The Old Spanish Missions of San Antonio are a chain of five colonial era compounds located in a southern line from the center of downtown San Antonio to the southern edge of the city. They were established in the 18th Century as an outreach of the Spanish Government and the Catholic Church. The Franciscan Fathers founded each mission to evangelize the regional natives, teach them skills to help them adopt to Spanish ways, and minister to their needs. Additionally, the effort was to make them active citizens of the Spanish province of Tejas. Military forces were often located in the vicinity of each mission to offer protection.
