Between the Conquests The Early Chicano Historical Experience

Between the Conquests: The Early Chicano Historical Experience, 5th Edition

Since the early sixteenth century Chicanos-persons of Mexican origin living in the United States-have inhabited what is now the Southwest. Arriving with European led exploration and settlements they soon came to view this region as their new homeland. They settled, built churches and farms and played a vital role in the introduction and adaptation of European civilization into the region while blending in their own cultural traits to create a unique cultural region of the United States. By the ninteenth century the United States had absorbed the region through a war of conquest and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. These original inhabitants were promised unprecedented political and civil rights.

Michael Ornelas has compiled a unique collection of reading covering this early period-the span of history between the sixteenth century Spanish conquest and the United States conquest of Mexico in the Mexican American War-with a special focus on the distinctive Chicano experience. Between the Conquests offers an in-depth examination of the unique historical roots of one of the oldest and fastest growing populations in the United States.

Michael R. Onelas is a Professor of Chicana/o studies at San Diego Mesa College, San Diego, California.