What Tasks Did They Perform While On The Mission Santa Cruz?

Mission Santa Cruz, a Spanish Californian mission founded on August 28, 1791, was located on Mission Hill and was founded by Father Fermín Francisco de Lasuén. The missionaries worked hard to establish the mission, which was known as the “hard luck mission”. The mission had the only remaining example of Indian housing in California, and its main objective was evangelization.

Men worked in various jobs such as vaquero (cowboy), shepherd, cobbler, mason, carpenter, blacksmith, tanner, and farmhand. Women stayed at the mission and worked on domestic chores such as weaving cloth, making clothes, boiling down fat for soap and candles, and tending to vegetable gardens. Some were carpenters, others were blacksmiths, tanners, shoemakers, gardeners, teamsters, weavers, and stone masons.

The missionaries were forced to help the Spanish construct mission buildings and learn how to raise livestock and grow grain. They also worked on various domestic tasks such as wine, textile production, working with the reservoir, and making olive oil. The missions provided various resources, such as cows, horses, oxen, mules, and sheep.

The Indians cooked, farmed, and built, while women cooked, farmed, and built. Men went to school, and children grew crops of bushel, grain, and produce. Women stayed inside the mission and did all domestic jobs, such as weaving cloth, making clothes, and burning down fat for soap and candles. They also planted vineyards, raised cattle and sheep, and maintained the agriculture needed not only to maintain the mission community and the nearby Indians but also to support the local economy.

In summary, the agricultural tasks of the missionaries varied throughout the year, with men working in fields, women working in domestic tasks, and the mission’s overall objectives.


📹 Daily Life in the Mission: Tools and Labor

We will be focusing on various jobs and tools created and used by the missionaries and the mission neophytes to built and …


What did they eat at Mission Santa Cruz?

The Indians at the missions consumed a type of gruel or mush called atolé, made from roasted wheat, barley, or corn. It was cooked in iron kettles and served for breakfast and supper. Nuts and berries were sometimes added to the evening meal. At noon, meat and beans were added to the mush to make pozóle, the largest meal of the day. On fiesta days, whole beef or chickens were roasted and special feasts were prepared.

Tortillas, flat thin cakes popular in New Spain (Mexico), became a standard part of the mission meal, made from corn flour and water. These flat balls were baked on a hot iron plate and served at every meal.

What did people do at The Mission?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What did people do at The Mission?

After 1769, the life of California natives who came into contact with the Spanish was reshaped by mission fathers, not the townspeople or soldiers of the presidios. The Franciscans came to California to convert the tribes to Christianity and train them for life in a European colonial society. Neophytes were not left to return to their old ways but were required to live in walled mission enclosures or on rancherías, where they were taught Spanish and trained in skills such as brickmaking, construction, raising cattle and horses, blacksmithing, weaving, and tanning hides.

The neophytes were not judged ready for secularization or life outside the mission system, and Christian natives or “Mission Indians” and their descendants remained at the missions until the system was abolished in 1834. By that time, the number of California’s native peoples had reduced by half to about 150, 000. Spaniards introduced new diseases to the neophytes, leading to thousands dying in epidemics.

Crowded, harsh living conditions at the missions contributed to the Indians’ health problems, and infant mortality and death rates among young children soared. The coast’s “Mission Indians” were most drastically affected, while tribes like the Modocs in the northern mountains had little contact with the Spanish and suffered little.

What are 3 interesting facts about the Santa Cruz Mission?

Santa Cruz, a former Spanish mission in Santa Cruz, California, was dedicated by Fermín Francisco de Lasuén on August 28, 1791. The mission changed the way Native Americans lived by forcing them to help construct mission buildings and learn how to raise livestock and grow grain. The mission made use of the redwood trees in the area and provided wood for the entire system. Floods and earthquakes destroyed much of the mission, but only the Santa Cruz Mission adobe, which was used as housing for the Native Americans, has survived. The mission complex now houses the current church, Holy Cross, built in 1889, and is now a California state park.

What food did Mission Santa Cruz eat?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What food did Mission Santa Cruz eat?

The Indians at the missions consumed a type of gruel or mush called atolé, made from roasted wheat, barley, or corn. It was cooked in iron kettles and served for breakfast and supper. Nuts and berries were sometimes added to the evening meal. At noon, meat and beans were added to the mush to make pozóle, the largest meal of the day. On fiesta days, whole beef or chickens were roasted and special feasts were prepared.

Tortillas, flat thin cakes popular in New Spain (Mexico), became a standard part of the mission meal, made from corn flour and water. These flat balls were baked on a hot iron plate and served at every meal.

What was the daily life in Santa Cruz?

In Santa Cruz, a variety of indigenous peoples, including the Yakuts, Neophyte, Costanoan, and Agwaswas, inhabited the region and engaged in a range of activities, including cooking, farming, and construction. The women were responsible for cooking, the men for farming, the children for attending school, and all members of the community for raising crops, including bushels of grain and a variety of produce.

What was everyday life like in the mission?

The Mission Indians followed a daily routine comprising both worship and work. Their day began with religious services at dawn, followed by a Catholic faith lesson that lasted at least an hour. The workday was supervised by a variety of individuals, including priests, soldiers, and civilians, with women also playing a role.

What were the chores on the mission?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What were the chores on the mission?

At the mission, each person had a specific task to complete, including working in orchards, vegetable gardens, and livestock care. They also engaged in various crafts like adobe bricks, tiles, blacksmithing, carpentry, wine, and tanned cowhides. Both men and women also worked in spinning, weaving, soap, and candles. Quotas were set for each person’s work. Native Californians were proud of their skills but had to work hard.

At meal times, each family group received their family’s ration of food, which differed from their traditional diet. Mission workers were required to dress differently from their Indian counterparts, making their own clothing and receiving one new shirt or skirt every seven months.

What were the jobs at Mission Santa Cruz?

All Indians, except for four overseeing others, work in their respective trades, including carpenters, blacksmiths, tanners, shoemakers, gardeners, teamsters, weavers, and stone masons. These were common male occupations, often taught by artisans from Mexico or Baja California missions. Women’s jobs at Mission Santa Cruz included sewing, washing, culling wheat, sifting flour, and picking weeds.

What did they do at the missions?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What did they do at the missions?

The Spanish government established missions in California to spread Roman Catholicism to Indigenous groups living on the land. These missions forced Indigenous people to change their way of life, sometimes even enslaving them. They were forced to build missions and grow crops, and were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism. The first mission, San Diego de Alcalá, was established in 1769 by Gaspar de Portolá and Junípero Serra. The Indigenous people were forced to grow crops, raise livestock, and build structures, often being tricked into being baptized.

Some missions allowed Native people to move freely, while others required permission to leave. Thousands died from European diseases brought by the Spanish, and many Indigenous people resisted and revolted against Spanish authority. The Spanish government’s efforts to protect California were a response to European powers moving into Spanish territory.

What was the daily routine of the Santa Cruz Mission?

The Awaswas tribe, part of the Cotanoans family, had a unique work schedule. Women prepared food, threaded cloth, sewed, made soap and candles, while men worked in farming, built blacksmiths, and made leather goods and tools. Children ensured all neophyte were working and did not run away. The tribe grew wheat and corn, and had a school and church. Their daily schedule included waking up at 6:00 am, praying at 6:00-6:30, having breakfast and lunch at 6:30 am, having a siesta at 1:00 pm, returning to work at 3:30 pm, having dinner at 5:00 pm, and having bedtime at 8:00 for women and 9:00 for men.

What animals did they raise at Mission Santa Cruz?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

What animals did they raise at Mission Santa Cruz?

Mission Santa Cruz, a young mission in Santa Cruz County, experienced great success for a few years, with 523 neophytes and a church made of adobe measuring 112 feet long by 29 feet wide. The mission was also producing wheat, barley, corn, chickpeas, and lentils. The mission received modest gifts of livestock from neighboring missions, with 710 head of cattle, 1, 500 sheep, 500 mares with foals, and 50 mules recorded in 1797. Mission Santa Cruz eventually housed 32 buildings, including the Mission Adobe, which stands today.

The interior of the Mission Adobe, insulated by walls three feet thick, reflects the lifeways of the Ohlone and Yokuts people who lived there. In 1834, Mission Santa Cruz was secularized, and the last natives to inhabit the mission sold their shares in 1848. The Mission Adobe was inhabited continuously by the Rodriguez family, the Armas and Neary families, and the Branciforte Adobe. It is one of four historic adobes left in Santa Cruz County, along with the Castro Adobe, Bolcoff Adobe at Wilder Ranch State Park, and Branciforte Adobe in East Santa Cruz.


📹 Telling the Truth About California Missions

This 23-minute educational/historical video reveals the true nature of the Spanish missions built in California beginning in 1769.


What Tasks Did They Perform While On The Mission Santa Cruz?
(Image Source: Pixabay.com)

Rae Fairbanks Mosher

I’m a mother, teacher, and writer who has found immense joy in the journey of motherhood. Through my blog, I share my experiences, lessons, and reflections on balancing life as a parent and a professional. My passion for teaching extends beyond the classroom as I write about the challenges and blessings of raising children. Join me as I explore the beautiful chaos of motherhood and share insights that inspire and uplift.

About me

Add comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Pin It on Pinterest

We use cookies in order to give you the best possible experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies.
Accept
Privacy Policy