Indians, Franciscans, and Spanish Colonization: The Impact of the Mission System on California Indians

by Robert H. Jackson, Edward Castillo

This ethnohistory, now in paperback, examines Indian life in the twenty-one missions Franciscans established in Alta California. In describing how the missions functioned between 1769 and 1848, the authors draw on previously unused sources to analyze change and continuity in Indian material culture and religious practices. The twin goals of Franciscans were to mold Indians into a work force that would produce surplus grain for military garrisons and to regulate their moral conduct and religious practices. The authors use production records to show the missions were quite effective in serving the economic goals. Also carefully assessed are the efforts to transform the culture and world view of Indians by delineating how they coped, their history of disease and death, and their efforts at resistance.

Genres: Indigenous, History

222 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

Robert H. Jackson is a specialist in colonial and modern Latin American history. He received his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley in 1988. His research interests include liberalism, the caste system, historical demography, and missions and evangelization. In 2013, Brill published his monograph Conflict and Conversion in Sixteenth Century Mexico: The Augustinian War on and beyond the Chichimeca Frontier. Jackson currently lives in Mexico City.

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This read is exceptional. The appendices, notes and bibliography alone are about half the pages here - lots of research was completed by Jackson and Castillo to report on what the quality of life was like for California Native Americans going through the Spanish Mission systems. They tie in policies from Spain and Mexico that affect the motives and purposes of the Franciscan missions, and use sources skillfully to show the multifaceted experiences had by natives on the periphery of New Spain.

I think anyone interested in this period of CA/US history should start here - this book is absolutely phenomenal, easy to read, and a great source of information for further research. 10/10