Background
1. Book was the catechism used in California and New Mexico. American traders and settlers who were converted received much
of their insruction from this volume. Many of the Americans who married into Californio families and were converted had slight
acquaintance with the Spanish language at the time; the appearance of this English text was thus most welcome. 2. First
edition. Fr. Fabian y Fuero (1719-1801) was a controversial Mexican and Spanish prelate, Bishop of Puebla de Los Angeles,
authority on canon law, and Thomas Aquinas scholar. In this oration, delivered before a military group, he spoke about the
importance of the "just war" and the symbolism attached to the holy flags and standards that were usually carried into battle,
particularly that of Nuestra Senora de la Defensa, 'la conquistadora de las Californias, y provincias de Sinaloa, y la pacificadora
del Peru."