Texas History
Adam-Onis Treaty
1819 Treaty between the U.S. and Spain in which the U.S. relinquished claims on Texas, establishing the border between Spanish Texas and Louisiana at the Sabine River. In addition, Spain ceded Florida to the U.S.
Land Grant
A plot of land officially given to a person by the government; empresarios were given land grants in order to start their colonies, they could sell this land to the settlers they were bringing into Texas.
Secondary Source
A source created after the time period being studied but that offers insight about that time period.
Primary Source
A source that was created in the time period being studied.
Enlightment
A time period where people in Europe and other places around the world were beginning to think more for themselves and use reason instead of tradition to make their decisions. This is the time period where people began to question the tradition of monarchy and why some social classes were allowed to exist.
Republic
A type of government in which the citizens of the country elect representatives from amongst themselves to govern the country.
Gutierrez-Magee Expedition
An expedition during the Mexican War for Independence in which Mexican rebel Jose Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara and ex-American army captain Augustus Magee launched a campaign to free Texas from Spanish control. Magee would die from illness and Gutierrez would be replaced as leader of the rebel army before its defeat at the Battle of Medina.
Nuetral Ground Agreement
Came about, as a result, the Louisiana Purchase. Spain and the U. S. couldn't agree on the between Spanish Texas and American Louisiana. The Neutral Ground Agreement established the territory between the Sabine River and the Arroyo Hondo as neutral ground that neither country could claim.
Anglo-American
Colonists from the United States who have English ancestry.
Why did the Spanish Mission System ultimately fail in Texas?
Disease, lack of supplies, problems with hostile Native Americans, lack of support by Spain for converting the Native Americans, drought, floods.
Green Dewitt
Empresario who brought colonists from America to settle in Mexican Texas. Received his contract in 1825.
Why did Father Francisco Hidalgo write a letter to the French Governor of Louisiana?
Father Francisco Hidalgo was upset that the Spanish government wouldn't help him reopen the Catholic missions in east Texas (Mission San Francisco de las Tejas). The missions had been closed earlier due to hostility by the natives and other factors. Father Francisco Hidalgo was concerned that the Native Texas would have no one to continue teaching them about Catholicism. When the Spanish government wouldn't help him, he wrote a letter to the French Governor of Louisiana asking for aid in rebuilding the missions.
Moses Austin
Father of Stephen F. Austin, received the original permission from New Spain to bring American settlers into Texas. He asked his son to continue his work when he died before completing the mission.
Fillibuster
Individuals who wage an unofficial war against a foreign country without government approval, and for their own benefit.
What were the main causes of the Mexican Wars of Independence?
Many Mexicans were upset at the class system in New Spain that was based on race and place of birth, things out of a person's control. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, in his famous Grito de Dolores, called for the people of Mexico to rise up against the unfair government and to take control of their own country instead of being ruled by a King thousands of miles away across the Atlantic Ocean.
What was one thing that many Tejanos did not like about the Constitution of 1824?
Many Tejanos were upset that the Constitution of 1824 did not create Texas as its own state, instead it merged it with their neighbor Coahuila, creating the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas.
Jose Bernando Gutierrez de Lara
Mexican rebel who supported Father Hidalgo's revolution and helped lead the Gutierrez-Magee expedition to free Texas from Spanish control.
Why did Mexico want to colonize Texas?
Mexico wanted to colonize Texas in order to prevent the United States from encroaching on their territory. The more Mexican citizens living in Texas, the more permanently a part of Mexico it would become.
Battle of Medina
Mexico's war for independence from Spain lead to the introduction of filibusters in Texas. This was the most deadly battle to ever be fought on Texas soil; it was between the Mexican rebel forces led by General Toledo (it was the rebel army originally organized by Gutierrez de Lara and Augustus Magee) and the Spanish Army led by General Arredondo. The Spanish crushed the rebels, executing all those who surrendered, over 1400 filibusters.
Grito de Dolores (Cry od Dolores)
Miguel Hidalgo's speech that called on the people of Mexico to rise up against the Spanish government and fight for their independence.
What were the reasons that so many Americans decided to immigrate into Texas?
Most settlers in early Texas emigrated from the United States. Many Americans were attracted by the cheap land in Mexico. It was an opportunity for them to create something for their lives and for their families. Some came seeking adventure and personal gain. Some wanted to escape from problems in the United States.
Nuetral
Not belonging to any one side.
Empresario
People who worked as contractors for the Spanish and/or Mexican governments to establish colonies in Texas and bring settles to those colonies.
What were the Mexican requirements for American colonists who wanted to buy land in Texas?
Settlers were required to adopt the Roman Catholic religion, they were required to give up their citizenship from all other countries, and they were required to swear their loyalty and allegiance to Mexico.
Why did Spain want to colonize Texas?
Spain wanted Texas to be colonized in order to prevent its neighbors (France and then the U.S.) from being able to claim it as their own. If it was full of loyal Spanish citizens it would make an invasion and occupation by a foreign power more difficult.
Jose de Escadon
Spain wanted to establish permanent, successful colonies in Texas. Escandon was a Spanish official who was helped settle South Texas, established the town of Laredo and helped established the first ranches (haciendas) in Texas.
Mexican National Era
The era of Texas history after Mexican Independence from Spain in 1821 up until the start of the Texas Revolution. Spain gave up control of Texas in the Treaty of Cordoba.
Why do so many Texan cities and towns have Spanish names? What about German names? Give an example of each.
Spain was the first country to colonize Texas and built many of its first settlements so those towns have Spanish names (San Antonio, La Bahia, El Paso). During the empresario period, many Europeans, especially Germans, moved to Texas as colonists and also shaped the names of some Texas towns (New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Boerne). France had an influence too.
Father Francisco Hidalgo
Spanish friar who insisted that the East Texas missions be rebuilt after their initial failure. When the Spanish government refused to help, he sent a letter to the French governor of Louisiana for assistance.
Marques de Rubi
Spanish official who toured the Texas mission settlements after France ceded its Louisiana Territory to Spain and recommended that Spain close down the majority of its Texas Missions and move the capital to San Antonio.
What made Stephen F. Austin such a successful empresario?
Stephen F. Austin, the Father of Texas, brought the first Anglo Americans to Texas. He was successful because he chose very good land for his colony, he was very picky about what colonists he would allow to move into his colony, he acted as a go-between for his colonists and the Mexican government so that any legal concerns were dealt with appropriately and fairly, and he did everything he could to prove to the Mexican government that him and his colonists were loyal to Mexico and were good citizens.
Spanish Colonial Era:
The era of Texas history when Spain was attempting to colonize Texas, first through the use of the mission system and later through the use of empresarial contracts.
Father Miguel Hildago y Costilla
The Catholic Priest who spoke out against the oppressive Spanish Government in his "Grito de Dolores" and was responsible for launching the Mexican War for Independence from Spain. Father Miguel Hidalgo believed that the Spanish government had failed to support the people's natural rights, ideas that he got from the Enlightenment Movement.
What kind of government did the Mexican Federal Constitution of 1824 set up in Mexico?
The Mexican Federal Constitution of 1824 created a Federal Republic in Mexico. Also created the state of Coahuila y Tejas. Texas were upset because it did not let Tejas be an independent state.
Why did the Mexican government pass the Law of April 6 th , 1830?
The Mexican government was concerned over the huge numbers of American settlers that were moving to Texas, especially after the Fredonian Rebellion started by ex-empresario Haden Edwards. After General Mier y Teran reported that most Texans were not very connected to Mexico, the government passed the Law of April 6 th , 1830 which stopped American immigration, taxed trade with the United States, and ended most empresario contracts. The law was very unpopular in Texas among American settlers and Tejanos alike, many felt it was an illegal law because the National government did not have the power to make a law that only affected Texas according to the Constitution of 1824. TENSIONS BETWEEN TEXAS AND MEXICAN GOVERNMENT INCREASED BECAUSE OF THE TERMS IN THIS LAW.
Mexican Federal Constitution of 1824
The constitution that created the Federal Republic of Mexico, ending the Mexican Empire and allowed individual states to share power. Some leaders of the new government were concerned that this would encourage Texas to become a part of the United States.
Old Three Hundred
The first 300 families who Stephen F. Austin brought from the United States to settle in his colony in Texas. They struggled through hardships in the early years.
Law of April 6th, 1830
The law passed by the Mexican national government in response to General Mier y Terán's report about Texas. The law banned American immigration into Texas, cancelled most empresarial contracts, placed a tariff on imported goods from America, and banned immigrants from bringing slaves into Mexico. The purpose of the law was to discourage American colonists from trying to immigrate into Mexico and create stronger ties between Texas and the heartland of Mexico. Many Texans, both Anglo settlers and Tejanos, disliked the law and felt it overstepped the authority of the National Government.
San Antonio
The modern city that grew from the settlement surrounding the most successful and most important of the Spanish missions in Texas was established in 1718.
Stephen F. Austin
The most successful of the Texas empresarios; known for bringing the first American settlers into Texas. He would go on to bring thousands of settlers to Texas and establish the most successful of the Texas colonies. His settlers had to become Catholics, be of good character, hardworking, and agree to become loyal Mexican citizens. Parts of Houston located are located in parts of one of Austin's land grants.
What was the purpose of the Spanish Mission System in Texas?
The purpose of the mission system was to convert the Native Texans to Roman Catholicism (the official religion of Spain) and teach them Spanish and how to be a Spanish citizen. The Spanish government hoped the Native Texans would become loyal Spanish citizens and would help them colonize Texas.
Missions
The settlements set up by the Catholic Church and the Spanish government throughout Texas to convert Native Texans to Catholicism and to ultimately create Spanish citizens out of the Native population.
Father of Texas
Title given to Stephen F. Austin for settling the first 300 American families in Texas.
Immigrate
To move into a new country.
Emmigrate
To move out of your home country.
Cede
To officially give something to someone else.
The Long Expedition
Two filibustering expeditions led by Dr. James Long; successfully captured Nacogdoches before being routed back to Louisiana during the first expedition, and capturing the presidio at La Bahia before being besieged and defeated by the Spanish government during the second expedition.
What type of government did Mexico choose when they first got their independence from Spain?
When Mexico got its independence in 1821, they established a monarchy called the Mexican Empire with Augustin Iturbide as Emperor.
Colonize
When a country settles people into a newly acquired territory in order to establish greater control over that area.
Louisiana Purchase
When the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. This almost doubled the size of the United States.