California Frontier
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.
California Frontier
Latest Episodes
075: Life in the Gold Fields | Tales of Mexican California Part 4
074: Pirates in California? | Michael Hardwick Part 2
073: Presidios and Soldados in California Part 1 | Author Michael Hardwick
072: The Revolt of Los Angeles: Tales of Mexican California Part 3
071: Tales of Mexican California Part 2: Antonio Coronel's Memoirs
Fan Mail
I very much enjoyed this episode. I am sharing it with our granddaughter from Virginia who may be attending college in the West, in Los Angeles. As you say at the end, understanding the history of the place you are living in helps you live a fuller life there... at least understanding why so many names in CA are in Spanish! Quite a change for someone raised in the East. Thank you for these episodes. I wish my fourth grade CA History class and the CA History required at UCBerkeley at the time I was there (Bean) had been enriched by this kind of primary material. I was next door to the Bancroft Library many times and never learned that records of my ancestors, such as the diseño of their land grant in Half Moon Bay, were kept there. My drama teacher in high school was the only one who took an interest and kept pestering me about my last name. I did not know my own history until much later. I think with your interest in the people of California a possibly life changing connection might have been made. I believe this disconnect with my history also speaks to the change from Mexican to United States rule.
Crockett, California
