Spanish Conquest Flashcards
Q: What brought the Spanish to the Baja peninsula?
A: Cortez’ search for the Seven Cities of Cibola
A: Search for an island inhabited by Amazon-like women who used golden weapons
Q: What did Cabrillo discover in 1542-43 in California while looking for a water passage between the Pacific and Atlantic?
A: San Diego Bay
A: Santa Barbara Islands
A: Point Conception
A: Point Reyes
Q: What triggered Spanish colonization of California?
A: The English explorer Drake sailed up the California coast in 1579 and claimed the area for England.
A: The threat from England compelled Spain to colonize California.
Q: What initially got the attention of the American Government in California?
A: Russian fur interests in Alaska pushed southward.
A: Russians established Fort Ross 80 miles north of San Francisco Bay in 1812 as a trading post.
Q: Who established the California missions?
A: Franciscan friars established 21 Spanish missions along the California coast from San Diego to Sonoma (one day’s journey apart at completion in 1823).
A: Father Serra is credited with the development of the mission system; his lasting contributions are controversial.
Q: What as the purpose of the California missions?
A: To convert the Indians to Christianity
A: Establish cultural and agricultural centers
A: Populate Alta California for Spain.
Q: What were the positive aspects of the mission system?
A: It spread Christianity.
A: It colonized California.
A: It spread the cultural and technological advances of Spain.
Q: What were the negative aspects of the mission system?
A: The dehumanization of the Indians.
A: The high infant mortality and suicide rates among the Indians.
A: The forced labor and virtual slave-like conditions.
A: Indian self-sufficiency never developed.
Q: When did the missions pass into non-religious hands?
A: In about 1830, the mission system began a secularization process.
A: By 1836, most mission property was privately owned.
