1.  Hurtado argues that Franciscan missionaries were inordinately concerned about what they perceived to be "abberant" Indian sexual behavior.  Why were the missionaries concerned?  What do the missionaries' concerns about and reactions to Indian sexuality tell you about 18th and 19th century European culture and society?  In what ways might Indian sexual behavior have changed as a result of conquest and colonization?

2.  For each pertinent chapter, define the role of marriage in early California.  In contrast to current practices of romantic love and marriage, what were some of the social functions of marriage in California, especially in the 1800s?  What were some of the benefits of marriage for men and for women?  What were some of the barriers to successful courtship and marriage?

3.  Many historians of the American West have argued that students cannot comprehend the nature of American expansion and social development in the West unless they understand that men and women experienced the West -- in this case, early California -- in vastly different ways.  Drawing on the stories Hurtado tells, in what ways were the experiences of men and women in early California both similar and different?  Did men and women have different expectations here?  Were there significant ethnic and racial differences in the ways that men and women experienced frontier life?

4.  A number of scholars, Hurtado among them, have advanced the argument that the attainment of power and domination over others resides principally in the domestic -- or private -- interpersonal realm of social experience.  This argument is in contrast to the work of earlier historians who emphasized the role of government, law, and warfare in the domination of one group by another.  What practices, values, morals, beliefs, and behaviors contributed to social domination in early California?  Who possessed power -- i.e., who were the "victors" and the "victims"?  Were there "winners" and "losers" here?  How did governmental activities and laws reinforce interpersonal beliefs and practices?

5.   Define the role of Indians in frontier California's domestic sphere from 1769-1860s.  How did Indian lives change?  What attitudes and beliefs did each successive group of conquerors -- Spaniards, Mexicans, and Anglo-Americans -- have about Indians?  How were these ideas reflected in their treatment toward Indian people?

6.  For the periods 1821-1848 and 1848-1860s, define what attitudes and behaviors were considered "feminine" and "masculine."  Did ideas of femininity and masculinity change over this period?