Soldiers and presidios played a key role in establishing the Spanish presence in California, but they are still misunderstood. Jarrell Jackman has been at the forefront of preserving and documenting this crucial element of the California frontier. Jarrell C. Jackman Dr. Jarrell C. Jackman was Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation for 28 years, where his efforts focused on rebuilding and interpreting the 18th century site of the Santa Barbara Presidio, including reconstruction of the Presidio Chapel. Dr. Jackman oversaw the presidio site’s reconstruction, ensuring that interpretations are based on extensive research, historic background information and archaeological investigations. The Santa Barbara Presidio is widely recognized as the best example of a Spanish American colonial fort. Under Dr. Jackman’s directorship, the Santa Barbara Trust acquired other important Hispanic-period resources, including Casa de la Guerra, one of the most intact early California adobes, the Rochin Adobe, and the Santa Inés Mission mills and surrounding property. Dr. Jackman authored Santa Barbara: Historical Themes and Images, and a biography of Presidio Comandante Felipe Goicoechea. He recently received Spain’s La Medalla de Isabela la Catolica.  Photo: Paul Wellman/Santa Barbara Independent) Episode Highlights * The Alta California presidios and why Santa Barbara was so important.* Why rebuilding the Santa Barbara Presidio became controversial.* The different communities that lived in the presidio area.* Norman Neuerberg, restorer of the California missions.* How it took 3-4 million pounds of adobe bricks to make the presidio.* How many soldiers lived at the presidio?* How court cases provide important historical insights into early California history.* How Spanish presidios were modeled on Roman forts.* El Camino Real de California as possible World Heritage site.* The friendship between a Spanish governor and a Chumash chieftain.* The Basques in the Spanish territories. To Learn More * The Presidio Alliance: https://www.thepresidioalliance.org/* The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation* Book: Documenting Everyday Life in Early Spanish California: The Santa Barbara Presidio Memorias y Facturas 1779-1810 by Giorgio Perissinotto.* Book: El Camino Real de California by Joseph P. Sánchez.* Soldiers and Presidios in Alta California (with video)

The novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson sparked an interest in California’s Mission Era that attracted visitors from all over the country. But Jackson’s novel was much more than nostalgia for a bygone era — it was a cry for human rights. The story of the author, her work and how Cuba’s most famous exile caused it to echo all over the Americas. Jonathan Alcántar Dr. Jonathan Alcántar is Assistant Professor of Mexican-American Studies at Northern Colorado University. He is an expert on the novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson, and its impact throughout the Americas, especially through poet José Martí’s Spanish translation. * Jonathan’s page at Northern Colorado University Episode Highlights * Jonathan’s story: from the border to academia.* Who was Helen Hunt Jackson?* A Century of Dishonor: Jackson’s critique of US government injustices toward Native Americans.* Ramona: The Uncle Tom’s Cabin of Native Americans in the U.S.* How Ramona generated an economic boom in Southern California. * The connection between Helen Hunt Jackson and the Cuban writer José Martí.* Why Martí chose to translate Ramona into Spanish.* Helen Hunt Jackson and José Martí as voices for human rights in the 19th century.* How Martí’s translation of Ramona highlights the connection between the U.S. and Mexico.* Film and television versions of Ramona. To Learn More * Book: Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson.* Book: José Martí’s Spanish translation of Ramona (edited by Jonathan).* Book: The Indian Reform Letters of Helen Hunt Jackson, 1879–1885 * Book: A Century of Dishonor: The Classic Exposé of the Plight of the Native Americans by Helen Hunt Jackson* Book: Selected Writings by José Martí* Book: Versos Sencillos: A Dual-Language Edition by José Martí* How Did the California Missions End?* Articles about California history

This is a special episode of the California Frontier podcast. The shoe is on the other foot this time, and I am the one being interviewed. My host is Jordan Mattox, a California junior high school teacher who his passionate about California history. He has an excellent podcast, appropriately titled “History of California.” In this session we talk about the Mexican War for Independence, the legacy of Spain in California, colonial policy, and learning languages. I hope you are going to enjoy this conversation . Afterward, head over to History of California Podcast on Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/jordanmattox-99235683) and subscribe. Once again, I want to thank Jordan for giving me this opportunity. I really enjoyed talking with him! Episode Highlights: * How did the California Frontier Project get its start?* How were the two monarchies that ruled Spain different?* The transition between Spanish control and the war for Latin American independence.* How a French family came to rule Spain.* The Enlightenment and how it influenced Spanish rule in Latin American.* How Napoleon influenced the movements for Latin American independence.* Why is it important to know about Spanish and Mexican California.* Why everyone should learn Spanish and how to start. Learn more: Origins of Mexican Independence (Part 1) Origins of Mexican Independence: Part 2 of a Series Origins of Mexican Independence Part 3: Breaking Away The Mexican-American War

The story of the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island was made famous by Scott O'Dell's novel The Island of the Blue Dolphins. In this episode of the podcast, we learn more about her real life with archeologist Elisabeth Rareshide, along with a new exhibit at the Mission Santa Barbara museum.

The California frontier is full of reports of the marvelous or miraculous events that defy scientific explanation. Historian Skyler Reidy has been investigating curious stories of the mission era, and he helps us make sense of them. Skyler Reidy Skyler Reidy is a PhD candidate in the history department at the University of Southern California. His dissertation analyzes material religion in nineteenth-century California, and argues that settler colonialism drove secularization in the state. Skyler has also published work on the origins of Pentecostalism, and has spoken to academic and public audiences about the history of the California missions. Skyler was born and raised in Encinitas, California, and now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughters. Episode Highlights * What does it look like when a society isn’t modern? * Fr. Juan Crespí, Gaspar de Portolá and the land expedition to Monterey * The levitating cross and the beginnings of California. * How does a cross have a social life? * How do rituals to maintain relationships and define communities? * The miracle of Mission San Antonio de Padua. * Who had power in the mission? * What is syncretism? To Learn More * Skyler Reidy at the University of Southern California * Read more about the early exploration and settlement of California * Book: Diary of Gaspar de Portolá During the California Expedition of 1769-1770 * Book: Children of the Coyote, Missionaries of St. Francis: Indian-Spanish Relations in Colonial California 1769-1850

As the Spanish Empire become more consolidated, language and writing became more and more important — both for the Spanish government and for native peoples. In part 2 of this interview we learn how indigenous people in Colonial Spanish America preserved their knowledge in the face of restrictive government policies. Listen to Part 1 Highlights of Part 2 * Why cities were so important for preserving indigenous knowledge and the role that notaries plaid in preservation.* Why the countryside was where cultural practices were preserved and what the Inquisition had to do with that.* Why it took over 200 years for Spanish to become the main language of Mexico.* What were the quipus of Perú and how they were used for storing knowledge.* The Inca rebellion of Perú in 1781. To Learn More Books * William O’Connell, After Moctezuma: Indigenous Politics and Self-Government in Mexico City, 1524–1730 Websites * Ezekiel Stear’s faculty page at Auburn University* Ezekiel’s website: Forgotten Lives of Latin America Listen to all podcast episodes

The story of the Spanish missions in California has its roots in 16th century Mexico. There, Franciscan friars and their native partners sought to record the memories of Aztec elders before their culture was changed forever. The information they collected is contained in the Florentine Codex.

In this second part of the interview we learn about what studying economic history can reveal about the past. In particular, we learn about California’s early connections to the Far East, and how competition over the fur trade created some unusual rivalries and alliances. Highlights of Part 2: * Franciscan views of money and morality. * The friar who went shopping in Manila — for two years.* The Northern Chumash at San Luis Obispo and their successful textile operation.* Spanish arrangements with their rivals the Russians for otter hunting. * How the business elite in Mexico City were the wealthiest in the Spanish Empire and how this angered people in Madrid. * Presidio Commander José De la Guerra and how he rose in power. * New views on why the Spanish came to California. * The fur trade and how it connected Hispanic California with Asia. * Spanish-speaking Chinese in Manila: the contact point for Spanish trade with China. * The plan to settle California from Manila. * The “soft Gold Rush” of competition over otter hides. Listen to Part 1 of this interview. To Learn More: * Article: San Blas and the Californias: Hispanic Trade in the Northern Pacific Rim in a Time of Great Change (1767-1820) by Dení Trejo Barajas and Christine Marie Duggan.* Book: What is Global History? by Pamela Kyle Crossley.* Book: The Father of All: The de la Guerra Family, Power, and Patriarchy in Mexican California by Louise Pubols — an excellent biography of José de la Guerra y Noriega.* Book: Art and War in the Pacific World by J.M. Mancini. * More articles about Spanish exploration and colonization.

The story of the Spanish missions in California isn’t always what it seems. By delving into Mexico’s National Archives, Dr. Marie Christine Duggan uncovered facts that provide a unique inside view of mission life. From murder trials to Indian militias, we talk about some of the lesser-known aspects of California mission history. Marie Christine Duggan Marie Christine Duggan is an economic historian and Professor of Global Economic History at Keene State University in New Hampshire.  She studies how market forces shaped human lives in 18th century Spanish California and 19th century Mexican California. Dr. Duggan grew up in Berkeley, California and finished her education at the New School for Social Research in New York. In 1995, Dr. Duggan located account books for nine California missions in Mexico’s National Archives, which were the basis for her 2000 PHD dissertation, Market and Church on the Mexican Frontier. She received in 1997 the Maynard Geiger Fellowship for research at the Santa Barbara Mission Archive Library and the Haynes Foundation Fellowship for Research at the Huntington Library. In 2017 she received the Norman Neuerburg Award from the California Missions Foundation for her contributions to scholarship on California’s missions, presidios, pueblos, and ranchos.  Highlights of Part 1: * Early research Into trials murder trials at the California Missions.* How mission communities exerted pressure on their members. * How were missionaries spending their money? Account books as a view from inside the missions: * Native Americans as blacksmiths and cowboys. * Franciscans and Indian militias * Why missionaries resisted teaching Spanish to Native Americans. * What constituted a missionary’s power? The case of Antonio Peyrí in San Luis Rey. * The town in Catalonia that produced three California missionaries. * The radical transformation of the missions after 1810. * Conflicts between missionaries and the military over land grants. * Misconceptions about the size of missions. * Conflicts between mission communities over boundaries. To Learn More * Marie Christine Duggan at Keene State University* Book: The Chumash and the Presidio of Santa Barbara by Marie Christine Duggan* Mentioned in the interview: “With and Without an Empire: Financing for California Missions Before and After 1810” from the Pacific Historical Review (2016).* Other articles by Marie Christine Duggan

The story of land ownership in modern California begins with the Spanish and later Mexican land grants. These became the great ranchos of California.