The story of the frontier institutions of the Spanish borderlands has been told and retold. The presidio would protect the new lands of the Castilian crown against its enemies, be they French, English, or Apache. The mission would Christianize and Hispanicize the heathen Indians and make of them loyal subjects of His Catholic Majesty. The pueblo (town or village) would become home to the once free-ranging, now civilized, Indians. This familiar vision enjoys consensus among historians. However, the legitimacy of (especially) the mission effort and the consequences of the priests’ forceful efforts to bring the natives Christianity have been hotly contested. The “facts” contained in the well-researched documents of borderlands history have made little difference in these debates. One’s view of the missions depends on one’s stance concerning evangelizing. There will be vehement disagreement between those who celebrate the local spirits, those who affirm tolerance for all religions, and those...

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