Uvalde Junior High
The Spanish Texans
 In
the late 1700s around 4,200 people
lived in Texas in the San Antonio, La Bahia,
Nuevo Santander, and Nacogdoches
areas.
 Some moved here to escape hacienda life
in New Spain or oppressive taxes. Others
hoped to get rich or find good jobs on
ranches.
 Oppressive means unjust or cruel due to
an abuse of power.
Four Types of Frontier Settlements
 Settlers
tended to stay together for
protection from the dangers of frontier life.
 The types of settlements they lived in
were:
1. Missions
2. Presidios
3. Pueblos
4. Ranches
These settlements strengthened Spain’s
claim to Texas.
Missions
The mission was the main tool for colonizing
Texas.
 One goals of a mission was to convert Native
Americans to the Catholic religion.
 Spain tried to make Native Americans
subjects to the Spanish crown. A subject is a
person under the authority of a king or queen.
 Spain would pay for the missions and priests
would run them.
 The missions were expected to support
themselves.

Inside the Missions
Most missions consisted of a square
compound enclosed by four walls. A
compound is a fenced or walled in area
containing residences.
 The land outside the compound was used for
farming and grazing.
 The land inside contained offices and shops
for carpentry, ironworking, and tailoring.
 Church services were held in the chapel.

Four Walled Spanish Mission
Daily Life in the Missions
 The
day would begin with morning prayer
and instruction in the Catholic faith.
 After breakfast the people would go on to
their daily work and children would go to
school.
 This was a very different life than what
Native Texans were used to. Most Native
Texans did not like this way of life.
 Some tried to escape and some remained
voluntarily.
Hard Times in the Missions
Many missions were not successful. The
Native population began to shrink and women
often died during childbirth. Some Natives
died of European diseases.
 The Natives did not like their new diets.
 By the end of the 1700s Spain began to see
the missions as being to expensive.
 By 1800 26 missions had been built in Texas.

Presidios
Presidios provided military support for
the missions.
 They protected colonists from attack by
Natives Texans.
 Soldiers brought back natives who ran
away from the missions.
 They also guarded herds and supplies.
 Presidios were rectangular with four
large walls and one huge entrance.

Presidio Life
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Soldiers enlisted for 10 years.
Work was hard and dangerous.
Native Texans were often hostile.
Often they did not get along well with the
priests.
Soldiers were poorly paid.
They bought their supplies at a commissary, a
store for military people.
Sometimes soldiers had to take extra jobs to get
by.
Soldiers often married locals and settled there.
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
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