Biography Of Damian Massanet: Father Fernando Teran De Los Rios

806 Words4 Pages

During the 17th century, Spain continued their exploration of the New World in hopes of expanding their empire and discovering valuable riches. As permanent settlements were set up in New Spain to claim and protect land from other European countries, Catholic missionaries were tasked with establishing good relationships with local Natives and converting them to Christianity. During Damian Massanet and Domingo Teran de los Rios expedition in 1691, they came across what is now present-day San Antonio, Texas.
Father Damian Massanet was born in Spain and served as a missionary in the New World. He is credited with helping found the missionary College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro and building the first mission in East Texas (Chipman, 2010). His main purpose of partaking in these sometimes-dangerous expeditions was to convert Native Americans to Christianity in the name Spain. Due to the Catholic church’s great influence on Spain’s leadership, it is said that Father Damian Massanet was granted a great amount of leadership over the 1691 expedition, including control over supplies and livestock (Jordan, 2004).
Domingo Teran de los Rios was appointed the first governor of Coahuila y Texas by the Count of Galvez. Teran was given …show more content…

This religious reference shows how seriously Catholicism was taken by the missionaries and the country they served. During the late 17th century, religion was very important across most of Europe and the Spaniards wanted to continue the tradition of Catholicism in the New World. Spanish missionaries made up a great deal of the first explorers in New Spain in the hopes that their ability to convert Natives into Christians would allow for a peaceful settlement. Given that missionaries were vital in establishing new settlements, it is not surprising that many cities, and rivers hold names of significant religious