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It is often referred  to as the "cradle of Texas liberty" and even today men remove their hats and  photography is forbidden inside.  Â
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The first mission built on orders of the Spanish Crown, its  purpose was to convert the Indians to Catholicism, thus making them loyal to the Spanish Crown, to serve as a protection against raiding Indians, and  to ward off any efforts by the French to lay claim to the Southwest  where the Spanish had and were  exploring and which they had made a part of New Spain (Mexico).Â
In  1718  Friars  Antonio  Olivaras and Isodore  Espinosa  arrived  to oversee the building of a new mission.  It was to be named San Antonio de Valero in  honor of  the Spanish viceroy of Mexico,  the Marquis of Valero.
At the same time the new governor proclaimed the establishment of a new town, or villa, called San Antonio de Bexar(pronounced BEAR) in honor of the viceroy's brother, the Duke of Bexar, a national hero in Spain. (Today San Antonio sits in Bexar County).
San Antonio had a number of springs that supported an abundance of trees and wildlife. Â
The two men chose a lovely spot, which Padre Espinosa described as "a great shady grove of very tall  pecan trees, cottonwoods,  elms,  and clumps of mulberries, irrigated by the water of an abundant spring."
All this attracted others to the area.  A simple thing, but in the middle of dry, scrubby hills and rugged brush, it seemed a miracle.  To those early explorers it was an oasis, and they were determined to claim it for church and crown.Â
The mission was moved twice before finding its present location.  Ten years later three other missions were built in San Antonio but none was destined for the greatness of the San Antonio de Valera.
At  about that same time 56  settlers arrived from  the Canary Islands  to claim land  offered by the  Spanish  government  to encourage settlement At the same time Spanish families established huge ranches between San Antonio and the Rio Grande along side the immigrants from the Canary Islands.Â
The early settlers who  came to the area were called Texians,  Texonians, Texicans, and Texasians by many residents and most of Mexico. Eventually, it was shortened to Texans.
In  spite of  inclement weather, disease,  and raids from the Comanches and Apaches from the North, as well as discord among the missions, the colonists and the soldiers sent to protect the citizenry, the town of San Antonio began to grow in the curve of the river.
By 1768,  San Antonio was a town with some 200 homes.  Cut off from the rest of Hispanic America by hundreds of miles, San Antonio was forced to be self-sufficient with regards to food, shelter and most everything else.
In  reality, the town was a collection of communities--the Canary Island colonists, the missions and the Indians they served, and the soldiers, all operating pretty much independently of the others. Â
By 1770  the 'Comanches and the Apaches stepped up their raids on the ranches and the city itself.  Though the soldiers eventually were able to establish a treaty with the Apaches by offering them money, the Comanche raids continued.
The Comanches were fierce fighters. They had the upper hand, and they knew it.  Eventually many of the Spanish fled to the United States and San Antonio's population dipped significantly.
(To Be Continued)
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