Discovering Mission San Diego de Alcalá

Discovering Mission San Diego de Alcalá — page 1 — Mission San Diego de Alcalá started in 1769 was the first mission in Alta California

Discovering Mission San Diego de Alcalá — page 2 — 1 The Spanish Explore San Diego High on a hill about 5 miles 8 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean in the city of San Diego lies Mission San Diego de Alcalá the first of twenty-one Spanish missions built along California’s coast On arrival visitors can see the church the bell tower and the white walls surrounding the mission’s interior This is a place filled with history told by the men women and children who lived there Exploring the New World Spain’s interest in this part of the world began after Christopher Columbus an Italian explorer working for Spain’s king and queen returned from a sea voyage in 1493 He had been searching for a direct water route from Europe to Asia and had accidentally discovered a new world North America South America and Central America full of riches people and land Spain in search of gold and spices was eager to explore this new area The country also hoped to settle the land and convert the Native people to the most dominant religion at that time Catholicism In the years following Columbus’s journey Spain sent explorers and soldiers to find out all they could about the land The first explorer following Columbus’s route was Hernán 5

Discovering Mission San Diego de Alcalá — page 3 — Cortés In 1519 Cortés and his men sailed to what is now known as Mexico There they encountered a large Native group called the Aztecs whom they defeated in 1521 Cortés then claimed the Aztec’s land for Spain and renamed the area New Spain In 1542 Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was sent on a voyage to explore the west coast of North America Up until then Europeans believed California was an island Cabrillo’s detailed maps would change the way Europeans viewed that part of the world Also at that time the name Californias Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo honored with a monument in California made detailed maps of the area described the land that is now the state of California and the peninsula known today as the Baja Peninsula of Mexico The state of California was then called Alta or upper California while the Baja Peninsula was known as Baja or lower California The last of the early explorers to visit California was Sebastián Vizcaíno He and his men sailed in 1602 searching for a way to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans While there they founded the cities of San Diego previously named San Miguel by Cabrillo and Monterey However since their journey did not lead to discovering a water route or desired riches Spain decided not to send any more people there One hundred sixty years would pass before more Spanish explorers would come to California 6

Discovering Mission San Diego de Alcalá — page 4 — 2 The Kumeyaay Before the Spanish came to settle Alta California in the 1760s the land’s Native population was large and diverse Because there are no written records no one knows when the first Native people arrived in the area It is estimated that around 20,000 years ago people crossed a bridge of land between Alaska and Russia and gradually settled in small groups called tribes all along California’s coast Each group had its own language and beliefs Several villages could belong to the same tribe and in each village there was a leader called a chief The Native group living near the San Diego area was known as the Kumeyaay They lived in villages near the ocean or the San Diego River Kumeyaay Way of Life Little is known about the Kumeyaay prior to the Spanish arriving in the area Historians have examined artifacts and records written by Spanish explorers to understand how the group lived and operated According to historians the Kumeyaay were resourceful people living off the land and making tools and weapons and building homes from the resources in their environment Using bark 7

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