The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003 Page: 313
675 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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2002 Book Reviews 313
ter on the demise of the missions and the disposition of mission properties is an
excellent summary of the various factors at work in each area.
Although Jackson recognizes that native responses consisted of "both resis-
tance and acquiescence to change" (p. 67), he focuses so much upon resistance
that he hardly mentions any positive realities in the mission experience. This oc-
casionally results in questionable or overly generalized statements. He asserts
that the frontier missions "fit into the existing system" of encomienda in early cen-
tral Mexico (p. xii), whereas the mission system was created precisely as an effort
to avoid the abuse of the natives by the encomenderos. Similarly, while it is true
that "in many ways the church was an arm of the government" (p. xii), Jackson
never acknowledges that missionaries were often in conflict with officials due to
the latter's abuse of natives. He even equally blames missionaries with others for
the "exploitative prerebellion economic system" in New Mexico (p. 71). His con-
clusion that "on balance, the lofty goal of preparing the indigenous population
for a role in a new society must be considered a failure" (pp. 124-125) is too
sweeping. A simple comparison between Indian survival and legal status on the
Spanish frontier compared to the English frontier argues for a more nuanced as-
sessment. On the positive side, he very briefly notes the achievement of "a new
balance" in Spanish-Pueblo relations in post-revolt New Mexico (p. 71) and the
"unique" cooperation of the San Antonio mission Indians (p. 84).
Although the subtitle refers to the American Southwest, Jackson includes Baja
California and northern Sonora while ignoring (as most studies do) the Rio
Grande country of today's West and South Texas. His more detailed analyses fo-
cus heavily upon the northwestern frontier, especially the Californias. Texas re-
ceives adequate attention, while New Mexico has only very limited analysis.
Jackson attributes this imbalance to the available sources (p. xvi). This is un-
doubtedly a factor, but the concluding bibliographic essay lacks many scholarly
resources for New Mexico and is especially weak on Texas (with only three works
specifically dedicated to the missions). The volume contains reference notes on-
ly for the graphs and illustrations. The editing is weak, resulting in both typo-
graphical and editorial errors that in some cases make the text confusing (e.g.,
the chapter references in the introduction, the confusion between "the Califor-
nias" and "California" on page 8).
Oblate School of Theology, San Antonzo Robert E. Wright, O.M.I.
Mexican-Origin People in the United States: A Topical Hzstory. By Oscar J. Martinez.
(Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2001. Pp. xxvii+244. Figures, tables, ab-
breviations, preface, introduction, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN o-8165-
20o89-5. $17.95, paper.)
The author of this new synthesis is one of the pioneers in the field of Chicano
history. Here he offers his own insights on a subject he has helped develop over
the course of the last thirty years.
Oscar Martinez limits his focus to the twentieth century, and more specifically
to the post-World War II era. He sees, as have other scholars recently, that the
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003, periodical, 2003; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101223/m1/365/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.