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Original Essays | September 9, 2013
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Junipero Serra: California's Founding Fatherby Steven W. Hackel
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:A portrait of the priest and colonialist who is one of the most important figures in Californias history
As the founder of the first Catholic missions in California, Father Junípero Serra is regarded as the crucial early apostle of the Golden State. Hes been beatified by the Catholic Church and widely celebrated as a pioneer. And yet his legacy is complicated by his missions devastation of much of coastal Californias indigenous population. Steven W. Hackels groundbreaking biography, Junípero Serra: Californias Founding Father, is the first to remove Serra from the realm of religious polemic and place him within the currents of history. Beginning with Serras years in Mallorca as a priest and professor, exploring his time in Mexico working among Native Americans and as an itinerant preacher, and detailing his final years on the California coast as an uncompromising missionary and shrewd administrator, Hackel reveals Serras potent blend of Franciscan piety and worldly cunning. A man of indomitable will, Serra outmaneuvered a series of royal officials to establish himself as the great mission builder of his time. But for all his success in bringing Spanish customs and Christian beliefs to Native Americans on the Pacific coast, his legacy today is highly contested. On the three hundredth anniversary of Serras birth, Hackels biography presents a complex, authoritative study of a man whose life continues to be celebrated and denounced. Review:"In this meticulously researched tome, Hackel (Children of Coyote, Missionaries of Saint Francis), an associate professor of history at the University of California, Riverside, fleshes out the life of JunÃpero Serra, a Franciscan priest and explorer, one of the founding fathers of California, and an instrumental player in the creation of the state's numerous Roman Catholic missions. Born Miquel Joséph Serre in Mallorca, Spain, in 1713, the deeply pious, shrewd, and occasionally self-serving priest changed his name to honor Brother Juniper (a contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi). The book follows Serra from his time in academia (specifically theology and philosophy) in Spain and on to Mexico, where he served as an agent of the Inquisition. From there, Serra headed northwest into the Spanish colony of Alta California, where the priest and his men set about building missions — stretching from San Diego to just north of San Francisco — and converting Native Americans to Catholicism. Today, Serra is widely regarded as 'the most important individual in history,' and he is one of only two Californians to be memorialized in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall. In 1988, Pope John Paul II beatified him. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Serra, California, or the history of colonialism in the Americas. 16 pages of b&w illus. and 4 maps. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
About the AuthorSteven W. Hackel is an associate professor of history at the University of California, Riverside, and the author of the award-winning Children of Coyote, Missionaries of Saint Francis: Indian-Spanish Relations in Colonial California, 1769-1850. He also directs a project in digital history, the Early California Cultural Atlas, and is co-curator of the Huntington Librarys exhibit Junípero Serra and the Legacies of the California Missions. He lives in Pasadena, California.
Table of ContentsMaps
Preface Part I: Mallorca 1. Mallorca 2. Petra 3. Becoming Junípero 4. Priest and Professor Part II: Central Mexico 5. The Voyage So Far 6. The Sierra Gorda 7. Popular Missions and the Inquisition Part III: California 8. “A Work So Holy” 9. Securing Alta California 10. Building a “Ladder” of Missions 11. Twilight Epilogue Notes Further Reading Acknowledgments Index What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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