Forging Communities in Colonial Alta California
Published on 30. October 2018
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-0-8165-3736-5 (ISBN)
Description
Between 1769 and 1834, an influx of Spanish, Russian, and then American colonists streamed into Alta California seeking new opportunities. Their arrival brought the imposition of foreign beliefs, practices, and constraints on Indigenous peoples.
Forging Communities in Colonial Alta California reorients understandings of this dynamic period, which challenged both Native and non-Native people to reimagine communities not only in different places and spaces but also in novel forms and practices. The contributors draw on archaeological and historical archival sources to analyze the generative processes and nature of communities of belonging in the face of rapid demographic change and perceived or enforced difference.
Contributors provide important historical background on the effects that colonialism, missions, and lives lived beyond mission walls had on Indigenous settlement, marriage patterns, trade, and interactions. They also show the agency with which Indigenous peoples make their own decisions as they construct and reconstruct their communities. With nine different case studies and an insightful epilogue, this book offers analyses that can be applied broadly across the Americas, deepening our understanding of colonialism and community.
Forging Communities in Colonial Alta California reorients understandings of this dynamic period, which challenged both Native and non-Native people to reimagine communities not only in different places and spaces but also in novel forms and practices. The contributors draw on archaeological and historical archival sources to analyze the generative processes and nature of communities of belonging in the face of rapid demographic change and perceived or enforced difference.
Contributors provide important historical background on the effects that colonialism, missions, and lives lived beyond mission walls had on Indigenous settlement, marriage patterns, trade, and interactions. They also show the agency with which Indigenous peoples make their own decisions as they construct and reconstruct their communities. With nine different case studies and an insightful epilogue, this book offers analyses that can be applied broadly across the Americas, deepening our understanding of colonialism and community.
Reviews / Votes
By emphasizing the processes of creating new communities from old and perseverance in the crucible of the colonial era, this excellent group of scholars offers powerful insights into the factors that linked diverse people in new ways.""-Jeffrey L. Hantman, Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia""This volume exposes the complexity of possibilities and shapes that Alta California communities forged in their colonial entanglements. The emphasis on community building is an important contribution to mission studies.""-Mariah Wade, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Tucson
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
33 Black & white illustrations, 9 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
560 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8165-3736-5 (9780816537365)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Kathleen L. Hull is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of California, Merced. She is the author of Pestilence and Persistence: Yosemite Indian Demography and Culture in Colonial California.
John G. Douglass is director of research and standards at Statistical Research, Inc. He is also a visiting scholar in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. His most recent book is New Mexico and the Pimeria Alta: The Colonial Period in the American Southwest.
John G. Douglass is director of research and standards at Statistical Research, Inc. He is also a visiting scholar in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. His most recent book is New Mexico and the Pimeria Alta: The Colonial Period in the American Southwest.