The decree expelling the Jesuits from the Spanish colonies was one of the most complicated and far-reaching political maneuvers of the Spanish Crown. In fact, it signaled the beginning of the disintegration of the Spanish empire, because it triggered an upheaval that had an equal impact on criollos (people born in the colonies to European parents), castas (people of mixed race), and native peoples in New Spain. This fi rst national movement would eventually lead to the independence of the Americas. The expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 took on special characteristics in the missions of the Province of Mexico, especially in Sonora and Sinaloa.