where was mission la bahia moved to and why
Presidio La Bahía In 1747, the Spanish government sent José de Escandón to inspect the northern frontier of the North American colonies. Escandón assigned La Bahia's captain, Joaquín Prudencio de Orobio y Basterra, to evaluate South Texas. On reading Orobio's report, Escandón recommended that La Bahia be moved from its Guadalupe River location to the banks of the San Antonio River, so that it would be more capable of assisting settlements along the Rio Grande.[19] Both the presidio and the mission likely moved in October 1749. Escandón proposed that 25 Mexican families be relocated near the presidio to form a civilian settlement but was unable to find enough willing settlers.[20]
History of the west coast of North America It was not until 1769 that the first missions were established in today's California (then called Las Californias), including the first mission, at San Diego in 1769, the mission at Monterey in 1770, and the mission at San Francisco in 1776. These missions eventually stretched from the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula to Sonoma, California, north of San Francisco. The purpose of the missions, which typically had an accompanying pueblo (town) and presidio (military outpost), was to solidify the 250-year-old Spanish claim to the region. This need became more urgent as the Russians and British were encroaching on the far northern part of the west coast of North America. In addition, there continued the long-standing interest in creating a safe anchorage for seaworn Manila Galleons on their return to Acapulco.