Converting California: Dr. James Sandos September 22, 2008 7:00PM
Dr. James A. Sandos will be the featured speaker at the Redlands Area Historical Society meeting September 22. His latest book, “Converting California: Indians and Franciscans in the Missions” was published by Yale University Press.
Sandos is a University of Redlands Farquhar Professor of the Southwest. He is an eminent authority on the American West. The book traces the history of the Franciscan missions from the founding of Mission San Diego in 1769 to their final demise in 1836. His scholarship addresses the theology of the Fransican order and especially Father Junipero Serra.
Sandos discusses the historical California Mission two major fields of thought. One group of historians has nothing but praise for the mission efforts in California and applauds the padres as architectural wizards, economic stewards of efficient fiefdoms, and protectors of the Native Americans. This group of historians contends that Father Serra and the mission system he founded was superior to the English wars of extermination conducted on the East Coast of America. Native Americans following this line of history became good Catholics, citizens of Spain, artisans, vaqueros, farmers and loved the founding padres for their benevolent gifts of civilization.
The other group of historians condemns the Mission System as nothing more than “slavery” under a clever disguise. They quickly note the dismal record of Indian deaths at the hands of the padres. Most of the civil authorities in Spain and later Mexico found the Franciscans like the former Jesuits controlling and anything but enlightenment thinkers. Bashing Catholic theology and concluding the complete failure of the California Missions is foremost in their work
Dr. Sandos discusses these two fields of historiography but adds an additional scholarship missing in the previous histories. Sandos delves into the mission Native American point of view and with balance discovers new primary source evidence to reach a refreshingly well-supported conclusion concerning the California Missions.
Dr. Santos and Dr. Larry Burgess wrote “The Hunt for Willie Boy,” in 1994. This historical account also incorporates Native American perspectives in the 1909 sensational killing here in Southern California.
Dr. Santos is also the author of “Rebellion in the Borderlands: Anarchism and the Plan of San Diego, 1904-1923.”
Dr. Santos will have copies of his latest book on Converting California at the 7:00 p.m. Redlands Area Historical Society meeting on September 22 at A.K. Smiley Public Library Assembly Room.