End of Spanish Rule
Spanish Texas 1763-1819
Chapter 6 Section 1
Spain Acquires Louisiana
• Great Britain wins 7 Years’ War against France (1756-1763)
• Treaty of Paris 1763
– Great Britain gets Canada and all French land east of Mississippi River (except
New Orleans)
– Spain gets New Orleans and all French land west of Mississippi River
• France loses colonial power in North America
• Spain questions need for missions and presidios in East Texas
Spain Closes East Texas
Missions
• Marqués de Rubí sent to investigate need for East Texas
missions
• Spain had neither wealth or power to defend its missions
• Suggestions
– abandon all Texas missions except San Antonio and Goliad (La
Bahía)
– Create alliances with Comanches (fight against Apaches)
– Move East Texas settlers closer to San Antonio for protection
• San Antonio was hotter and drier (required irrigation) and
best land already taken
Nacogdoches Founded
• Gil Ybarbo – leader of East Texans, pleaded to
return to East Texas
• Given permission to settle along Trinity River
– Prospered at first
– Crop failure, chicken pox epidemic, and Comanche
conflicts
• Moved east without permission and built
Nacogdoches
• Deep in Piney Woods – isolated from Spanish
control
Settlers Face Many Dangers
• Conflicts with Apaches and Comanches
• Lacked troop support and stopped funding
Texas missions
• Spanish government insisted that the church
support themselves
Spain Helps the American
Colonies
• American Revolution occurs
• Spain opens port of New Orleans to American ships and supplied
weapons, clothing, money, and medical supplies
• Spain enters American Revolution in 1779
• Kept New Orleans out of British control
• Peace Treaty in 1783
– Great Britain recognizes United States
– U.S. boundaries – Canada in the North, Mississippi River in the West, and
Florida in the South
• Spain keeps Florida
• U.S. and Britain granted trading rights on the Mississippi River
Treaty of
Paris 1783
The United States Buys Louisiana
• 1800 – Spain forced to return Louisiana to
France
• U.S. buys Louisiana Territory for $15 million
(doubles size of U.S.)
Disputes About Boundaries
• U.S. – their territory extends to Sabine River (includes parts
of Texas)
• Spain – their territory extends to Calcasieu River in
Louisiana
• Compromise – Neutral Ground established (1806-1819)
– No one controls area between Sabine and Calcasieu
– Became haven for smugglers and fugitives
• Adams-Onís Treaty (1819)
– U.S. gets Florida from Spain
– Sabine River is the boundary between Spain and U.S.
– U.S. surrenders all claims to Texas
Neutral Ground between Spanish Texas
And United States
Adams-Onis
Treaty
Americans Migrate to Texas
• Filibusters (adventurers) – some wanted to seize
control of Texas
• Philip Nolan (mustanger – captured and sold wild
horses)
– Believed to be an American spy
– Warned not to return to Texas (but did!)
– Spanish soldiers attacked Nolan’s camp
• Peter Ellis Bean – only survivor of imprisonment
and regained freedom
End of Spanish Rule
Unrest Grows in Texas
Chapter 6
Section 2
Hidalgo Calls for Independence
• Mexicans unhappy with Spain
– Best jobs given to Spanish
– Increase taxes for Mexicans to pay for European wars
• Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (Sept. 16, 1810)
– Issued a call for freedom (grito)
– Battled with Spain; failed to capture Mexico City
– Hidalgo is captured and executed in 1811
Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition
• Rebellion continues – Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara goes to U.S. for
supplies and $
• Augustus Magee joined Gutiérrez to help liberate Texas from Spain
• Planned a government in which voters choose people to represent
them (republic)
• Republican Army of the North
– Captured Goliad and San Antonio
– Spanish officials surrender
– Issue a declaration of independence for Texas
• Magee killed – Samuel Kemper takes over
Disagreements and Defeats
• Americans wanted a government like the
U.S. (elected officials) and eventually
become part of the U.S.
• Mexicans wanted a government like New
Spain (appointed officials) and remain part
of Mexico
• Spain conquers quarrelling troops
(survivors either fled or were executed)
Revolutionaries and Pirates
• Some survivors of Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition
make it to Galveston Island
• Got the help of Louis Michel Aury (French pirate)
– Left Galveston to fight Spanish ships
• Jean Laffite took over Aury’s operations in his
absence
– Helped Americans against British in War of 1812
– Pardoned by Pres. Madison for piracy crimes
– Continued piracy – U.S. forces him to leave Galveston
Spain Exiles French Colonists
• French colonists tried to settle near presentday Liberty
• Spanish government sends troops to remove
colonists
• Colony abandoned
James Long Invades Texas
•
•
•
•
•
Filibuster from Mississippi
Felt that U.S. shouldn’t have given up Texas
Captured town of Nacogdoches
Set up a free and independent republic
Captured by Spanish and taken to Mexico
City
• Killed by a guard
End of Spanish Rule
Spanish Rule Ends in Texas
Chapter 6
Section 3
Texas at the End of Spain’s Rule
• September 1821 – Mexico gains independence from
Spain
• Little growth
• San Antonio – largest town with ↑ 2,000 people
• Goliad - ↑ 1200 people
• Nacogdoches - ↑ 500 people at one time but now
mainly abandoned
Spanish Neglect
• Unable to attract many Spanish settlers
–
–
–
–
No gold or silver to lure fortune hunters
Comforts of civilized societies in Mexico City
No pressure to find new land
Native American conflicts
• Not high on list of priorities
Spanish Legacy
• Mapped and explored Texas
• Spanish names – Amarillo, El Paso, Rio Grande, Matagorda
Bay
• Language
• Laid out the 1st roads (El Camino Real – Royal Highway →
Old San Antonio Road)
• Ranching practices, methods, and equipment
– Lariat, chaps, vaqueros (cowboys), and cattle drives
• Customs