{"id":1774,"date":"2014-03-04T14:24:32","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T22:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leslieval.com\/?p=1774"},"modified":"2014-03-04T14:35:32","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T22:35:32","slug":"what-about-those-jesuits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leslieval.com\/?p=1774","title":{"rendered":"What about those Jesuits?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"7-IMG_7222\"<\/a>In the 17th century, Spain sent Jesuit missionaries to the Baja peninsula. \u00a0\"5-IMG_5884\"<\/a>
\nThey came to spread Christianity. \u00a0They did much more. \u00a0They came to a place populated by hunter-gathers who had lived in these dry lands for as much as 10,000 years.
\nThey brought agriculture and ranching and forced people into these new modes of living.<\/p>\n

In San Javier, about an hour by more-or-less paved road west of Loreto, are examples of the Jesuits’ successes. \u00a0The cathedral, though modest by European standards, is lovely set in a valley with permanent water. \u00a0The olive trees date from the 17th century.\u00a0 Citrus blossoms scent the air. And, local people still center their lives around the activities and buildings introduced here so many years ago.
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