Eulalia Perez Recalls Her Life in a Mission in Spanish California in the Early Nineteenth Century

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Eulalia Perez Mission in Spanish California
Eulalia Perez writes the document as an account of her life in Spanish California. She includes details of her birth, marriage, and children. At one point, she loses her first husband, and Father Sánchez, a Catholic priest, encourages her to marry a widower from Catalonia (65). When the missionaries see how devoted Eulalia is to her children, they offer her a job at the mission, first as a cooking instructor for the Indians, and then as a housekeeper.
The account is an autobiography because it contains details of Eulalia’s life written by herself. She uses the pronoun “I” to refer to herself. As an autobiography, Eulalia’s story includes information of a more significant depth than would be contained in a biography (64). At the same time, it is possible that as she writes her own life story, she will be biased and give false details. Besides, information provided after a long time may be subject to bias as one distorts the memory of specific events.
The reason for writing the document is to enable history students, and anyone else understands what life was like in 19th Century Spanish California. Understanding the views and actions of people living back then allows one to compare with today’s viewpoints and see how the world’s thinking has shifted. For example, slavery is rampant at the time Eulalia refers to in this account, and Caucasian people considered themselves superior to other races.

As such, this enables one to appreciate the change in people’s tolerance of other races in modern society.
Eulalia composes the document as a way to record the events in her life. Eulalia feels that the world deserves to know about what happened in Spanish California and the role she played in it. Unlike other areas where slaves were brutalized and overworked, Eulalia paints a picture of a Spanish California that is a caring society (65). She writes that the Spanish trained the Indians and when they were satisfied with what they learned, they would step away and leave the Indians in charge.
The part of Eulalia’s account that is believable is that she is given many responsibilities at the mission. This is not surprising because she is Spanish, born and raised in Spanish California. The tale is also believable because her first husband and son serve in the army. The part of the account that is not believable is about the humane treatment of Indians (65). In the 19th century, slavery was the norm, and slaves did not get cooking lessons, let alone eat meat, beans, boiled barley, bread, and sweets.
Historians can learn about the events and perspectives that shaped colonial America. Many other accounts give a bird’s eye view of colonial America, only focusing on significant historical figures and events. Eulalia’s report, on the other hand, is a worm’s eye view of those events as it focuses on one mission in Spanish California and what happened there (64-65). With such an account, historians can understand how different areas, people, and organizations helped shape the collective psyche of colonial America.
The document shows that Eulalia is lucky, being Spanish and living in Spanish California. Consequently, this affords her many benefits and responsibilities that she would otherwise lack if she were born in another state where the Spanish were not in control. The document also portrays Eulalia as a caring person and a good teacher, as she teaches the Indians to cook despite the communication problems between them until they master it (65). Eulalia is also hardworking as she strives to raise her children after her husband dies in addition to her responsibilities as a housekeeper in the mission.
Works Cited
Chavez-Garcia, Miroslava. “Testimonios: Early California Through the Eyes of Women, 1815-1848.” California History 85.1 (2007): 64-65.