Final answer:
Spanish soldiers were sent to California primarily to protect pueblos and missions from attacks and to support the spread of Catholicism among native peoples.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Spanish soldiers were sent to California for multiple reasons, primarily related to establishing control and spreading Catholicism. While the presence of soldiers obviously had a protective and control function, the broader context of Spanish colonization emphasizes their role in supporting the efforts of missionaries and friars to convert native peoples to Catholicism, as well as defending colonial interests.
Soldiers protected the pueblos and missions from attacks both by resisting native people and by external imperial powers. While the labor exploitation and establishment of a colonial society were indeed objectives of the Spanish, the soldiers specifically were not sent to California to serve as farmers or ranchers on presidio land; thus, this responsibility was not their primary purpose.
The correct answer from the provided options to the question, 'What conclusion can you draw about why Spanish soldiers were sent to California?' is C. They were sent to protect pueblos and missions from attack. Additionally, these soldiers also played a role in the effort to spread Catholicism among the native populations, a central motive of Spanish colonialism in the Americas.