What were the reasons Spaniards had to build mission Socorro?

* To spread Catholicism among the Native Americans in the area:

* To save their souls from damnation: Catholic belief that those who died without knowing and accepting Jesus went to Hell

Political and Economic Reasons

* To assert Spanish political control over the territory of Northern New Mexico in order to block French exploration from Louisiana

* To encourage economic stability, especially due to sheepherding by Native Americans at mission outposts and by Spanish who leased the livestock:

* This helped the Pueblo villages avoid Spanish debt servitude through payment in wheat for tools, sheep, food rations, clothing