The Chichimeca Frontier and the Evangelization of the Sierra Gorda, 1550-1770

Abstract

In 1744 the Franciscans of the Apostolic College of San Fernando (Mexico City) established five missions for Pames at the Sierra Gorda region, in what now is the state of Queretaro. However these were not the first missions in that region: Augustinian and Dominican missions were established there in the mid-sixteenth century. This paper documents the first missions of the Sierra Gorda, the development of the Franciscan missions of the mid-eighteen century and the results for the Pames, who were hunters and gatherers, seen in a comparative text.