To understand the situation we must first examine the true nature of the history that occurred. The Franciscans first arrived in California in 1769, establishing their first mission in San Diego the same year. Then came San Gabriel in 1771, San Juan Capistrano in 1776, San Buenaventura in 1782, San Fernando in 1797, San Luis Rey in 1798, La Purisima Concepcion in 1787, and finally Santa Ynez in 1804. According to Carey McWilliams, author of Southern California Cou

Revisionist history has brought to light the failure of the Spanish Mission System, yet "popular history" continues to tell a different story. This glorified view of the past is maintained and celebrated in a number of ways.

"A land of magical improvisation, Southern California has created it's own past, with a special cast, and script written by it's favorite troubadours, John Steven McGroarty, George Wharton James, and Charles Fletcher Lummis. Unquestionably the production, with it's improvised traditions and manufactured legends, has been a huge success. There have been few visitors to Southern California who have not made a tour of the missions, purchased a postcard with a picture of Ramona's birthplace, and attended a performance of the Mission Play."(McWilliams, p.21)

Proof of America's desire to hide it's own failures can be devised from an examination of the popularity and financial success of some of it's recent films. American's like to see themselves as the over comers, not as the imperialist, or in the case of Spanish missions, the bystander who watched the native population being decimated, then when offered the opportunity completed the task with their own conquest of the California landscape. Two of the most popular blockbusters in the last couple of years have come in Saving Private Ryan and The Patriot. Both movies are heroic blood filled films where the Americans are the victims, forced to fight for what is rightfully theirs. Saving Private Ryan focuses on the tragedy of the loss of American lives in World War 2, and a nation valuing one soldier's life for the sake of a mother who sent four brothers off to war and has only one capable of returning home. The Patriot is the story of a militia soldier who fights off British oppression. While on the other hand The Amistad; a movie about slave trading in the South was a flop concerning its Director's reputation (Steven Spielberg). It can be said that people in general do not whish to accept the faults of their forefathers. They may not be directly responsible for tragedies committed against a particular culture in history, but there is a sense of guilt that results when one is forced to accept atrocities that were committed on one's own soil.

It is clear that, based on the statistics presented by McWilliams, that the Padres did little

Finally the modern popularity of "mission style archite

Some common words found in the essay are:
Juan Capistrano, Santa Ynez, Catholic Church, Mission System, Proof America's, California Indian, World War, Steven Spielberg, Southern California, Missions California, mission system, indian population, san juan, juan capistrano, southern california, san juan capistrano, mission san, franciscan padres, saving private ryan, california mission system, private ryan, popular history, mythical past, mythical past positive, past positive reformation,
Approximate Word count = 1613
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)