The Spanish settled California through a network of missionaries.
21 religious missions were established from San Diego to Sonoma, each was within a day's travel from the next.
These missions were supported by military forts in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco, and Sonoma.
The path that connected the missions was named the Camino Real and was marked with mustard seeds and ash trees to indicate where springs could be found.
Fun fact: today's Highways 1, 101, and Mission Street follow this historic route.
The missions were typically staffed by 2 missionaries and a few soldiers.
Most of the labor was done by Native Californians, who were attracted to the mission by food and gifts, then baptized.
Once a Native Californian became a "neophyte", they were considered "attached" to the mission.
They grew new crops, herded cattle and horses, made bricks, and built mission buildings.
If they left, they were punished and brought back to the mission by force.
By 1800, around 20,500 Native Californians were thought to be working for the missions.
This had a devastating impact on the population - in 30 years, the Native Californian population dropped from 87,000 to 14,000.
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