Early California: pre-1769–1840s: Missions
San Diego Mission and Indian School. 1900. Photographer unknown. Gelatin silver print. Collection of Oakland Museum of California. Gift of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
This image depicts a mission school in San Diego for Native Americans. In these schools, the newly converted Native Americans would learn the rules and practices of "civilized" life. The Franciscan Fathers who ran the missions believed that after a 10-year apprenticeship, the Native Americans would live as docile agricultural laborers loyal to the Spanish crown.