Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz present their recent translation and publication of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo’s massive five-volume history of California, Recuerdos. It is the most complete account of our Golden State during the Spanish and Mexican periods and prior to the American conquest, by a man who lived through it and became a major political and military figure.
Vallejo, born and raised in Spanish California, rose to high command in the military during the Mexican era. He participated in some of the founding events of California under the United States as a member of the Constitutional Convention and of the first State Senate. His Recuerdos emphasized the importance of Spanish and Mexican influence and culture to the development of California. The publication of this work, after decades of obscurity, is a major contribution to the study of early California.