cruelty walked with them. They rose from all this to dominate, colonize
and develop a half of two continents-----and then to rear those colleges
and missions that became the most enlightened works in history for the uplift of subject races.
Trom the beginning, the friars of the misxxanxardiiza religious brotherhoods were detailed to accompany the exploring and conquering companies, and they went with the colonies sent to settle. .'.'hen Corte3 had conquered Mexico (1521) he asked the Emperor to send monks rather than “bishops and SKBiactaxii other prelates" so that the natives might have the more brotherly ministrations of these orders because "the vice3 and irreverence that are practiced in our day in those realms" by the Church ministry would be a harmful influence.
In the ilew 7/orld, away from the sordid life of Europe and in the midst of thes vast open spaces where the handiwork of nature and nature's God reigned, men of all races caught the vision of a new and better day. Cortes, conquistador of blood and iron, asked for the religious brotherhood, not the Church, and those brotherhoods grew in power and service and their friars gave their devotion to the limit, enduring hardships and facing martyrdom for their God, their King and their red brothers. They came as friars xnS(brothers)and live in history scax&ctk&xs as’ padres sni(fathers).	They and their missions, xcrazox
supported by the State, became the civilizing forces of the frontiers. .'.hen a colony became a aEkiiamEiii settled community the Church took over the work.
Mow, with this broad introduction, a mission rerort of 1762 will serve as a good description of the estate and activities of all missions. These enterprises continued to grow and some of their finest churches were begun during ensuing years. The records do not show large numbers of converts at the missions but the missions were helping control the country without wars and military power and this was an important objective. There is
but one Spanish fort in these southern United States----Fort San Marco at
Saint Augustine and that gurards the entrance to the harbor. There are many old missions.
(Secularization)
X 'Vfy 1
cj. I 0	.