Texas, Spanish

Spanish Texas is one of the interior provinces of New Spain from 1690 until 1821.

Although Spain claims ownership of the territory, which comprises part of the modern-day U.S. state of Texas, including the land north of the Medina and Nueces Rivers, the Spanish does not attempt to colonize the area until after discovering evidence of the failed French colony of Fort Saint Louis in 1689.

In 1690, Alonso De León escorts several Catholic missionaries to East Texas, where they establish the first mission in Texas.

When native tribes resist the Spanish presence, the missionaries return to Mexico, abandoning Texas for the next two decades.The Spanish return to East Texas in 1716, establishing several missions and a presidio to maintain a buffer between Spanish Territory and the French territory of Louisiana.

Two years later, the first civilian settlement in Texas, San Antonio, is established as a way station between the missions and the nearest existing Spanish settlement.

The new town quickly becomes a target for raids by the Lipan Apache.

The raids continue periodically for almost three decades, until in 1749 the Spanish and the Apache make peace.

The peace treaty angers the enemies of the Apache and results in raids on Spanish settlements by the Comanche, Tonkawa, and Hasinai tribes.

Fear of Indian attacks and remoteness from the rest of the viceroyalty discourages settlers from moving to Texas, and it remains one of the least populated provinces of New Spain.

The threat of Indian attacks does not decrease until 1785, when Spain reaches a peace agreement with the Comanche, who later assist in defeating the Lipan Apache and Karankawa tribes which had continued to cause difficulties for Spanish settlers.

An increase in the number of missions in the province allows for a peaceful conversion of other tribes, and by the end of the eighteenth century, only a small number of the hunting and gathering tribes in the area have not been Christianized.France formally relinquishes its claim to Texas in 1762, when French Louisiana is ceded to Spain.

Louisiana's addition means that Texas is no longer essential as a buffer province, and the easternmost settlements in Texas are disbanded, with the population relocated to San Antonio.

In 1799, however, Spain gives Louisiana back to France, and shortly thereafter Napoleon sells the territory to the United States.

U.S. President Thomas Jefferson insists that the purchase includes all land to the east of the Rocky Mountains and to the north of the Rio Grande.

The dispute is not resolved until 1819, when Spain trades Florida to the United States in return for recognition of the Sabine River as Texas's eastern boundaryDuring the Mexican War of Independence from 1810–1821, Texas experiences much turmoil.

Governor Manuel María de Salcedo is overthrown by rebels in 1810, but persuades his jailer to release him and assist him in organizing a countercoup.

Three years later, the Republican Army of the North, consisting primarily of Indians and Americans, again overthrows the Texas government and executes Salcedo.

The Spanish response is brutal, and by 1820 fewer than 2000 Hispanic citizens remain in Texas.

Spain is forced to relinquish its control of New Spain in 1821, and Texas becomes a province of the newly formed nation of Mexico, leading to the period in Texas history known as Mexican Texas.The Spanish leave a deep mark on Texas.

Their European livestock causes mesquite to spread inland while farmers till and irrigate the land, changing the landscape forever.

Spanish language provide the names for many of the rivers, towns, and counties that currently exist, and Spanish architectural concepts still flourish.

Although Texas eventually adopts much of the Anglo-American legal system, many Spanish legal practices are retained, including the concept of a homestead exemption and community property.

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