CH. 9-2 TEXAS INDEPENDENCE AMERICAN HISTORY

THE SPANISH SETTLE TEXAS Original inhabitants were Native Americans First Europeans to visit Texas were Spanish in 1500s Spanish claimed the land but made little attempt to settle because the land had little wealth Spanish found destroyed French fort and worried about the French taking over so they came up with a plan to settle Texas

THE MISSION SYSTEM The Spanish attempted to settle Texas by building missions MISSIONS—small settlements designed to convert Native Americans to Catholicism Missions were accompanied by PRESIDIOS (forts) for protection Late 1600s-Late 1700s—Spanish built about 2 dozen missions and presidios They also built cities—San Antonio & Nacogdoches Missions failed and the towns never flourished

THE MISSION SYSTEM ENDS 1762—Spain no longer faced a threat from France Spanish failed to convert many Native Americans to Christianity By 1800 Spain still claimed Texas but had only 3 settlements in the entire region

AMERICANS MOVE INTO TEXAS 1820—Moses Austin, former banker from Missouri, approached Spanish officials with plan called THE TEXAS VENTURE If Spain would give Austin land, he would build a colony in Texas Spanish agreed Moses Austin died before the colony could be built but his last wishes were that his son, Stephan F. Austin, would carry out the plan

AUSTIN’S COLONY 1823—Austin’s colony officially established 1824—about 300 families lived on farms and ranches throughout the colony The population was 1,800 including 400 enslaved African-Americans MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE Mexico used to be part of New Spain Mexico becomes independent in 1821

THE EMPRESARIOS New Mexican government wanted Texas settled Mexico offered land to people in exchange for becoming loyal Mexican citizens EMPRESARIOS—contractors who recruited settlers and established colonies 1830s—more than a dozen colonies in Texas (about 30,000 settlers) Includes several thousand slaves and 4,000 TEJANOS (Texans of Mexican heritage)

THE TEXAS REVOLUTION American settlers had to agree to certain Mexican conditions to get land in Texas: 1) surrender American citizenship 2) swear allegiance to Mexico 3) adopt the Roman Catholic religion 4) hold the land for 7 years In reality most settlers didn’t follow the conditions They brought in large numbers of slaves after Mexico outlawed slavery

TENSIONS IN TEXAS 1827-Mexico sent a fact-finding mission to Texas to assess situation Report indicated that more authority was needed Mexico passed a law that canceled most empresario contracts and discouraged trade Mexican government sent troops to enforce the ban on emigration and collect taxes These actions placed emphasis on the fact that settlers needed to obey Mexican law

INTERNATIONAL TENSION Mexican officials suspected that the USA wanted to grow more by acquiring Texas USA offered to buy a large part of Texas for $1 million but Mexico refused THE TEXAS REVOLUTION BEGINS 1832—Texas confront Mexican official because they said 2 people were wrongly imprisoned 1832 & 1833—Texans hold conventions to discuss best course of action

Mexico elects new President—Antonia Lopez de Santa Ana He was initially for Mexican states rights but switched to strong central government after election The Battle of Gonzales—October 2, 1835— The first battle of the Texas Revolution Texans met to set up a government Sam Houston was given the task of raising an army

FROM THE ALAMO TO INDEPENDENCE December 1835—rebel Texas forces capture San Antonio which was home to the Alamo Santa Ana sends a force of 6,000 to punish the rebels on February 23, 1836 Texans under William Travis refuse to surrender For 12 days the Mexicans fire cannons at the Alamo March 6, 1836—1,800 Mexicans storm the fort Within 4 hours nearly all of the fort’s 200 defenders had been killed “Remember the Alamo”

Texas Declaration of Independence—March 2, 1836—A Constitution followed GOLIAD AND THE RUNAWAY SCRAPE March 26—more than 340 prisoners of war executed by Santa Anna’s men. TEXANS VICTORIOUS Texas becomes separate nation “Republic of Texas” Texas revolution was over but not the fighting over Texas The End