Mission San Gabriel Arcángel: Crops, Livestock, and Manufactured Goods

Agriculture (c. 1771–1834)

• Field crops: Wheat, corn (maize), beans, peas, lentils, barley.
• Vines & orchards: Grapes (wine, brandy), olives, figs, pomegranates, citrus, stone fruits.
• Vegetables: Squash, melons, onions, garlic, chiles, lettuce.

Livestock

• Cattle: Longhorn-type—meat, hides, tallow, oxen for labor. Herds numbered thousands.
• Sheep: Churro breed—wool, meat. Major export.
• Horses & mules: Transport, ranch work.
• Goats, pigs, poultry.

Manufactured Goods

• Soap: Tallow + wood ash lye.
• Candles: Tallow, beeswax.
• Leather goods: Tanned hides → saddles, shoes, harnesses, reatas (lariats), clothing.
• Textiles: Wool spun/woven into blankets, serapes, cloth.
• Ironwork: Tools, hardware, horseshoes (blacksmith).
• Carpentry: Furniture, carts, building components.
• Food processing: Olive oil, wine, brandy, dried fruit, jerky, cheese.

Economic Role

Mission was a self-sustaining agro-industrial complex—surplus traded to presidios, pueblos, ships. Native neophytes provided labor; system coercive but technically sophisticated.