New Spain Missions

Timeline

1. c. 1524–1550Tenochtitlan/Mexico City · Mexico CityFranciscans quickly entered the Valley of Mexico after the conquest, establishing early mission points, learning Nahuatl, and compiling catechisms and grammars. This phase laid the foundation for later expansion along the conquest routes into the interior and indigenous settlements.
2. 1570–1585Michoacán (Tarascan region) · MichoacánFrom the 1570s Dominicans and Franciscans established centralized missions in Michoacán and elsewhere, promoting conversion through parish division, agricultural labor, and settled community management. In the 1580s the viceroyalty and papal legates coordinated mission jurisdiction, forming a relatively stable organizational framework.
3. 1590–1600New Mexico and the northern Mexican frontier · New MexicoIn the 1590s missions expanded northward and along the Pacific coast: Juan de Oñate's 1598 expedition established mission points such as San Juan de los Caballeros in New Mexico; meanwhile mission and parish school networks in the Valley of Mexico and Oaxaca matured, and by around 1600 New Spain had a mission organizational system covering the main indigenous population areas.