The Spanish missions of Texas represent one of the most fascinating and least known chapters in American history. Byron R. Browne, with the precision of a historian and the passion of a storyteller, guides us on an extraordinary journey through the centuries to discover how a handful of Franciscan friars, full of faith and determination, ventured into hostile territories to establish the missions that would eventually become cities like San Antonio. The definitive history of the Spanish missions that laid the foundations for modern Texas. This work documents the construction and evolution of the missions, while exploring the complex relationships between Spaniards, Native Americans and French that defined the region for more than two centuries. The author presents a vivid account of how these missions, many of which survive, became centers of political, economic and cultural power that forever transformed the landscape of Texas and all of Spanish America. From the first expeditions of Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca to the founding of the Alamo, the author meticulously reconstructs the history of these missions that became the outpost of Spanish colonization in Texas. Through exhaustive research in historical archives and original sources, Browne reveals the struggles, triumphs and tragedies of the Franciscan missionaries in their attempt to establish a new spiritual and cultural frontier in the wild territory of Texas.