Editing Mission San Juan Capistrano (section)

===Mission Period (1776–1833)===
[[Juan Crespí]], as a member of the 1769 Spanish [[Portolà expedition]], authored the first written account of interaction between Europeans and the indigenous population in the region that today makes up Orange County. The expedition arrived at the site from the northeast, traveling down [[San Juan Creek]], and camped near the future mission site on July 23.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bolton |first=Herbert E. |pages=136 |year=1927 |title=Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769–1774 |url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000288788 |publisher=HathiTrust Digital Library |access-date=April 2, 2014}}</ref> At the time, Crespi named the campsite after [[Mary Magdalene|Santa Maria Magdalena]] (though it would also come to be called the ''Arroyo de la Quema'' and ''Cañada del Incendio'', "Wildfire Hollow").<ref>Kelsey, p. 9</ref>

In early 1775, Don [[Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa]], [[Viceroy]] of [[New Spain]], authorized the establishment of a mission at a logical halfway point between [[Mission San Diego de Alcalá]] and [[Mission San Gabriel Arcángel]]. By that time, the site was already known by the name of its patron [[saint]], "San Juan Capistrano".

{{Blockquote|
Up from the south slow filed a train,<br/>
Priests and Soldiers of Old Spain,<br/>
Who, through sunlit [[foothills|lomas]] wound<br/>
With cross and lance, intent to found<br/>
A mission in the wild to John<br/>
Soldier-Saint of Capistrano.
|Saunders and Chase|''The California Padres and Their Missions'', p. 65}}

At the proposed site, located approximately 26 ''leguas'' ([[League (unit)#Spain|Spanish Leagues]]) north of [[San Diego]], 18 leagues south of [[San Gabriel, California|San Gabriel]], and half a league from the Pacific Ocean, an ''enramada'' ([[Pergola|arbor]]) was constructed, two bronze bells were hung from the branch of a nearby tree, and a wooden [[Christian cross|cross]] was erected. The grounds were consecrated by Fermín Lasuén of [[Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo]] on October 30, 1775 (the last day of the octave after the feast of San Juan Capistrano), near an [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] settlement named "Sajavit"; thus, '''La Misión de San Juan Capistrano de Sajavit''' was founded.

Assisting clergy Gregório Amúrrio of [[Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa|Mission San Luis Obispo]] arrived from San Gabriel eight days later with a supply of goods and cattle. Unfortunately, word arrived from [[San Diego]] at the same time that a group of natives attacked the mission and brutally murdered one of the missionaries ([[Luís Jayme]]).<ref name="wright37+yenne72">Wright, p. 37; Yenne, p. 72</ref> Since it was feared at the time that any hostile action by the natives against the few burgeoning outposts might break Spain's tenuous hold on Alta California, the priests quickly buried the San Juan Capistrano Mission bells. Lieutenant José Francisco Ortega, military leader of the expedition, led all but a small contingent of Spanish soldiers back to [[Presidio of San Diego|El Presidio de San Diego]] to help quell the uprising; the priests, along with the few remaining soldiers as an escort, gathered up their belongings and fled to the safety of the Presido, where they were given further details of the disaster.<ref name="engelhardt6">Engelhardt 1901, p. 6</ref>

[[File:1916 Rexford Newcomb plan view -- Mission San Juan Capistrano.jpg|thumb|left|275px|A plan view of the Mission San Juan Capistrano complex (including the footprint of the "Great Stone Church") prepared by architectural historian [[Rexford Newcomb]] in 1916.<ref>Newcomb, p. 15</ref>]]

{{stack|[[File:Southern California Indian Linguistic Groups - Juaneño.png|thumb|325px|The territorial boundaries of the [[Southern California]] Indian tribes based on dialect, including the ''[[Cahuilla]]'', ''[[Cupeño people|Cupeño]]'', ''[[Diegueño]]'', ''[[Gabrieliño]]'', ''[[Juaneño]]'' (highlighted), and ''[[Luiseño language|Luiseño]]'' language groups.<ref>After Kroeber, 1925</ref>]]}}

One year later Serra himself, along with Amúrrio and [[Pablo de Mugártegui]], took up work on the Mission at San Juan Capistrano; the contingent, accompanied by eleven soldiers, arrived on October 30 or 31, 1776.<ref>Engelhardt 1922, p. 6: "It was owing to the animosity of [[Fernando Rivera y Moncada|Rivera]] ... that the two Fathers Lasuén and Amúrrio were compelled to remain idle for nearly a year. Peremptory orders from [[Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa|Viceroy Bucareli]] at last put an end to the chicanery."</ref> Upon their return to the site today known as "''Mission Vieja''," the party excavated the bells and constructed a new arbor; the original wooden cross was, to their surprise, still standing.<ref name="saunders22">Saunders and Chase, p. 22</ref> Serra celebrated [[Eucharist (Catholic Church)|High Mass]] in thanksgiving on November 1, 1776—celebrated ever since as the official founding date.<ref>"Historic San Juan Mission": The founding document on display within the Mission is also the only known surviving founding paper signed by Serra.</ref> Due to an inadequate water supply the Mission site was subsequently relocated approximately three miles to the west less than 60 yards from the village of ''[[Acjacheme|Acágcheme]]''.<ref>Kelsey, p. 10: According to a report filed in 1782 by Mugártegui, "...the site was transferred to that which it occupies today, where we have the advantage of secure water ... this transfer was made on October 4, 1776."</ref><ref name="Woodward 2007 3, 8"/><ref name=":52"/> The new venue was strategically placed above two nearby streams, the [[Trabuco Canyon, California|Trabuco]] and the San Juan. Mission San Gabriel provided cattle and neophyte labor to assist in the development of the new Mission. Amúrrio performed the Mission's first baptism on December 19 of that year<ref>Engelhardt 1922, p. 213</ref> (a total of 4,639 souls were converted at the Mission between 1776 and 1847.<ref name="engelhardtSJCM183">Engelhardt 1922, p. 183</ref>) The first Indian marriage was blessed by Mugártegui on the feast of the "Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary," January 23, 1777. Mugártegui also presided over the first burial ceremony on July 13 (the first burial on Mission grounds would not take place until March 9, 1781).<ref name="engelhardt195">Engelhardt 1922, p. 195</ref> The Registers of Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials are all intact and preserved at the Mission, as is the Confirmation Register (San Juan Capistrano is one of the few Missions to have retained this document). Serra visited the Mission for the first time since its founding and administered the Sacrament of Confirmation on October 22.<ref>Engelhardt 1922, p. 22</ref> In 1778, the first [[adobe]] ''capilla'' (chapel) was blessed. It was replaced by a larger, {{convert|115|ft|m|0|adj=on}} long house of worship in 1782, which is regarded as the oldest standing building in California. Known proudly as the "Serra Chapel," it also has the distinction of being the only remaining church in which Serra is known to have officiated ("[[Mission San Francisco de Asis|Mission Dolores]]" was still under construction at the time of Serra's visit there). Serra presided over the confirmations of 213 people on October 12 and 13, 1783. By the time of the chapel's completion, living quarters, kitchens (''pozolera''), workshops, storerooms, soldiers' barracks (''cuartels''), and a number of other ancillary buildings had also been erected, effectively forming the main ''cuadrángulo'' (quadrangle).{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

[[File:1916 Rexford Newcomb sketch -- Mission San Juan Capistrano.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Artist Rexford Newcomb's conception of Mission San Juan Capistrano in its heyday. The intact "Great Stone Church" is depicted at the far right.<ref>Newcomb, p. 16</ref> No contemporary drawing or painting of the Mission was ever completed.<ref>Krell, p. 155</ref>]]

California's first vineyard was located on the Mission grounds, with the planting of the "[[Mission (grape)|Mission]]" or "Criollo" grape in 1779, one grown extensively throughout Spanish America at the time but with "an uncertain European origin." It was the only grape grown in the Mission system throughout the mid-19th century. The first winery in Alta California was built in San Juan Capistrano in 1783; both red and white wines (sweet and dry), [[brandy]], and a port-like [[fortified wine]] called [[Angelica wine|Angelica]] were all produced from the Mission grape. In 1791, the Mission's two original bells were removed from the tree branch on which they had been hanging for the previous fifteen years and placed within a permanent mounting. Over the next two decades the Mission prospered, and in 1794 over seventy adobe structures were built in order to provide permanent housing for the Mission Indians, some of which comprise the oldest residential neighborhood in California. It was decided that a larger, European-style church was required to accommodate the growing population. Hoping to construct an edifice of truly magnificent proportions, the priests retained the services of ''maestro albañil'' (master stonemason) Isídro Aguilár of [[Culiacán]].<ref>Camphouse, p. 30</ref> Aguílar took charge of the church's construction and set about incorporating numerous design features not found at any other California Mission, including the use of a [[dome]]d roof structure made of [[Rock (geology)|stone]] as opposed to the typical flat wood roof. His elegant roof design called for six [[Vault (architecture)|vaulted]] domes (''bovedas'') to be built. {{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

[[File:Mission San Juan Capistrano 2.jpg|thumb|right|275px|A close-up view of the ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano's "Great Stone Church," dubbed by architects the "American [[Acropolis]]" in reference to its classical [[Greco-Roman]] style.<ref name="ruscin72">Ruscin, p. 72</ref> "The most important and pretentious building of the whole Mission period ..." was modeled after the [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] cathedrals scattered throughout Europe and Western Asia.<ref>Engelhardt 1922, p. 28</ref>]]

====The Great Stone Church====
Work was begun on "The Great Stone Church" (the only chapel building in Alta California not constructed out of adobe) on February 2, 1797.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} It was laid out in the shape of a cross, measuring {{convert|180|ft|m|0}} long by {{convert|40|ft|m|0}} wide with {{convert|50|ft|m|0|adj=on}} high walls, and included a {{convert|120|ft|m|0|adj=on}} tall ''campanile'' (bell tower) located adjacent to the main entrance.<ref>Krell, pp. 154, 275: The cruciform design is shared only with the extant chapel at [[Mission San Luis Rey de Francia]], which makes the two structures unique among the Alta California missions in this regard.</ref> Local legend has it that the tower could be seen for {{convert|10|mi|km|spell=in}} or more, and that the bells could be heard from even farther away.<ref>O'Sullivan, p. 14</ref> The [[sandstone]] building sat on a [[foundation (architecture)|foundation]] seven feet thick. Construction efforts required the participation of the entire [[wikt:neophyte|neophyte]] population. Stones were quarried from gullies and creek beds up to {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} away and transported in carts (''carretas'') drawn by [[oxen]], carried by hand, and even dragged to the building site. [[Limestone]] was crushed into a powder on the Mission grounds to create a [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]] that was more erosion-resistant than the actual stones.

On the afternoon of November 22, 1800, tremors from the [[Moment magnitude scale|6.5-magnitude]] San Diego earthquake cracked the walls of the rising edifice, necessitating that repair work be performed.<ref>Engelhardt 1922, p. 39</ref> Unfortunately, Señor Aguilár died six years into the project; his work was carried on by the priests and their charges, who made their best attempts to emulate the existing construction. Lacking the skills of a master mason, however, led to irregular walls and necessitated the addition of a seventh roof dome. The church was finally completed in 1806, and blessed by Fray Estévan Tapís on the evening of September 7; a two-day-long ''[[Festival|fiesta]]'' followed.<ref name = "yenne75"/> The sanctuary floors were paved with diamond-shaped [[tile]]s, and brick-lined [[Niche (architecture)|niches]] displayed the statues of various saints. It was by all accounts the most magnificent in all of California and a three-day feast was held in celebration of this monumental achievement.

On the morning of December 8, 1812, the "Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin", a series of large earthquakes shook Southern California during the first Sunday service.<ref name="ruscin72"/> The 7.5-magnitude [[1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake|San Juan Capistrano earthquake]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.data.scec.org/significant/wrightwood1812.html|title=Wrightwood Earthquake|publisher=[[Southern California Earthquake Center]]|access-date=August 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221080103/http://www.data.scec.org/significant/wrightwood1812.html|archive-date=February 21, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> racked the doors to the church, pinning them shut. When the ground finally stopped shaking, the bulk of the [[nave]] had come crashing down, and the bell tower was obliterated. Forty native worshipers who were attending Mass and two boys who had been ringing the bells in the tower were buried under the rubble and lost their lives, and were subsequently interred in the Mission cemetery.<ref>Engelhardt 1922, p. 251</ref> This was the second major setback the outpost had suffered, and followed severe storms and flooding that had damaged Mission buildings and ruined crops earlier in the year. {{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

[[File:San Juan Capistrano 1880 painting.jpg|thumb|right|275px|''Misión San Juan de Capistrano'' by [[Henry Ford (illustrator)|Henry Chapman Ford]], 1880. The work depicts the rear of the ruined "Great Stone Church" as well as part of the mission's ''campo santo''. A portion of "Serra's Church" is also visible at right. [[Oil painting|Oil on canvas]].]]

The priests immediately resumed holding services in Serra's Church. Within a year a brick ''campanario'' ("bell wall") had been erected between the ruins of the stone church and the Mission's first chapel to support the four bells salvaged from the rubble of the campanile. As the [[transept]], [[Sanctuary#Sanctuary as a sacred place|sanctuary]] (''re-do's''), and ''sacristia'' ([[sacristy]]) were all left standing, an attempt was made to rebuild the stone church in 1815 which failed due to a lack of construction expertise (the latter is the only element that is completely intact today). Consequently, all of the construction work undertaken at the Mission grounds thereafter was of a strictly utilitarian nature. José Barona and Boscana oversaw the construction of a small infirmary (hospital) building (located just outside the northwestern corner of the quadrangle) in 1814, "for the convenience of the sick." It is here that ''Juaneño'' [[Medicine man|medicine men]] used traditional methods to heal the sick and injured.<ref>Engelhardt 1922, p. 57</ref> [[Archaeological]] excavations in 1937 and 1979 unearthed what are believed to be the building's foundations.

====The Day That Pirates Sacked The Mission====
On December 14, 1818, the French [[privateer]] [[Hippolyte de Bouchard|Hipólito Bouchard]], sailing under the flag of the "United Provinces of Rio de la Plata" ([[Argentina]]), brought his ships ''La Argentina'' and ''Santa Rosa'' to within sight of the Mission; aware that Bouchard (today known as "California's only [[pirate]]") had recently conducted raids on the settlements at [[Monterey, California|Monterey]] and [[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]], Comandante Ruíz had sent forth a party of thirty men (under the leadership of a young Spanish lieutenant named Santiago Argüello) to protect the Mission at first news of the approach on the 13th.<ref>Bancroft, vol. ii, p. 240</ref> Two members of Bouchard's contingent made contact with the garrison soldiers and made their demand for provisions, which was rebuffed with added threats: Lieutenant Argüello replied that if the ships did not sail away the garrison would gladly provide "an immediate supply of shot and shell".<ref>Stern and Miller, p. 50; Yenne, p. 77</ref> In response, "''Pirata Buchar''" (as he was referred to by the [[Californio]]s) ordered an assault on the Mission, sending some 140 men and two or three ''violentos'' (light [[howitzer]] cannon) to take the needed supplies by force.<ref>Jones p. 170</ref> The Mission guards engaged the attackers but were overwhelmed; the marauders looted the Mission warehouses and left minor damage to several Mission buildings in their wake, and reportedly set fire to a few of the outlying straw houses.<ref>Bancroft, vol. ii, p. 241; Miller and Stern, p. 50: Sir [[Peter Corney (explorer)|Peter Corney]], commander of the ''Santa Rosa'', later reported that, "We found the town well-stocked with everything but money, and destroyed much wine and spirits and all the public property, set fire to the King's stores, barracks, and governor's house, and about two o'clock we marched back though not in the order that we went, many of the men being intoxicated."</ref> Reinforcements from Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, led by Comandante Guerra from [[Presidio of Santa Barbara|El Presidio Real de Santa Bárbara]], arrived the next day to no avail as the ships had already set sail.

Though the mission was spared, all ammunition, supplies and valuables in the area were taken.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://californiamissionguide.com/california-mission-history/californias-pirate-hippolyte-de-bouchard/|title=California's Only Pirate - Hippolyte de Bouchard}}</ref> Regarded today as one of the more colorful events in the Mission's history, an annual celebration is held to memorialize "The Day that Pirates Sacked the Mission."<ref>Yenne, p. 77. There is a great contrast between the legacy of Bouchard in Argentina versus his reputation in the United States. In Buenos Aires, Bouchard is honored as a brave patriot, while in California he is most often remembered as a pirate, and not a privateer. See [[Hippolyte de Bouchard#California and Central America|Hippolyte de Bouchard]].</ref>

[[File:SJC Sanctuary in Serra Chapel - former Sala.jpg|thumb|left|275px|The [[sanctuary]] in "Serra's Chapel" (the former "sala") as it looked prior to its being enlarged in 1922. The building is the only extant structure wherein it has been documented that Serra celebrated [[Mass (Catholic Church)|Mass]], and is the oldest building in California in continuous use.<ref name=young23>Young, p. 23</ref>]]

====Mexican independence====
[[Mexico]] gained its [[Mexican War of Independence|independence]] from Spain in 1821. The 1820s and 30s saw a gradual decline in the Mission's status. Disease thinned out the once ample cattle [[herd]]s, and a sudden infestation of [[Mustard plant|mustard weed]] made it increasingly difficult to [[Agriculture|cultivate crops]]. Floods and droughts took their toll as well. But the biggest threat to the Mission's stability came from the presence of Spanish settlers who sought to take over Capistrano's fertile lands. Over time the disillusioned Indian population gradually left the Mission, and without regular maintenance its physical deterioration continued at an accelerated rate. Nevertheless, there was sufficient activity along [[El Camino Real (California)|El Camino Real]] to justify the construction of the [[Las Flores Asistencia]] in 1823. This facility, situated halfway between San Juan Capistrano and the Mission at [[Mission San Luis Rey de Francia|San Luis Rey]], was intended to act primarily as a rest stop for traveling clergy. Around 1820 an ''estancia'' (station) was established a few miles north on the banks of the [[Santa Ana River]] to accommodate the Mission's sizeable cattle herd. The adobe structure built to house the [[Majordomo (domestic staff)|mayordomo]] and ''vaqueros'' ([[cowboy]]s) who tended the Mission herds is known today as the [[Diego Sepúlveda Adobe]].<ref>Engelhardt 1922, p. 89</ref> Upon his death in 1825, [[José Antonio Yorba|Don José Antonio Yorba I]] (a prominent Spanish land owner and member of the [[Portolà Expedition]]), was buried in the Mission's cemetery in an unmarked grave; a [[cenotaph]] was later placed in Yorba's honor.

[[José María de Echeandía]], the first native Mexican to be elected Governor of Alta California, issued his "Proclamation of Emancipation" (or "''Prevenciónes de Emancipacion''") on July 25, 1826.<ref>Engelhardt 1922, p. 80</ref> All Indians within the military districts of San Diego, Santa Barbara, and [[Monterey]] who were found qualified were freed from missionary rule and made eligible to become Mexican citizens; those who wished to remain under mission tutelage were exempted from most forms of corporal punishment.<ref>Bancroft, vol. i, pp. 100–101: Bancroft postulated that the motives behind the issuance of Echeandía's premature decree had more to do with his desire to appease "...some prominent Californians who had already had their eyes on the mission lands ..." than they did with concerns regarding the welfare of the natives.</ref> Catholic historian [[Zephyrin Engelhardt]] referred to Echeandía as "...an avowed enemy of the religious orders."<ref>Stern and Miller, pp. 51–52</ref> Despite the fact that Echeandía's emancipation plan was met with little encouragement from the neophytes who populated the southern missions, he was nonetheless determined to test the scheme on a large scale at Mission San Juan Capistrano. To that end, he appointed a board of ''comisianados'' (commissioners) to oversee the emancipation of the Indians.<ref>Bancroft, vol. iii, pp. 322; 626</ref> In response to the proclamation, Barona refused to take the oath of allegiance to what he saw as the "bogus republic of Mexico" despite the fact that he, along with all but two of the other Spanish missionaries, had previously sworn to the [[Mexican War of Independence|Independence of Mexico]].<ref>Engelhard 1922, p. 223: [[Antonio Peyri]] and [[Francisco Suñer]] did not pledge their allegiance to the new Republic.</ref> The Mexican government passed legislation on December 20, 1827, that mandated the expulsion of all Spaniards younger than sixty years of age from Mexican territories; Governor Echeandía nevertheless intervened on Barona's behalf in order to prevent his deportation once the law took effect in California.<ref>Engelhard 1922, p. 223: On June 7, 1829, Echeandía wrote, "Fr. José Barona; age, sixty-six years; broken in health; decided to take the oath in 1826 as far as compatible with his religious profession and as long as he remained in the Mexican Republic."</ref>

Even before Mexico had gained its independence, the Mission had begun its decline.<ref>Stern and Miller, p. 51: [[Alfred Robinson (businessman)|Alfred Robinson]], who visited the settlement in 1829, wrote, "This establishment was founded in the year 1776 and though in its early years was the largest in the country, yet it is now in a dilapidated state and the Indians are much neglected."</ref> Although Governor [[José Figueroa]] (who took office in 1833) initially attempted to keep the mission system intact, the [[Congress of Mexico|Mexican Congress]] passed [[Mexican secularization act of 1833|''An Act for the Secularization of the Missions of California'']] on August 17, 1833.<ref>Yenne, p. 19</ref> The Act also provided for the colonization of both Alta and Baja California, the expenses of this latter move to be borne by the proceeds gained from the sale of the mission property to private interests. Mission San Juan Capistrano was the very first to feel the effects of this legislation the following year when, on August 9, 1834, Governor Figueroa issued his "Decree of Confiscation."<ref name="Engelhardt114">Engelhardt 1922, p. 114</ref>