Images Of Order. Descriptions Of Domestic Architecture In Mission Era California

Abstract

The enterprise of colonization and Christianization of Californias's native population implied the imposition of a new order on the territory which included the modification of existing settlement patterns and architectural forms. This article views this process through written descriptions of indigenous settlements and housing, previous to and during the mission period, both traditional tule architecture and the adobe rooms provided by the missions. The comparison of descriptions of native settlements given by different social actors (explorers, friars, administrators and visitors to the region) reflect distinct ways of perceiving the indigenous settlements, the need for European housing and the conditions the new housing provided.