommend La Purisima in Central California near Lompoc as it has been restored and has a great living history program.