Page "Spanish missions in California" Paragraph 31

Young native women were required to reside in the monjerío ( or " nunnery ") under the supervision of a trusted Indian matron who bore the responsibility for their welfare and education.

Women only left the convent after they had been " won " by an Indian suitor and were deemed ready for marriage.

Following Spanish custom, courtship took place on either side of a barred window.

After the marriage ceremony the woman moved out of the mission compound and into one of the family huts.

These " nunneries " were considered a necessity by the priests, who felt the women needed to be protected from the men, both Indian and de razón.

The cramped and unsanitary conditions the girls lived in contributed to the fast spread of disease and population decline.

So many died at times that many of the Indian residents of the missions urged the fathers to raid new villages to supply them with more women.

As of December 31, 1832 ( the peak of the mission system's development ) the mission padres had performed a combined total of 87, 787 baptisms and 24, 529 marriages, and recorded 63, 789 deaths.