Mission Guadalupe was founded by the Dominican missionary Félix Caballero in June 1834, at the site of the modern community of Guadalupe, Baja California. This was the last of the new Dominican missions in Baja California and the only one begun after Mexico had gained its independence in 1821.
The mission's inland site, about 25 kilometers east of Misión San Miguel was presumably chosen for the agricultural potential of its wide valley. Wheat, olives, pears, and grapes were among the crops that were produced.
Guadalupe may have had about 400 Kumeyaay Indians in its care. However, conflicts seem to have been frequent, both with the local groups and with Quechan from as far away as the lower Colorado River. In 1840, a rebellion under a local leader, Jatñil, forced Caballero to abandon the mission.
Stone foundations and adobe walls from the short-lived mission survived at the site as late as the middle twentieth century.
References
- Mathes, W. Michael. 2001. "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe: The Last Mission of the Californias and Theater of Conflicts, 1795–1840". Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly 37(4):25-29
- Meigs, Peveril, III. 1935. The Dominican Mission Frontier of Lower California. University of California Publications in Geography No. 7. Berkeley.
- Meigs, Peveril, III. 2001. "Guadalupe: Last Mission of the Californias". Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Quarterly 37(4):19-24.
- Vernon, Edward W. 2002. Las Misiones Antiguas: The Spanish Missions of Baja California, 1683–1855. Viejo Press, Santa Barbara, California.
See also