Lands of Promise and Despair
Spanish and Mexican California before the Gold Rush
A panel hosted by Santa Clara University, featuring internationally known experts on California history.
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
An audience discussion followed the formal panel presentations. This panel was of special interest to California history buffs, fourth grade teachers, and high school teachers who teach California history.
Panelists:
- Edward Castillo, Professor of Native American Studies at California State University, Sonoma and author of Indians, Franciscans, and Spanish Colonization: The Impact of the Mission System on California Indians.
- Harry W. Crosby, Renowned photographer and author of Antigua California: Mission and Colony on the Peninsular Frontier, 1697-1768.
- Lisbeth Haas, Associate Professor of History at University of California, Santa Cruz and author of Conquests and Historical Identities in California, 1769-1936.
- Douglas Monroy, Professor of History at The Colorado College and author of Thrown Among Strangers: The Making of Mexican Culture in Frontier California.
This panel discussed and reacted to the recently-released book of the same title,
Lands of Promise and Despair, by Rose Marie Beebe and Robert Senkewicz. The book describes a time in early California (1535-1846) that has been either ignored entirely or distorted by myth. It is filled with remininiscences, reports, letters and documents, mostly by residents of early California. The roots of California's unique diversity and the climate in which its Indian and Hispanic populations have been treated throughout its history will be discussed and debated.
