How Spanish Missions Were Built in the Americas

Mission construction followed a phased, community-driven process:

1. Site Selection: Valley or river proximity for water/irrigation.
2. Temporary Shelter: Adobe or wood huts for missionaries.
3. Church Construction: Largest building; adobe/stone with bell tower.
4. Support Buildings: Convento (priests' quarters), school (Spanish/religion), hospital (infirmary).
5. Labor: Indigenous people provided labor under missionary supervision.
6. Timeline: Years to decades for full complex.

Missions were colonization tools: religious conversion, Hispanicization, economic production (agriculture, ranching), and territorial claim.