Luis Sales (1745–1807) served as a Dominican missionary in

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

, Mexico, between 1773 and 1790. He is most notable for three long letters in which he described the history of the peninsula and the lifeways of the native peoples in its northwestern region.Sales, Luis. 1956. ''Observations on California, 1772–1790''. Edited by Charles N. Rudkin. Dawson's Book Shop, Los Angeles.

Life

Sales was born in

Valencia, Spain Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in 1745. He was with the initial group of Dominican missionaries who took over responsibility for the Baja California missions in 1773 from the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

s, who in turn had replaced the expelled

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in 1768. Sales apparently served at the missions of

El Rosario ''El rosario'' is a 1944 Mexican romantic drama film directed by Juan José Ortega. The film is based on a novel by Florence L. Barclay. It stars Andrea Palma, Tomás Perrín, and Tana Devodier Tana may refer to: Places Africa * Lake Tana, a ...

, San Vicente, and

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

. In 1790 he received permission to return to Valencia where he died in 1807. Sales wrote three letters to an anonymous friend in Valencia while he was serving at San Miguel and during his voyage home. The first provided a brief geographical description of the peninsula and then discussed in detail the customs and character of the Indians on its northwestern frontier, particularly regarding the Kiliwa and Paipai. The second letter continued the discussion of ethnography and related the history of Spanish involvement, including a lengthy digression on the

Nootka Crisis The Nootka Crisis, also known as the Spanish Armament, was an international incident and political dispute between Spain and Great Britain triggered by a series of events revolving around sovereignty claims and rights of navigation and trade. It ...

. The third letter discussed the Dominican role in Baja California. Sales' view of the native peoples was often strongly negative, recalling the acerbity of the Jesuit

Johann Jakob Baegert Johann Jakob Baegert (or Jacob Baegert, Jacobo Baegert) (December 22, 1717 – September 29, 1772) was a Jesuit missionary at Misión San Luis Gonzaga Chiriyaqui, San Luis Gonzaga in Baja California Sur, Mexico. He is noted for his detailed and ...

. However, Sales provided indispensable information about traditional subsistence activities, religion, and many other matters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sales, Luis History of Baja California Spanish Dominicans 18th-century Spanish people 1745 births 1807 deaths Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries Historians of Baja California Dominican missionaries in New Spain