Which description best depict the experiences of native Americans, working on California missions

1 answer

The experiences of Native Americans working on California missions can be described as exploitative, oppressive, and traumatic.

During the colonization of California, Native Americans were forcibly taken from their ancestral lands and forced to live and work in mission settlements. They were brought to the missions to be converted to Christianity and to provide cheap labor for the Spanish colonizers.

At the missions, Native Americans were subjected to harsh living conditions, including overcrowding, malnutrition, and disease. They were forced to abandon their traditional way of life and adapt to the rigid rules and routines of the mission system. Their labor was exploited to build and maintain the missions, cultivate crops, and tend to livestock.

Native Americans faced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the Spanish priests and soldiers who ran the missions. They were subject to harsh corporal punishment, including floggings and whippings, for even minor infractions. They were also subjected to cultural assimilation efforts, which included the forced abandonment of their language, customs, and traditions.

The high mortality rate among Native Americans in the missions due to diseases, forced labor, and poor living conditions further highlights the severity of their experience. Many Native Americans also experienced the loss of their identity, community, and connection to their ancestral lands.

Overall, the experiences of Native Americans working on California missions were marked by exploitation, oppression, and trauma, with devastating consequences for their communities and cultures.