Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|18th century Spanish mission in Baja California, Mexico}} |
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|name = Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino |
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|location = [[Santo Tomás, Baja California|Santo Tomás]], [[Baja California]], Mexico |
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|originalname = |
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|translation = |
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|namesake = [[Thomas Aquinas]] |
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|nickname = |
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|founded = {{Start date|1791|04|24|df=y}} |
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|foundedby = José Loriente |
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|area = |
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|built = |
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|architecture = |
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|foundingorder = [[Dominican order|Dominicans]] |
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|militarydistrict = |
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|nativetribe = [[Kumeyaay]] |
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|placename = |
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|baptisms = |
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|confirmations = |
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|marriages = |
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|burials = |
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|neophytes = 400 (1824) |
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|secularized = 1833 |
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|returned = |
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|owner = |
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|currentuse = |
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|locmapin = Mexico Baja California##Mexico |
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|map_caption = Location in [[Baja California]]##Location in [[Mexico]] |
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|coordinates = {{Coord|31|33|30|N|116|24|49|W|display=it}} |
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}} |
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'''Mission Santo Tomás de Aquino''' ({{langx|es|Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino}}) was founded in what is now [[Baja California]] on April 24, 1791 by the [[Dominican order|Dominican]] missionary José Loriente, with the authorization of the president of the missions, Juan Crisóstomo Gómez. It was named for Saint [[Thomas Aquinas]]. |
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The mission |
The mission was established in the territory of the [[Kumeyaay]], on the mountainside of the San Solano hills in northwestern [[Baja California]], Mexico. It bridged the 120-kilometer gap between the previously founded missions of [[Misión San Vicente Ferrer|San Vicente]] and [[Misión San Miguel Arcángel de la Frontera|San Miguel]]. |
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The mission was relocated twice, in around 1794 and in 1799. Historians are uncertain concerning the locations of the first two mission sites. The third and final location was at the modern town of [[Santo Tomás, Baja California|Santo Tomás]]. |
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The original site, which just consisted of a row of chambers roughly 70 meters long and a small [[adobe]] [[church]] was relocated about a [[league]] to the [[west]] on [[1974]] by [[decree]] of the [[Count of Revillagigedo]], [[Viceroy]] of [[New Spain]], dated [[March]] 27th [[1793]] on account that the first location was neighboring a [[swamp]] suspected of being the cause of [[disease]] afflicting the mission [[population]]. |
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The population was over 250 individuals in 1800, and it reached its peak of 400 in 1824. The mission was secularized in 1833, but a priest continued to serve the neophytes until 1849. In that year, the native population had fallen to 40, and the mission was abandoned to the military, who used it as a fort and capital for southern California. Deteriorating ruins survive at the site. |
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The highest [[population]] reported for the mission was four-hundred individuals in [[1824]], which is the highest for all of the five then operating dominican missions, though this is disputed. |
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The [[rancherias]] that were in the Santo Tomás de Aquino jurisdiction include [[La Grulla]], [[San Rafael]], [[Ensenada]], [[Los Álamos]] and [[Maneadero]], in an [[area]] on the order of 2,730 [[square kilometers]]. |
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[[File:Santo Tomas map.png|thumb|Location of Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino in Baja California]] |
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Santo Tomás de Aquino was the last dominican mission to be definitively deserted in [[1849]]. |
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| ⚫ | Presumably at the second mission site, Miguel López reported in 1795 that some 70 [[Spanish customary units|''varas'']] (60 m) had been laid down as foundation for the construction of the mission. One year later López and José Loriente reported the construction of a residence with a grand hall, three rooms, common spaces, a dispensary, and separate residences for single men and women. In 1797 another report refers to the existence of a small corral for smaller livestock. |
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== Commerce == |
== Commerce == |
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The mission's proximity to the coast allowed it to take part in maritime commerce that exploited the nearby [[Bocana de Santo Tomás]] and [[Bahía de Todos Santos]] at [[Ensenada, Baja California|Ensenada]]. Accounts such as those by William Shaler and John Locke, going as far back as 1795, mention trading with the Santo Tomás missionaries. |
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| ⚫ | [[Sea otter]] fur was a popular trade item on the shores under the jurisdiction of Santo Tomás. In 1809, the Boston vessel ''Dromio'' acquired 1,700 furs in the course of a 34-day period in the bay of Ensenada. It is worth mentioning that most of the commerce near San Tomás was illegal because of the Spanish Crown's restrictions against trading with vessels under foreign flags. |
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The missions close proximity to the [[coast]] made it possible for it to take part in coastline [[commerce]] exploiting the nearby [[Bocana de Santo Tomás]], [[Bahía de Todos Santos]] and mainly the [[bay]] of Ensenada. |
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Reports such as those of Shaler and John Locke going as far back as 1795 mention trading with the Santo Tomás priests. |
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It is worth mentioning that the commerce enganged in the San Tomás shores was mostly of an [[ilegal]] nature due to the violation of the Spanish Crown's restriction against trading with vessels that did not bear Spain's flag. |
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Beginning in the late 1790s, grapes were grown for winemaking. Santo Tomás is home today to several Baja winemakers and is one of the three principal grape growing and wine making regions in Baja California. |
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== List of resident padres == |
== List of resident padres == |
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Missionaries who directed Mission Santo Tomás during its formative years included: |
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* 1791 – |
* 1791 – 1797 Josef Loriente |
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* 1798 – |
* 1798 – 1803 Miguel López |
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* 1803 – 1803 |
* 1803 – 1803 Eudaldo Surroca |
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* [[Spanish missions in Baja California]] |
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==References== |
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* Meigs, Peveril, III. 1935. ''The Dominican Mission Frontier of Lower California''. University of California Publications in Geography No. 7. Berkeley. |
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* Vernon, Edward W. 2002. ''Las Misiones Antiguas: The Spanish Missions of Baja California, 1683-1855''. Viejo Press, Santa Barbara, California. |
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== External links == |
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* [https://www.elvigia.net/u/fotografias/fotosnoticias/2012/11/25/65262.jpg Image of the third and final mission site in 2012] |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111006114113/http://vivabaja.com/bajamissions/page11.html Page 11, of vivabaja.com site] showing photos of the three sites of the Mission Santo Tomás. |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mision Santo Tomas de Aquino}} |
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[[Category:Missions in |
[[Category:Missions in Baja California|Tomas de Aquino]] |
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[[Category:Landmarks in Ensenada]] |
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[[Category:1791 establishments in New Spain]] |
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[[Category:Archaeological sites in Baja California]] |
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Latest revision as of 03:01, 28 October 2024
  Location in Baja California  Location in Mexico | |
| Location | Santo Tomás, Baja California, Mexico |
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| Coordinates | 31°33′30″N 116°24′49″W / 31.55833°N 116.41361°W |
| Patron | Thomas Aquinas |
| Founding date | 24 April 1791 |
| Founding priest(s) | José Loriente |
| Founding Order | Dominicans |
| Native tribe(s) Spanish name(s) | Kumeyaay |
| Neophyte population | 400 (1824) |
| Secularized | 1833 |
Mission Santo Tomás de Aquino (Spanish: Misión Santo Tomás de Aquino) was founded in what is now Baja California on April 24, 1791 by the Dominican missionary José Loriente, with the authorization of the president of the missions, Juan Crisóstomo Gómez. It was named for Saint Thomas Aquinas.
The mission was established in the territory of the Kumeyaay, on the mountainside of the San Solano hills in northwestern Baja California, Mexico. It bridged the 120-kilometer gap between the previously founded missions of San Vicente and San Miguel.
The mission was relocated twice, in around 1794 and in 1799. Historians are uncertain concerning the locations of the first two mission sites. The third and final location was at the modern town of Santo Tomás.
The population was over 250 individuals in 1800, and it reached its peak of 400 in 1824. The mission was secularized in 1833, but a priest continued to serve the neophytes until 1849. In that year, the native population had fallen to 40, and the mission was abandoned to the military, who used it as a fort and capital for southern California. Deteriorating ruins survive at the site.
Location and natural habitat
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The mission was built in a large valley crossed by two or three little springs in the town that today bears the name of the former mission.
Among the flora that the missionaries found were mezcal, chamizo, alder, willow, oak, poplar, and elderberry.
Agricultural crops included wheat, olives, grapes, maize, barley, beans, and other vegetables, all of which were cultivated using irrigation. It is estimated that the mission had around 80-178 hectares of farm land.
Mission Compound
[edit]A full reconstruction of the final mission site is nearly impossible, because the foundations have been destroyed by constant plowing through the years. However, it is possible to form a mental picture of the evolving mission infrastructure with the aid of reports from contemporary priests.
Presumably at the second mission site, Miguel López reported in 1795 that some 70 varas (60 m) had been laid down as foundation for the construction of the mission. One year later López and José Loriente reported the construction of a residence with a grand hall, three rooms, common spaces, a dispensary, and separate residences for single men and women. In 1797 another report refers to the existence of a small corral for smaller livestock.
Commerce
[edit]The mission's proximity to the coast allowed it to take part in maritime commerce that exploited the nearby Bocana de Santo Tomás and Bahía de Todos Santos at Ensenada. Accounts such as those by William Shaler and John Locke, going as far back as 1795, mention trading with the Santo Tomás missionaries.
Sea otter fur was a popular trade item on the shores under the jurisdiction of Santo Tomás. In 1809, the Boston vessel Dromio acquired 1,700 furs in the course of a 34-day period in the bay of Ensenada. It is worth mentioning that most of the commerce near San Tomás was illegal because of the Spanish Crown's restrictions against trading with vessels under foreign flags.
Beginning in the late 1790s, grapes were grown for winemaking. Santo Tomás is home today to several Baja winemakers and is one of the three principal grape growing and wine making regions in Baja California.
List of resident padres
[edit]Missionaries who directed Mission Santo Tomás during its formative years included:
- 1791 – 1797 Josef Loriente
- 1798 – 1803 Miguel López
- 1803 – 1803 Eudaldo Surroca
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Meigs, Peveril, III. 1935. The Dominican Mission Frontier of Lower California. University of California Publications in Geography No. 7. Berkeley.
- Vernon, Edward W. 2002. Las Misiones Antiguas: The Spanish Missions of Baja California, 1683-1855. Viejo Press, Santa Barbara, California.
External links
[edit]- Image of the third and final mission site in 2012
- Page 11, of vivabaja.com site showing photos of the three sites of the Mission Santo Tomás.
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