18th Century Jesuit California

[longknife]

While doing research on my historical novel about 18th Century California, I came across an amazing book written in the latter part of that century by a Jesuit priest who had spent 17 years serving in an isolated mission in Baja California.


Observations in Lower California by Johann Jakob Baegert, S.J. Published in 1772 and available online @ Observations in Lower California is an amazing work giving a first-hand account of what life was like. As an example he indicates the problem with the language of the people who lived there. In many families the husband spoke one language, the wife another. He even describes the rocks and plants – or lack of them.


This is an amazing work and is giving me great insight into what my main character, Captain Don Fernando de Rivera has to contend with.

 

[whitehall]

I'm surprised left wing reactionaries aren't petitioning to rename every city and town named for a Spanish saint or some other Catholic Deity. The names are shocking. Imagine the Capital of California named after a Catholic ritual and the largest city in California named for Angels. How about a city in Texas translated to "The Body of Christ". Atheists must be frantic

 

[Mr. H.]

I just completed my first novel.

I liked it so much, I think I'll read another.

 

[longknife]

The things written about the Indians in this book are almost too much to believe.

Example - men and women often spoke different types of the same language.

Women simply squatted where they were to have babies, dropping them on the bare earth. After removing the afterbirth and tossing it for scavengers to eat, they'd get up and go find something for themselves to eat often being gone for an hour or more to suckle the child.

Only about 1 out of 10 children survived birth.

And far too much more to relate here. You have to read it for yourselves.