Amid cultural differences, the Spanish and native inhabitants of the Texas missions forged connections that altered the course of Texas history. When the first missionaries arrived, South Texas was home to diverse native groups with their own languages and customs, and conflicts among them long predated the Spanish. Missionaries first tried to place the Aranama and Karankawa together at Mission Espíritu Santo, but after five years of discord colonial authorities separated them, establishing Mission Rosario for the Karankawa in 1754. At the mission, the Karankawa were expected to follow a rigorous schedule of religious instruction, technical education, and manual labor. By 1768, Mission Rosario had 5,000 head of cattle, making it one of the first great Texas cattle ranches. Few Karankawa, however, were willing to fully abandon their religion and culture, and many left for their traditional territories, returning in winter when resources grew scarce. Mission Rosario was also one link in El Camino Real, a chain stretching from Northern California to South America that connected Spanish territorial claims to Mexico City and to the Spanish crown across the Atlantic, carrying the supplies, trade goods, food, ideas, religion, and culture that sustained mission life and introduced influences new to Texas.