This is the world premiere complete publication of Narciso Botello's important Annals of Southern California, a work focusing on the years 1833 - 1847 when California was emerging from its years of isolation and seclusion with dramatic turmoil, social change, political intrigues, and armed confl icts. Botello, living in that dusty pueblo Los Angeles, records a swirl of events and personalities--tragic love, crime, warfare, treachery, invasion--all bound together by the characteristic bravado and intricate web of loyalties of the native Californios. This spirited English translation of the original, amplified by detailed notes and insightful commentary, draws the reader deep into the surprising events of the turbulent final years of Mexican California.