The Guaycuros, Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries, and José Gálvez: The failure of Spanish policy in Baja California

Abstract

Between 1697 and 1767/1768, the Jesuits administrated missions in the arid Baja California Peninsula. Because of the limited potential for agriculture on the Peninsula, the Jesuits had to import food from neighboring provinces, and allowed a large part of the mission populations to live in settlements apart from the central mission village, and to support themselves by hunting and collecting wild plant foods. Following the Jesuit expulsion José de Gálvez attempted to reorganized the mission, and shifted indigenous populations to missions with greater agricultural potential. This essay examines the response of the Guaycuros, one of the indigenous groups of the peninsula, to the policy of Gálvez.