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Harry Henry John Downie, curator and restorer of the Carmel Mission was orginally a San Francisco cabinetmaker. Father Michael O'Connell brought Downie to Carmel in 1931. Downey spent the rest of his life working on Carmel Mission. Downie hewed the replica Portola-Crespi cross out of local redwood. It was erected on December 9, 1969 to celebrate Monterey's Bicentennial. The cross was located at the spot where the Portola expedition had an overlook of the natural harbor in Monterey Bay.
Portola was charged with purging the Jesuits from Baja California and securing "Alta California" against them as well as the British and Russians. Crespi and Serra were charged with establishing missions and (forcibly) converting the indigenous peoples so that they could be used as labor to replicate the successful mission system in Mexico. They succeeded.
ReplyDeletePlease notice the lack of Native Americans and Jesuits in these photos.