Basics of California Jargon

              California is one complicated place. I mean start out with the most ethnically and linguistically diverse area in North America when Columbus arrives in the Bahamas in 1492, add the complexities of Spanish colonial society, a few Americans, gold, a lot of Americans, two brand-new industries that grow at exponential rates, and nearly every ethnic group on planet earth. Now that’s quite the state to try to sort out. My remedy to all this confusion: break it down and take care of the basics.

              First things first, let’s get the jargon out of the way. As soon as I start writing about Californio soldados de cueras at the presidios or the fact that the gente de razón lived in the pueblos even though most of them were rancheros because they had vaqueros from the rancherías to do the work I feel my readers’ eyes glazing over. So to avoid any further pain to you, here is a basic glossary of Californio era terms.

·       Adobe—sun-dried sand, clay, and straw bricks used as the main building material

·       Alcalde—the equivalent of a mayor; the executive officer of a pueblo having both executive and judicial powers; also the chief neophyte at a mission charged to maintain order

·       Alférez—a second lieutenant; the lowest-ranking officer in the military

·       Asistencia—a mission outpost

·       Atole—a staple food of cooked grains

·       Carreta—a two-wheeled cart drawn by an ox

·       Don/Doña—a title of respect used for any of the gente de razón.

·       Fanega—1.6 bushels; the main unit of dry measure in California

·       Gente de razón—the citizenry

·       Jefe—any leader, military, political, etc.

·       Juez de paz—justice of the peace; the main judicial authority, also replaced the alcalde in some instances after 1836

·       Junta—the legislative arm of Californio government

·       Llavero/llavera—the keeper of the keys of a mission

·       Matrona—the supervisor of the single Indian women at a mission

·       Mayordomo/mayordoma—the manager of a mission or rancho

·       Mestizo—a person of mixed European and Native American ancestry

·       Neophyte—Christian Indians

·       Pinole—cornmeal cooked with sugar and water

·       Pozolera—the mission kitchen

·       Presidio—military forts established on the frontiers of the Spanish Empire that governed and defended an area

·       Pueblo—a town; a civil settlement with no connection to any one mission or presidio

·       Ranchería—an Indian settlement

·       Ranchero—the owner of a rancho

·       Rancho—a piece of land granted to an individual by the government, typically devoted to raising cattle

·       Soldado de cuera—a soldier who wore a cuera, a heavy sleeveless jacket reaching down to the knees made of buckskin and leather that was impenetrable

·       Vaquero—a cowboy; a man hired by a ranchero to care for the cattle