4.2.8

Discuss the period of Mexican rule in California and its attributes, including land grants, secularization of the missions, and the rise of the rancho economy.

California Missions, the Environment, and the Economy

Why did Spain establish missions? And how did they gain control? What impact did this encounter have upon Native peoples, Spanish missionaries and military, the Spanish/Mexican settler population, and California’s natural environment? Download Primary Source Set: California Missions, the Environment, and the Economy

This lesson introduces students to some of the lifeways of Native Californian communities before the arrival of newcomers (Europeans and Americans).