Community Formation and Integration in Colonial Alta California

Summary

Community formation and integration in colonial settings has traditionally been viewed from the binary perspective of colonists and native people. This session views the concept of community in colonial Alta California (1769-1834) from more holistic and alternative viewpoints. To set the stage for this discussion, this introductory paper offers an overview of the sociopolitical landscape in colonial Alta California and presents a broad discussion of the concept of "community" as it may pertain to the region. How were communities formulated and integrated in colonial settings such as Alta California? Communities are not natural creations, as there are inherent tensions and conflicts within groups, whether by age, gender, ethnicity, or other constructs. What were the geographic and social scales of community seen in colonial settings? Were there "imagined" communities and, if so, in what settings and situations did they emerge? In what ways did multiethnic communities emerge within traditional colonial settings such as pueblos? Drawing primarily on ethnohistoric resources, a case study of the Pueblo of Los Angeles , serves to demonstrate the multi-faceted concept of community and the nature of multiethnic interactions and community formation colonial Alta California.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• The Forging of Communities in Colonial Alta California, 1769-1834

Keywords

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