Comprehensive history of the Jesuit, Franciscan, and Dominican missionaries in Lower California and of the Franciscans in Upper California.

This is the world premiere complete publication of Narciso Botellos important Annals of Southern California, a work focusing on the years 1833 - 1847 when California was emerging from its years of isolation and seclusion with dramatic turmoil, social change, political intrigues, and armed conflicts. Botello, living in that dusty pueblo Los Angeles, records a swirl of events and personalitiestragic love, crime, warfare, treachery, invasionall bound together by the characteristic bravado and intricate web of loyalties of the native Californios. This spirited English translation of the original, amplified by detailed notes and insightful commentary, draws the reader deep into the surprising events of the turbulent final years of Mexican California.