Introduction : gender and public space in the nineteenth-century Californias -- "For the riches of its souls" : the Society of Jesus in Antigua California-- "To teach the natives love and loyalty toward the Spanish monarch" : the Order of the Predicants of Santo Domingo in Baja California-- "[For its] very large and fine harbor" : the Franciscans of the College of San Fernando in Alta California-- Bárbara Gandiaga : race and agency at Mission Santo Tomás -- Eulalia Callis : privilege and power in the colonial Californias -- Eulalia Pérez : gender and labor in the Spanish frontier -- Conclusion : women in the public missions of the Californias