taken numerous undergraduate and graduate history courses at UC Berkeley. These files here are more in the way of a hobby. Yet I believe nothing is written here that isn't either correct or at least believed to be correct by degreed historians. My research method was simply to read several texts spanning the last 160 years, and distill the results into a compact form. Such an approach of course results in factual conflicts, and when this occurs I try to point it out. I also try to provide frequent references for more serious students.Contains short, easily readable sections on: Exploration of Baja California; Discussiion of Spanish Development, 1550 - 1769; Coastal Exploration - Vizcaino 1602; Rebirth of Spanish Interest in California; Spanish Settlement of California - de Portola & Serra, 1769 - 1770; The First Half Decade of Missions, 1769 - 1774; Exploration of the San Francisco Bay Area 1775 - 1776; Missions at 1779; Pueblos 1776 - 1790; Snapshots of California in 1786 (the La Perouse expedition) & 1793 (the Vancouver expedition); Northern Border of Spanish California & Interaction with British & Yankees in 1790s; New Settlements - 1790s; Relations with Indians to 1800; Continued Exploration of Spanish.
For updates or comments on this page please send mail to Chuck Smith.