 DEVCON DECISIONS by Clay Mackle, episode 13, The Missions. If you're interested in history, the Spanish missions of San Antonio are a must-see. These missions were built by Spain in the early 1700s as a plan to Christianize Native Americans and to colonize Northern New Spain. Four of the missions make up the San Antonio Mission's National Historical Park. The fifth is the most famous, Mission San Antonio de Valero, otherwise known as the Alamo. It is most famous as the site of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, where the Mexican army defeated the Texan defenders and the phrase, Remember the Alamo, was coined.