California Frontier
Damian Bacich, Ph.D.
Prof. Damian Bacich shares the history you didn't learn in school. Each episode is a deep dive into the fascinating early history of California and the West. Listen to stories and interviews with scholars, experts, and people who are passionate about a time when California was the frontier of empire and imagination.
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Top 10 California Frontier Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best California Frontier episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to California Frontier for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite California Frontier episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
029: Native American Vaqueros on the California Frontier
California Frontier
03/14/24 • 15 min
In this episode, we look at the history of Native American Vaqueros.
Vaqueros were skilled horsemen who managed cattle and horses. Their tradition probably originates in the horse culture that arrived in Spain from North Africa in the 8th century AD and is widespread in Latin America.
The mission era brought ranching life to Alta California and created the unique figure of the California vaquero. Franciscan friars had some of the most trusted Native Americans at the missions trained as vaqueros, who excelled at horsemanship. Eventually, Indian vaqueros were a key part of rancho life on the California frontier.
Full text of the podcast
Learn more about Native American Vaqueros:
- Book: Rose Marie Beebe and Robert Senkewicz. Testimonios: Early California through the Eyes of Women, 1815–1848.
- Book: Russell Freedman. In the Days of the Vaqueros: America’s First True Cowboys.
- Book: Jo Mora. Californios: The Saga of the Hard-riding Vaqueros, America’s First Cowboys.
- Book: George Harwood Phillips: Vineyards and Vaqueros: Indian Labor and the Economic Expansion of Southern California, 1771–1877.
- Book: Arnold Rojas. These Were The Vaqueros: Collected Works of Arnold R. Rojas
- Book: Stephen W. Silliman: Lost Laborers in Colonial California: Native Americans and the Archaeology of Rancho Petaluma.
- Book chapter: Lee Panich: “Indigenous Vaqueros in Colonial California” in Foreign Objects: Rethinking Indigenous Consumption in American Archaeology.
- Article: Paul Albert Lacson. “Born of Horses:’ Missionaries, Indigenous Vaqueros, and Ecological Expansion during the Spanish Colonization of California.”
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Learn more about the California Frontier Project:
Contact:
[email protected]
033: History and California's Redemption: Interview with author Jason Sexton, Pt. 1
California Frontier
04/17/24 • 36 min
This is the first part of a lively conversation with Dr. Jason Sexton, editor of a book on the renowned California historian Kevin Starr (1940-2017).
Sexton describes Starr as California’s most ambitious interpreter. Starr’s 8-volume history, spanning the state’s origins to the 2000s, is the most complete work on California in print.
Kevin Starr grew up in an orphanage and San Francisco’s housing projects. As a young man, he studied at the University of San Francisco before serving in the U.S. Army in Europe. He later went on to earn a doctorate at Harvard University and became a prolific newspaper columnist before dedicating himself to interpreting California history. Through his unique life experience, Starr developed an expansive perspective that embraced the character of both Northern and Southern California.
Jason Sexton, who grew up in the Central Valley town of Tracy, became fascinated by Starr’s vision after reading his works. As a theologian and sociologist, Sexton saw religious dimensions in Starr’s works that he believed needed to be explored. This motivated him to edit a volume that would examine, appreciate and even critique Starr’s approach to the state’s history.
The interview also covers Jason’s unconventional path to academia in the UK before returning to California and how he sees Starr as embodying the “redemptive dreams” of people making history in the fragmented Golden State.
Learn more:
- Jason Sexton, Ph.D.
- Jason’s book Redemptive Dreams: Engaging Kevin Starr’s California
- Kevin Starr’s Books on Amazon.com
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Learn more about the California Frontier Project:
Contact:
[email protected]
046: The Chumash Uprising Part 1: Interview with Dr. John R. Johnson
California Frontier
08/01/24 • 40 min
In Part 1 of this fascinating interview, Dr. John Johnson, former Curator of Anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, provides an in-depth look at the Chumash Uprising of 1824 - the most important indigenous uprising in California history.
Dr. Johnson, an expert on California's Native peoples, especially the Chumash Indians, shares his extensive research on this pivotal uprising that occurred exactly 200 years ago. He discusses:
- The historical context and conditions leading to the uprising
- The sequence of events at Missions Santa Ynez, La Purisima, and Santa Barbara
- Various perspectives on the causes, including those of missionaries, government officials, and the Chumash people themselves
- The aftermath and casualties of the uprising
- The cultural, economic, and political factors involved
Drawing from diverse sources, including archival records, oral histories and mission registers, Dr. Johnson offers a comprehensive and nuanced view of this important chapter in California's Native American history.
Learn more:
The Chumash: Native Americans of the California Coast
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Learn more about the California Frontier Project:
Contact:
[email protected]
059: Strangers in a New Land: Two Foreigners Who Shaped Early California
California Frontier
11/06/24 • 28 min
This solo episode explores how two ambitious foreigners, one a Scotsman and the other an American, navigated life in Mexican California during the 1830s and 1840s.
Though both shared a common language and elite backgrounds, their approaches to Californio society couldn’t have been more different. One embraced the culture, marrying into a prominent local family and becoming a trusted insider; the other kept his distance, building wealth and connections among fellow Americans while remaining aloof from his Californio neighbors.
As California’s fate shifted with the U.S.-Mexico War and the Gold Rush, these contrasting strategies had lasting consequences. Their stories offer a window into the opportunities and tensions in a society on the brink of transformation, as outsiders either integrated into or clashed with a tightly woven world of family and alliances.
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038: A Warrior's Journey: The Legend of Chief Solano
California Frontier
05/23/24 • 12 min
Towering over people at 6'7", the imposing figure of Chief Francisco Solano loomed large in early 19th-century California.
Born a Suisun native named Sina, he received the name Francisco Solano at his Mission Dolores baptism in 1810. Solano rose to become a formidable military leader, commanding thousands of indigenous warriors for the Mexican authorities.
His skill in battle and diplomacy was invaluable to General Mariano Vallejo in establishing control over Native groups in Northern California. Solano straddled two worlds - respected by Indians and Californios for both his might and intelligence. Eyewitness accounts paint him as an awe-inspiring warrior.
After Mexican rule ended, Solano faded into legend, with conflicting reports of his final years and resting place. His legacy endures through place names, a towering statue, and the persistent mystique surrounding this titan who bestrode the eras of Spanish, Mexican and American California.
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040: Secrets of Mission Architecture (Part 2): Dr. Rubén G. Mendoza
California Frontier
06/06/24 • 50 min
In part 2 of this interview, we delve further into the hidden astronomical alignments of many California mission churches. The orientations allowed sunlight to illuminate altars, tabernacles, and statues of saints on specific liturgical dates like the solstices, equinoxes, and religious feasts.
Dr. Rubén G. Mendoza explains the advanced knowledge of astronomy, calendars, and celestial mechanics that the Franciscan missionaries brought and applied in the architectural design of the missions.
Rubén describes how the illuminations shift yearly due to the lunar cycle and explains why this knowledge was, at times, lost. His quest to rediscover these hidden spectacles took him to Vatican astronomy archives, containing meticulous calculations from centuries ago.
He talks about how his interpretations have faced backlash, and how new examples keep emerging. He continues to write about the missions' complex legacies and offer counterpoints to narratives about figures like Junípero Serra.
Learn More
- Website: Solstice Chronicles
Books by Rubén G. Mendoza
- The California Missions
- The California Missions Sourcebook
- The Spanish Style House: From Enchanted Andalusia to California Dream
- Casa Santa Fe: Design, Style, Arts and Tradition
- North American Ritual Warfare and Indigenous Violence
- Latin American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence
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Learn more about the California Frontier Project:
Contact:
[email protected]
017: Early California and the Far East 2: Author Dr. Christine Marie Duggan
California Frontier
09/08/23 • 25 min
The interview uncovers complexities in Pacific trade routes, challenging conventional narratives about the Spanish Empire’s trade. It focuses on San Blas, a naval base in New Spain, which caused discontent among Mexico City merchants. Dr. Duggan explains how the Spanish Crown aimed to weaken the Mexico City merchants by granting San Blas more autonomy, turning [...]
The post California, Mexico and the Far East: Part 2 first appeared on Early California Resource Center.
The post California, Mexico and the Far East: Part 2 appeared first on Early California Resource Center.
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Learn more about the California Frontier Project:
Contact:
[email protected]
015: 300,000 Bricks, pt. 2
California Frontier
07/07/23 • 29 min
In this episode, I finish my conversation with Dr. Jarrell Jackman. He gives us some insight into his personal journey, the obstacles that had to be overcome and the future of Santa Barbara’s presidio.
The post 300,000 Bricks, pt. 2 first appeared on Early California Resource Center.
The post 300,000 Bricks, pt. 2 appeared first on Early California Resource Center.
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Learn more about the California Frontier Project:
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[email protected]
009: The Levitating Cross at Monterey and the Beginnings of California
California Frontier
05/05/20 • 50 min
The California frontier is full of reports of the marvelous or miraculous events that defy scientific explanation. Historian Skyler Reidy has been investigating curious stories of the mission era, and he helps us make sense of them. Skyler Reidy Skyler Reidy is a PhD candidate in the history department at the University of Southern California. [...]
The post The Levitating Cross at Monterey and the Beginnings of California first appeared on Early California Resource Center.
The post The Levitating Cross at Monterey and the Beginnings of California appeared first on Early California Resource Center.
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Learn more about the California Frontier Project:
Contact:
[email protected]
023: Visiting All 21 California Missions: Author Maggie Espinoza
California Frontier
01/30/24 • 37 min
This is a special episode from the California Frontier Show archives.
A growing number of people of all ages are taking up the challenge of walking the entire California mission trail. For many, it is an adventure, a spiritual pilgrimage, a scenic tour, a way to get to know themselves, or all of the above.
So today, I'm going into the archives and presenting the first podcast episode I ever did for California Frontier. It's an interview with author Maggie Espinosa, who walked the whole trail herself and wrote a very engaging book about it called On a Mission.
Maggie Espinosa is a journalist, travel writer, and blogger who decided to set off on a quest to visit all 21 of California missions. She overcame challenges, made friends, and learned about herself along the way. The story of her journey is detailed in the book On a Mission: An 800-mile Walk to Discover California’s El Camino Real. On a Mission is a wonderful, personal account of her life on the mission trail. When I read it, I knew I had to interview Maggie somehow and hear her story.
Maggie’s website: https://travelwithmaggie.com/
Maggie’s book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3qAUwSI
The California Mission Walkers Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/californiamissionwalkers
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Learn more about the California Frontier Project:
Contact:
[email protected]
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FAQ
How many episodes does California Frontier have?
California Frontier currently has 78 episodes available.
What topics does California Frontier cover?
The podcast is about Mexico, History, American, Podcasts, Education, Native and California.
What is the most popular episode on California Frontier?
The episode title '022: Juan Bautista de Anza: Son of the Frontier' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on California Frontier?
The average episode length on California Frontier is 31 minutes.
How often are episodes of California Frontier released?
Episodes of California Frontier are typically released every 7 days, 20 hours.
When was the first episode of California Frontier?
The first episode of California Frontier was released on Mar 27, 2017.
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