Spanish missions in Georgia
Encyclopedia
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Catholics in order to spread the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
doctrine among the local Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. The Spanish chapter of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
's earliest colonial history is dominated by the lengthy mission era, extending from 1568 through 1684. Catholic missions were the primary means by which Georgia's indigenous Native American chiefdoms were assimilated into the Spanish colonial system along the northern frontier of greater Spanish Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
The early missions in present-day Georgia were established to serve the Guale
Guale
Guale was an historic Native American chiefdom along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16th century. During the late 17th century and early 18th century, Guale society was shattered...
and various Timucua
Timucua
The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The various groups of Timucua spoke several dialects of the...
peoples, including the Mocama
Mocama
The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Their territory extended from about the Altamaha River in...
. Later the missions served other peoples who had entered the region, including the Yamassee.
Missions
- Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de de Puturibato (1595–1597), on Cumberland IslandCumberland IslandCumberland Island is one of the Sea Islands. Cumberland is the largest in terms of continuously exposed land area of Georgia's barrier islands. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia and is part of Camden County...
- Mission San Buenaventura de Guadalquini (1605–1684), on St. Simons Island
- Mission San Diego de Satuache (ca. 1610-1663), on the mouth of the Ogeechee RiverOgeechee RiverOgeechee River is a river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It heads at the confluence of its North and South Forks, about south-southwest of Crawfordville and flowing generally southeast to Ossabaw Sound about south of Savannah. Its largest tributary is the Canoochee River...
- Mission San Joseph de Sapala (ca. 1605-1684), on Sapelo IslandSapelo IslandSapelo Island is a state-protected island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is reachable only by airplane or boat, with the primary ferry coming from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven mile , twenty-minute trip.Approximately 97 percent of the...
- San Lorenzo de IbihicaSan Lorenzo de IbihicaSan Lorenzo de Ibihica was a Spanish Franciscan mission built in the early 17th century in the southeast of the present-day U.S. state of Georgia. It was part of Spain's effort to colonize the region of Spanish Florida and convert the Timucua Native Americans to Catholicism...
(ca. 1620-1656), near Folkston - San Pedro de MocamaSan Pedro de MocamaSan Pedro de Mocama was a Spanish Franciscan mission built in the mid-16th century on Cumberland Island in what is now the U.S. state of Georgia. It was part of the missions system of Spanish Florida, and was founded to serve the Tacatacuru, a chiefdom of the Timucua...
(1587-ca. 1660), on Cumberland IslandCumberland IslandCumberland Island is one of the Sea Islands. Cumberland is the largest in terms of continuously exposed land area of Georgia's barrier islands. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia and is part of Camden County... - Mission San Phelipe de Alave (ca. 1610-ca. 1670), on the North Newport RiverNewport RiverThe Newport River is a small river in North Carolina that runs approximately twenty kilometers southeast through the town of Newport with its mouth opening into Bogue Sound, between Morehead City and Beaufort. It is popular for flatwater paddling and canoeing....
- Mission San Phelipe II (ca. 1670-1684), on Cumberland IslandCumberland IslandCumberland Island is one of the Sea Islands. Cumberland is the largest in terms of continuously exposed land area of Georgia's barrier islands. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia and is part of Camden County...
- Santa Catalina de GualeSanta Catalina de GualeSanta Catalina de Guale was a Spanish Franciscan mission and town in Spanish Florida. Part of Spain's effort to convert the Native Americans to Catholicism, Santa Catalina served as the provincial headquarters of the Guale mission province. It also served various non-religious functions, such as...
(1602–1702), on St. Catherines IslandSt. Catherines IslandSt. Catherines Island, also known as Santa Catalina, is one of the Sea Islands or Golden Isles on the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, 50 miles south of Savannah in Liberty County. The island is ten miles long and from one to three miles wide, located between St. Catherine's Sound and Sapelo...
, Sapelo IslandSapelo IslandSapelo Island is a state-protected island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is reachable only by airplane or boat, with the primary ferry coming from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven mile , twenty-minute trip.Approximately 97 percent of the...
, and Amelia IslandAmelia IslandAmelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,... - Mission Santa Clara de Tupiqui/Espogache (1595-ca. 1670), on the Sapelo RiverSapelo RiverThe Sapelo River is a primarily tidal river in McIntosh County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms between Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 17 near the community of Eulonia and winds generally east through salt marshes into Sapelo Sound, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates St...
- Mission Santa Cruz de Cachipile (ca. 1625-1657), near Valdosta
- Santa Isabel de UtinahicaSanta Isabel de UtinahicaSanta Isabel de Utinahica was a 17th-century Spanish mission believed by the Fernbank Museum of Natural History to be located in modern-day Telfair County, Georgia, near Jacksonville. It served the Utinahica tribe, who lived in the area...
(ca. 1610-ca. 1640), at the forks of the Altamaha RiverAltamaha RiverThe Altamaha River is a major river of the American state of Georgia. It flows generally eastward for 137 miles from its origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties into the ocean near Brunswick, Georgia. There are no dams... - Mission Santa Maria de los Angeles de Arapaja (ca. 1625-1657), on the Alapaha RiverAlapaha RiverThe Alapaha River is a river in southern Georgia and northern Florida in the United States. It is a tributary of the Suwannee River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico.- Course :...
- Mission Santiago de Oconi (ca. 1620-1656), on the Okefenokee SwampOkefenokee SwampThe Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000 acre , peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida border in the United States. A majority of the swamp is in Georgia and protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness. The Okefenokee Swamp is considered to be...
- Mission Santo Domingo de Asao/Talaje (1595–1661), at the mouth of the Altamaha RiverAltamaha RiverThe Altamaha River is a major river of the American state of Georgia. It flows generally eastward for 137 miles from its origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties into the ocean near Brunswick, Georgia. There are no dams...
- Mission Santo Domingo de Asao/Talaje II (1661–1684), on St. Simons Island
- Mission Talapo (1595–1597), on the mainland near Sapelo IslandSapelo IslandSapelo Island is a state-protected island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is reachable only by airplane or boat, with the primary ferry coming from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven mile , twenty-minute trip.Approximately 97 percent of the...
- Mission Tolomato (1595–1597), on the mainland near St. Catherines IslandSt. Catherines IslandSt. Catherines Island, also known as Santa Catalina, is one of the Sea Islands or Golden Isles on the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, 50 miles south of Savannah in Liberty County. The island is ten miles long and from one to three miles wide, located between St. Catherine's Sound and Sapelo...