Mexican Independence and the Empresario Era 1821-1836

Mexican Unrest By the early 1800s, residents of Mexico were tired of being ruled by Spain. Poverty and racism in “New Spain” were extreme: European-born Spaniards, called peninsulares, occupied the highest positions of wealth and power. Next were criollos, Spaniards born in the Americas. Mestizos, people of mixed Spanish and Indian heritage, were near the bottom of the social scale. At the very bottom were the Indians.

A graphical representation of New Spain’s social status order.

The Seeds of Revolution On September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest from the town of Dolores, began a revolt against Spanish rule. His call for revolt became known as the “Grito de Dolores,” or “Cry of Dolores.” Father Hidalgo wanted all people treated equally, regardless of their race. Despite lower-class support, Father Hidalgo’s revolt was defeated and he was executed by the Spanish government.

Father Miguel Hidalgo

The “Cry of Dolores,” start of a lower-class revolt against Spain.

The execution of Father Hidalgo in Chihuahua.

Filibusters! A filibuster is someone who engages in an unofficial war on a country. The unrest in Mexico prompted several Americans to mount filibuster expeditions to try to free Texas from Spanish rule. Most wanted to make it part of the United States. The most successful was an 1812 expedition led by Samuel Kemper and Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara. Their army captured Nacogdoches and La Bahía and forced the Spanish back to San Antonio. In 1813, however, their army was destroyed by the Spanish at the Battle of Medina.

The Battle of Medina (1813), in which a large filibuster force was destroyed by a Spanish army. No prisoners were taken.

Mexican Independence In 1821, a revolt in Spain limited the power of the king and established a more democratic government. Spain quickly began to lose its control of Mexico. That same year, the two main groups of Mexican rebels agreed on the Plan of Iguala. Under its terms: Peninsulares and criollos would be equal. The Catholic Church would keep its power. Slavery would be illegal. On August 24, 1821, the new nation of Mexico was born.

The Plan of Iguala (1821), which resulted in Mexico’s independence from Spain.

Effect on Texas Mexico now owned Texas, but only about 2,500 Mexicans actually lived there. Most Mexicans did not want to move to Texas because of hostile Indians like the Comanche and Apache. Mexico still worried that the United States was interested in annexing Texas (adding it to its own territory).

Despite the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 in which the U. S Despite the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 in which the U.S. renounced any claim to Texas, Mexico worried about its northern neighbor’s territorial ambitions.

The Colonization Laws The Mexican government tried to encourage more Mexicans to move to Texas: The Colonization Law of 1823 allowed settlers to buy large amounts of land at very low cost. They also didn’t have to pay taxes for 6 years. In 1824, Mexico passed a new constitution establishing a federal system like the U.S. Texas was merged with the Mexican state of Coahuila to form a new state, Coahuila y Tejas. The Colonization Law of 1824 gave the state governor the right to set the rules for colonization.

The state flag of Coahuila y Tejas, formed in 1824.

The Empresario System Under the colonization laws, empresarios (Spanish for “contractor”) were responsible for settling Texas. Empresarios acted as land agents, recruiting a certain number of people to move to Texas. They provided settlers with loans and supplies. They also acted as the colony’s representative to the Mexican government. For their services, the empresarios were paid with large grants of land.

The Empresario System Most settlers in empresario colonies came from the United States. To obtain permission from the Mexican government to own land in Texas, these settlers had to agree: To become loyal citizens of Mexico; To become Catholic; and To actually live on the land.

Moses Austin The first Anglo empresario in Texas was Moses Austin, a failed businessman who had once helped the Spanish government settle parts of Missouri. He proposed settling Anglo-Americans in Texas. Fearful of filibusters, the Spanish at first rejected his proposal in 1820. Before he could gain final approval, he died in June 1821. His dying request was that his son, Stephen, would continue his work.

Moses Austin, the first Anglo empresario to receive permission to colonize Texas.

Stephen F. Austin Thanks largely to the help of a prominent Tejano, Erasmo Seguin, the new Mexican government allowed Austin to succeed his father as empresario. For his colony, he chose a spot between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers that offered ideal farming land. Austin was careful to recruit only honest, hard-working settlers with the key skills needed to establish the colony.

Stephen F. Austin, the “Father of Texas.”

Life in Austin’s Colony The first Anglo-American families of Austin’s colony became known as the “Old Three Hundred.” Life in the colony was hard at first: Colonists lived in log cabins. They had to make their own clothes, soap and tools. They fought with hostile Karankawa Indians. They didn’t even have schools! However, by 1825 the colony’s population had grown to about 1,800 people. Almost 450 of them were African slaves.

Life was rustic in Austin’s colony.

A replica of a settler’s home near San Felipe de Austin, the capital of Austin’s Old Three Hundred colony.

Austin’s success prompted other empresario attempts to settle Texas.

Other Empresarios Martín De León Green DeWitt Only empresario to found a colony in Texas using Mexican settlers. Established the current city of Victoria. Green DeWitt Received a contract to settle 400 families along the Lavaca, San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers. Founded the town of Gonzales.

Martin De Leon, the only Mexican empresario. Green DeWitt, probably the most successful empresario besides Stephen Austin. Martin De Leon, the only Mexican empresario.

Other Empresarios Haden Edwards Received a contract to bring 800 families to an area near Nacogdoches in 1825. Came into conflict with settlers already in the area. Edwards declared Texas an independent nation, calling it the Republic of Fredonia. Soldiers from Mexico and militia from Austin’s colony helped end the revolt quickly.

Haden Edwards, founder of the short-lived “Republic of Fredonia.” The Republic’s flag.

The Empresario System Ends The empresario system dramatically increased the population of Texas: Less than 3,000 people in 1820 About 25,000 by 1835 (including 2,000 slaves) Mexico was worried, however, about settlers’ loyalty. By the mid-1830s, Texas was divided between Anglo settlers in the north and east and Tejanos in the south.

Statue of Stephen F. Austin near San Felipe de Austin.