Mission San Luis Rey de Francia - Mission Industries

Mission Industries

The Native Americans in California, with their over estimated 8,000 years of residency and being self-sufficient in the bountiful environs, knew how to cultivate and harvest the flora and fauna for food and clothing, and utilized stone, wood, clay, bone, hides, reeds and grasses, and seashells for making tools, garments, sophisticated baskets and pottery, weapons, ceremonial religious items, and in building shelters and community structures.

The goals of the missions were, above all, to establish a Spanish presence in the Las Californias province and to become independently self-supportive (by their standards and perceived needs). Ranching and farming were the most important industry of the mission. To have the indigenous residents using foreign skills, training in agriculture for European crops, blacksmithing, and domestic animal husbandry was given. The Luiseños were relocated and conscripted to do the herding, farming, construction, hide tanning and leatherwork, weaving, cooking, and cleaning. Everything consumed and utilized by the Spanish and Luiseño living at the mission was predominantly produced there by those native people under the control of padres and soldiers. Imports, by sea and overland, from central New Spain (Mexico) added with some trade goods and the Crown's modest supplemental funds.