Stephen F. Austin and the Empresarios

Towns already in Texas when Moses Austin showed up San Antonio Goliad Nacogdoches Saltillo (capital of CyT) Why didn’t Mexico have the Mexicans move into Texas? Why did they bring in Americans? They would have been too far from Mexico City and “civilization” The Natives were hostile… it was safer to stay home Nacogdoches San Antonio Goliad Saltillo

Ok Dad… I’ll carry out your plans for settling Texas. Empresarios – The Beginning A person who was in charge of dividing up Mexican land and selling it to American settlers Ok Dad… I’ll carry out your plans for settling Texas. Moses Austin (Stephen F. Austin’s Father) Stephen F. Austin The first Anglo American to get permission from Spain to bring American settlers to Texas Lived in Missouri until a depression hit the U.S. and he lost all his money Went to Texas to ask the Spanish government if he could have a contract to bring Americans to settle Texas The Spanish were suspicious that Austin was really there to grab land until Baron de Bastrop convinced the Spanish officials otherwise Then… Moses Austin died

How It Worked… Stephen F. Austin was the first to get his contract approved by the Spanish (and then the Mexican) government so he was the first empresario (he was also the most successful) Each empresario would sign a contract with the government of Mexico whereby they promised to settle a certain number of families (in Austin’s first contract he was supposed to settle 300 families) REQUIREMENTS FOR SETTLING IN TEXAS: You had to become a citizen of your new country (Spain, and later Mexico) You had to become Catholic You had to be of good moral character

Austin interviewed the settlers and chose the people he thought would be the best for a settlement. If you had an especially useful job or trade (merchant, doctor, mill and ferry operators they would get extra land) Each settler paid Austin $0.12 an acre!

After securing his contract with Mexico, Austin traveled around Texas and found what he thought was the best land for settling What are some things that make land good for settling? The deal that Stephen F. Austin worked out with Spanish (and then Mexican) officials included the following: Every man who came to Austin for land would receive 640 acres for himself 320 acres for his wife 160 acres for each child 80 acres for each slave

While you could come to Texas without the help of an empresario, most families didn’t. Why not? Most settlers could not speak Spanish and needed the empresarios help getting the title to their land Most of the desirable land was held by the empresarios After Austin opened the door… many more men came to Texas to make money as an empresario… these men brought hundreds of American families to Texas… Population of Texas in 1821 (When SFA started): 7,000 Population of Texas in 1833 (around the end of empresarios) 20,000 HOW DO YOU THINK THIS CHANGE IN POPULATION AFFECTED THE HISTORY OF TEXAS?

Austin’s First Colony Austin’s choice for his first colony was between the Colorado and the Brazos Rivers Austin’s colony included a port because he knew he would need it to get settlers and supplies to the colony Austin got a ship, the Lively to take people and supplies to the new colony from New Orleans Everything went well until 1822: The Lively shipwrecked and Austin lost a lot of supplies and colonists Mexico won it’s independence from Spain in 1821… so now Austin had to get permission to colonize Texas from the new Mexican government

Major Empresario Grants Location Capital Problems Successes Stephen F. Austin (Father of Texas) Between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers San Felipe de Austin -Drought -Tonkawa & Kawakawa -Lively shipwrecked -Disputes over boundaries -Mexican gov’t revoked right to settle -Convinced Mexican gov’t to let him settle -Father of TX – 1st colonize Americans -Settled nearly 300 families Green DeWitt West of Austin’s 1st Colony Gonzales Native American Raids -Settled 166 families near Gonzales Martin De Leon South of De Witt along the Guadalupe-Near the coast Victoria (founded) -Native American Raids -Forced to leave TX because of anti-Mexican sentiments -Did a lot to promote the cattle industry in Texas -Settled 200 families in South Texas(between Lavaca and Guadalupe River) Moses Austin (1820)- first American to work with the Spanish government to settle Americans in Texas Erasmo Seguin- helped Moses Austin obtain approval from Spanish officials to settle American colonists in Texas

Towns established after the Americans came Population BEFORE Empresarios: 7,000 Population AFTER Empresarios: 22,000 Towns established after the Americans came San Felipe Gonzales Victoria Refugio Galveston Bastrop San Patricio And many more… Nacogdoches San Felipe de Austin Gonzales San Antonio Goliad Saltillo