San Junipero Serra and California: 1776 and Beyond
Lecture/Discussion/Panel/Talk/Q&A/Seminar
Libraries
S.B. Mission Archive-Library (SBMAL)
**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Thu, Jul 09 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Address (map)
2201 LAGUNA STREET
Venue (website)
S.B. Mission Archive-Library (SBMAL)
July 9th, 2026 | Featuring: Robert Senkewicz & Rose Marie BeeBe – “San Junipero Serra and California: 1776 and Beyond”
Note: This is an in-person gathering with virtual speakers
đź—Ł The year 1776 witnessed both the American Declaration of Independence and the founding of Mission San Juan Capistrano, the seventh of the nine missions that founded under the leadership of San Junipero Serra. This chronological coincidence allows us to examine the similarities and, more importantly, the differences between British colonialism on the East Coast and Spanish colonialism on the West Coast of North America. We will look at the aims and results of these colonial experiences, especially the relationships between the colonial powers and the Indigenous inhabitants of the regions.
📍 Location: Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library, 2201 Laguna Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
đź’˛ Cost: $30 public ($25 members) admission fee to support the work of the Archive-Library
ℹ️ Logistics: RSVP Required | Light Refreshments | Doors at 5:30pm
About the series: Join a select group of those interested in an informative conversation with experts who will first share from a vast store of knowledge, then engage with those present in a lively give & take.Â
About our speakers: Rose Marie Beebe is Professor Emerita of Spanish literature at Santa Clara University and Robert M. Senkewicz is Professor Emeritus of History, also here at Santa Clara. Rose Marie and Bob have collaborated on a number of books on the history of Spanish and Mexican California including, The History of Alta California; Lands of Promise and Despair: Chronicles of Early California, 1535–1846; Testimonios: Early California through the Eyes of Women, 1815–1848; JunĂpero Serra: California, Indians, and the Transformation of a Missionary; a complete translation of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo’s Recuerdos; and a collection of essays Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo: Life in Spanish, Mexican, and American California. Their latest publication is “Write Long and Beautiful Letters”: The Vallejos’ Californio Correspondence, 1846-1888.
Rose Marie and Bob have received numerous teaching and scholarship awards at Santa Clara University. In 2015 they were recognized with the University Award for Sustained Excellence in Scholarship. They have also received awards from The Bancroft Library, the Historical Society of Southern California, the California Mission Studies Association, and the California Council for the Promotion of History. Rose Marie received a year-long fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities for the Vallejo project. In 2019 they were awarded the Oscar Lewis Award for Western History by the Book Club of California for their book JunĂpero Serra: California, Indians, and the Transformation of a Missionary.
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