Details the daily life of sailors, merchants, and muleteers in the societies that grew up around early California missions.

Describes the life and works of the Franciscan priests who helped the Spanish colonize California by establishing missions for the native peoples and new settlers.

Discusses why various artisans came to live and work in early California and describes the activities of some of them.

Indians of the California Mission Frontier talks about what life was like for the neophytes who joined the missions. A controversial subject for many historians, this book provides a balanced picture of the diversity of the California Indians and the mission experience. It shows us what daily life was like, how the mission Indians’ culture changed, and which traditions they were able to keep. It talks about the kinds of conflicts there were between the missionaries and the people they were trying to convert. It also talks about some of the good things that came from the mission experience.

This book explains the work of the soldiers that represented Spain at the California mission settlements and the presidios, or military bases, in the late 1700s and early 1800s.