Antigua California: Mission and Colony on the Peninsular Frontier, 1697-1768 (University of Arizona Southwest Centre) [Hardcover]

Harry W. Crosby (Author)

Book Description

Series: University of Arizona Southwest Centre | Publication Date: May 1, 1994

First published in 1994 and now available again, this Spanish Borderlands classic recounts Jesuit colonization of the Old California, the peninsula now known as Baja California. Jesuit missionaries founded their first settlement in 1697 and unintentionally created a Hispanic society that outlived the missions and their Indian converts. The author brings to light Jesuit missionization and culture, European-Indian contacts, mission and presidio operations, family social life, the unique peninsular economy, and the Jesuit expulsion. Four appendices provide data on Spanish kings, royal officials, Jesuit personnel and visitors, and founders of pre-1768 peninsular California families.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A truly monumental work. -- Hispanic American Historical Review

Raises the historiography of both Spanish Californias to a new level. -- The Americas

The definitive work on Jesuit activities in Antigua California . . . worth every penny of its price. -- Journal of Arizona History

From the Inside Flap

This Spanish Borderlands classic recounts Jesuit colonization of the Old California, the peninsula now known as Baja California.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 574 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press; 1st edition (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826314953
• ISBN-13: 978-0826314956
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #717,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > History > Americas > Caribbean & West Indies > Antigua

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive and Fascinating, April 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Antigua California: Mission and Colony on the Peninsular Frontier, 1697-1768 (University of Arizona Southwest Centre) (Hardcover)

When missionaries came to colonize California, it was to Baja California "Antigua California" that they came. This is the story of the Jesuits who persevered in a barren, waterless, resource poor place. But the really great thing about the book is that it is the whole story of the pioneer mission period: it is also the story of the aboriginal peoples who were the targets of the Jesuits, and of the people (mostly Mexican) whom the Jesuits hired and brought along to handle and create daily life-soldiers, sailors, artisans, laborers. For once, a comprehensive history truly is. Using original eighteenth century materials (church records, diaries, letters, reports) the author has tracked down the movement of individuals, their genealogies, their careers, their contributions. More than most, it is a book of portraits of real people, pieced together sympathetically from scattered and scanty records. For a scholar, the book is eminently useful: full of maps, chronological tables of people and places, explanations of systems and bureaucracies. For the history buff, it is a dream of readability and detail. Highly recommended.