"More than 300 illustrations, including historic photographs, maps, and the history and major events at the missions make this book the most complete contemporary source of information on these intriguing and rapidly disappearing remnants of Mexican and American culture."--BOOK JACKET.

This book, with over 125 photographs, maps, and drawings, provides the reader with a view of the actions of the Spanish Empire using missions to colonize California. The author's research resulted in new discoveries and facts which are included in this look at the history and the present conditions of the twenty-seven peninsula missions; many relocated to multiple sites. The nearly 200 missionaries who served in Baja California between 1683 and 1855 are also named. Book jacket.

This Spanish Borderlands classic recounts Jesuit colonization of the Old California, the peninsula now known as Baja California.

Narratives of Persistence charts the remarkable persistence of California's Ohlone and Paipai people over the past five centuries. Lee M. Panich draws connections between the events and processes of the deeper past and the way the Ohlone and Paipai today understand their own histories and identities.

Biography of Serra, from his birth in Mallorca, his early work in Mexico, and the establishing of the missions in California.

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

The author of Baja Fever shares his extensive knowledge of the peninsula, its colorful past and booming present, in this fascinating reference book. History, lore, and amazing stories make it a "must-have" for Bajaphiles as well as armchair travelers.

Audie Award Finalist for best inspirational book! IMAGE AWARD (Native Daughters of the Golden West) "The Mission Walker is a marvelous book, a moving meditation on the relationships between courage and faith, endurance and transcendence." Randall Sullivan, Creator, The Miracle Detective, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) Have you ever wanted to just start walking, and never ever stop? To leave behind "WHO I AM" to find "WHO I AM." Walking alone, and with one lung (the other lost to cancer), Edie Littlefield Sundby became the first person in history to walk the 1,600-mile El Camino Real de las California's mission trail through the mountain wilderness of Mexico and one of the hottest deserts on earth, and across the border to Northern California - a walk that elevated her life with meaning and purpose that transcended pain and fear – and healed her broken body. THE MISSION WALKER is a first-hand account of harrowing adventure along the old Jesuit mission trail in Baja California Mexico -- desert heat and cold, walls of cactus, sleeplessness, hunger, both physical and spiritual exhaustion, the dangers of wild creatures, and encounters with drug smugglers and weeks with no water other than what a pack mule could carry; and the tortuous agony and transcendent beauty of walking the northern half of the mission trail through California, a trek Edie made six months after losing her right lung to cancer – a journey that restored health and spirit after fighting recurrent stage 4 cancer, including 79 rounds of chemotherapy, four radical surgeries (liver, lung, colon/stomach, and throat), and dozens of radiation treatments. Edie's story is both an adventure story and a reflection on the universal experience of confronting our own mortality. It is a story of what we will do when faced with the potential end of our life. What do we do with our time left on earth. And how much do we still really, truly want to live. The book cites more than 50 original historical sources and captures the untamed wilderness adventure experienced for centuries along the old Jesuit and Franciscan mission trail that unites California and Mexico and defines the Old West. For those who crave a spirit of adventure, who ache like Edie to know what our bodies and spirits are truly capable of, this book is a must-read. A true testament to faith, courage, and the power of hope. Editorial Reviews: "Edie Sundby's account of her amazing trek along the entirety of the 1,600-mile California Mission Trail is not only captivating and inspiring but also one heck of an outdoors adventure. "Les Standiford, Author and Historian "This powerful story of determination and faith will stay with you forever." Ken Budd Journalist/Author "...a gripping narrative that takes us through the author's harrowing journeys, inward and outward." JoBeth McDaniel Journalist/Author "The Mission Walker is a marvelous book, a moving meditation on the relationships between courage and faith, endurance and transcendence. "Randall Sullivan, Creator, The Miracle Detective, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)

During the eighteenth century the Spanish Bourbon monarchs attempted to transform Spanish America. This study analyses the efforts to transform frontier missions, and the consequences and particularly demographic consequences for the indigenous peoples that lived on the missions.