Missions: Santa Catalina and San Luis
The Mission System, ca. 1674–75
Much of the 1600s saw a time of expanding missions and numerous converts. However, some rebellions occurred. A revolt in Apalachee province took place in 1647, and in 1656, some Timucua rebelled. Both were responses to Spanish abuses, and both were soon quelled.
Mission of Santa Catalina
Friars also worked among the Guale of the coastal islands north of the Altamaha River in present-day Georgia. They established Santa Catalina mission in Guale territory. It was relocated to Amelia Island off the northeast coast of Florida after English-allied Native tribes attacked it. This image shows a seal found on the site of the second mission.
Courtesy of HistoryMiami Museum
Rendering of Obedience
To become a Christian, a cacique (chief) first visited the governor in St. Augustine and pledged loyalty to the Spanish Crown. Spaniards termed this a “rendering of obedience.” The cacique next received baptism and agreed to accept friars into his village. Once a chief converted, his tribe’s people followed. The Spaniards also recognized women cacicas.
Motivations of the Chiefs
Converted chiefs received gifts from the Spanish governor, such as clothing, blankets, iron tools, glass beads, and flour. Chiefs redistributed these goods to increase their influence. After a few chiefs allied with the Spaniards, others did the same. Some may have realized that the Spanish intended to stay and that they posed a powerful threat to Indigenous communities. They believed that acceptance of Christianity provided their best course of action for survival.
Reconstructed Apalachee Council House at Mission San Luis
Caciques gained prestige within their chiefdoms and against enemy villages by allying themselves with the Spaniards. Forming an alliance meant accepting the Spaniards’ religion. During the Mission Period, village leaders met with visiting Spanish officials in the council house.
Courtesy of State Archives of Florida
Apalachee Province
Missionaries began visiting Apalachee Province in the early 1600s. In 1633, the first permanent missionary settled there. Apalachee soon became a vital part of the Spanish colony. It contained a large population, abundant natural resources, and easy access to ports on the Gulf of Mexico. The Apalachee practiced extensive farming, and the province became an important source of food and labor for St. Augustine.
San Luis de Talimali
San Luis in Apalachee Province served as a Spanish settlement, mission, and military outpost. In 1656, it was located on its present site in Tallahassee. Civilians, soldiers, and the deputy governor lived here among the Apalachee. San Luis and its surrounding villages contained more than 1,500 residents. Spanish residents of San Luis lived fairly well. They profited from the export of wheat, corn, products from cattle, and other agricultural goods produced at the ranches in the province. San Luis remained the capital of the western frontier until its destruction in 1704.
Artist’s Depiction of Mission San Luis
Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
Reconstructed Spanish Settler’s Home at Mission San Luis
The mission of San Luis de Talimali stands today as a reconstructed historic site open to the public. Visit Mission San Luis to learn more about this important mission and settlement site.
Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
Ranches
The establishment of ranches and farms in the interior of Florida began early in the 1600s. By 1700, about twenty-five ranches were raising livestock and growing wheat and corn. Most were situated between the Atlantic coast and the St. Johns River. Others were located in the interior Timucua and Apalachee provinces. Africans served as overseers and laborers at the Asile ranch in Apalachee province and at the Menéndez Márquez ranch of La Chua in Timucua territory.
Trade
Spain, like other European countries, tried to tightly control trade with its colonies. Ideally, its colonies would provide raw materials, which would be made into finished products in Spain that were sent back to the colonies. Colonists were forbidden to trade with any country except Spain. In practice, this policy often failed, and they did trade with Britain and France. It proved difficult to control trade away from St. Augustine.
Spanish Cattle
When British and Indigenous Creek raiders destroyed the missions in the early 1700s, they did not spare the ranches. The cows were abandoned. The Creek communities migrating into Florida in the mid-1700s rounded them up to form the foundation for their herds. They became the basis for the breed later known as “cracker cattle.”
Cracker cattle, courtesy of the Florida Agricultural Museum
Movement of Goods
Trade goods moved through Florida ports to other Spanish colonies and nations. European goods entered Florida through the same ports. In Apalachee province, San Marcos de Apalache on the St. Marks River, near the Gulf of Mexico, served as the area’s port. Most products from Timucua province were sent along the Suwannee River to the northeastern Gulf and on to various markets.
Suwannee River
Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida
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