18th-19th Century

Spanish Colonization

Description: The Spanish Colonization began with the arrival of the Iberians in 1492, leading to the subsequent conquest of North and South America in the later years and ending with wars of independence and the Spanish-American War of 1898. 

Books

    1. Chicanos in A Changing Society: From Mexican Pueblos to American Barrios in Santa Barbara and Southern California. 
    2. The Unending War in Whitewashed Adobe: The Rise of Los Angeles and the Remaking of Its Mexican Past 

The Mission System

Description: The California Mission System is a series of 21 missions across the California coast which were established between 1769 and 1833. The first mission was established in San Diego, 1769. These missions, along with military barracks (aka Presidios) and pueblos (towns) established a religious doctrine that sought to convert indigenous individuals while at the same time engaging in labor exploitation.

Books

    1. Indians and the Breakdown of the Spanish Mission System in California 
    2. Thrown Amongst Strangers 
    3. Feeding Family and Ancestors: Persistence of Traditional Native American Lifeways During the Mission Period in Coastal Southern California. 
    4. Let There be Towns: Spanish Municipal Origins in the American Southwest, 1610-1810. 

Mexican Independence

Description: The Mexican Independence lasted from 1810 to 1820, with the fall of New Spain and the rise of the Mexican nation-state. After 300 years of outright Spanish rule, the Mexican populace fought and won.

Books

    1. La Güera Rodríguez: The Life and Legends of a Mexican Independence Heroine 
    2. The Birth of Modern Mexico, 1780-1824 
    3. "Por Fin, Pasaron Ya Las Fiestas Del Centenario”Centennial Celebrations of Mexican Independence 

Conquest of California

Description: The U.S. Mexican War is preceded by the Texan Revolution of 1835 to 1836 which lead to the loss of the Texan territory. Then, through a dispute instigated by the U.S. in challenging the agreed U.S.-Mexican border, the United States and Mexico engaged in all-out warfare.  

Books

    1. Race and Manifest Destiny  
    2. History of the War between Mexico and the United States 
    3. Memoirs of Francisco Palomares 
    4. A History of the Mexican War, California All the Way Back to 1828
    5. The American Occupation of La Paz