136 Franciscans in the Americas commission of the Franciscan order in response to royal instructions from the Spanish Crown aimed at bringing the natives of the Americas to Catholicism Their initial chapel was built at Port Conception on Hispaniola, where in December of 1493 they offered Mass for the first time in the New World A convent was built for them by Columbus at the stronghold of Santo Domingo Pane, probably more of a contemplative, accompanied Columbus on his voyage to Puerto Rico in 1496 Pane kept very exacting records of his activities and observations of the natives that have survived to this day The Franciscans were at the vanguard of missionary activity on the newly discovered islands In 1502, 17 more Franciscans arrived along with the first governor of Hispaniola They would go on to build the first convent and church (San Francisco) at Santo Domingo Domingo became the base of operations for countless missionary expeditions to the north, south, and central continental mainland for many decades During the next 25 years, more than 50 Franciscan missionaries attempted to evangelize the Caribbean islands, particularly Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico Friar Juan de la Deule died while ministering to Jamaicans sometime between 1508 and 1511 In 1512, Father García de Padilla was consecrated as bishop of Santo Domingo and, two years later, another Franciscan, Juan de Quevendo, was consecrated as the first bishop of the Central American mainland at Santa Maria Darién The eastern part of Venezuela was also established as a Franciscan apostolic mission that lasted from 1514 to 1521 Not until after 1576 were friaries founded in the province of Caracas In the 17th century, the Capuchins attempted to evangelize in Venezuela Francisco de Pamplona (a former military general) began work at Darién in 1650 The Capuchin houses located there refused to accept Creoles into the order Expeditions to mexico During 1523 and 1524, two Franciscan missionary expeditions set out for Mexico from Santo Domingo The first friars among the Mexicans were Flemish Among them was Father Peter of Ghent (d 1562), who spent some 40 years among the native Mesoamericans The following year 12 more Franciscans arrived Around 1527, a diocese was organized under the Franciscan bishop Juan de Zumárraga At that point, some 70 Franciscan houses rapidly surfaced in Mexico and the region was raised in status to a province Zumárraga is credited with setting up the first printing press in the New World Publications in 12 languages were printed and distributed throughout the Americas Education of the Indian children of Mexico became a priority and labor of love among the friars However, there was some opposition on the part of the Spanish government in regard to the education of the natives Most convents had schools where thousands of Mexican boys were taught to read, write, and sing Eventually the Franciscans assisted with the development of a school for girls in Mexico City Several colleges were also founded for the sons of tribal chiefs throughout Mexico; they became centers for further missionary activity to both South and North America Before the end of the 16th century, friars extended missionary efforts from Guadalajara in the northwest to New Mexico in the north, northeast to the Gulf of Mexico, and south to the Yucatán, Guatemala, and Costa Rica Beautiful churches were constructed at Huejotzingo, Tlamanalco, Huequechula, Izamal, and Cholula Friars Pedro de Betanzos and Francisco de la Parra became experts in the Mayan language and have handed down keys to its translation By 1569, there were some 300 Franciscan missionaries in New Spain (Mexico) alone missions to Peru Missionary efforts to Peru were launched by Franciscans from Santo Domingo, after 1527 by Juan de los Santos, and followed by Marcos de Niza between 1531 and 1532 Earlier, Franciscans accompanied Pizarro during his conquest and exploration of the region Evangelization progressed fairly slowly in Peru for the first 20 years due to the animosity between natives and the Spanish invaders From Santa Cruz eight missionaries were sent out to Peru Friar Francisco de Aragón took 12 Franciscans and traveled south to form the main trunk from which communities in Ecuador, Chile, and Bolivia grew A center for ministry was established at Quito as well as a college By 1549, a supervisor was sent to Lima to coordinate all Franciscans in the southern part of the continent It was not until 1553 that Peru saw permanent Franciscan establishments In Ecuador a Franciscan province was erected in 1565 Missionary activity to the east and south continued During the 17th and 18th centuries, many friars were lost to martyrdom in the territories of the Ucayali and the region north of the Amazon Franciscans count 129 friar deaths on the Ucayali alone In 1742, most of these centers of ministry were destroyed during native uprisings It took 50 years to restore the Franciscan missions in these areas Attempts by Franciscans to evangelize Chile were gravely disappointing Between 1553 and 1750, repeated hostilities between Spanish settlers and natives made activity in the region difficult Not until Chilean independence in 1832 did the friars