Texas History
Fort Burrows
4.3 - Filibusters and Unrest in Texas
Main Idea – In Texas, American filibusters took advantage of Spanish weakness to increase their
own power.
Vocabulary:
class – social rank based on a person’s wealth or place of birth
peninsulares – highest class in their society ( conservatives )
criollos ( cre O yos ) – second class or middle class
mestizos – a mixed race between Spanish and Native Americans
filibuster - a person who wages an unofficial war on a country for his own benefit
Setting the Scene:
Entrepreneurs like Philip Nolan and Peter Bean (filibusters) came to Texas in 1800 to make
money capturing and selling wild horses. Unfortunately for them, this was against the law. Spanish
troops captured several of them. The Spanish wanted to keep people like Nolan and Bean out of
Texas. However, many others followed their path across the border into Texas.
Threats to Spanish Control

In the early 1800s, Comanches, Apaches, and other tribes controlled most of Texas, except
for three Spanish cities - Nacogdoches, San Antonio, and La Bahía

In 1803, France sold Louisiana to the United States

For years, the United States and Spain argued over whether or not Texas was part of the
Louisiana Territory

The U.S. claimed that the Louisiana Purchase included all land north and east of the Rio
Grande

They also argued that Texas was part of Louisiana because of La Salle’s Fort St. Louis

In 1810, the people living in Mexico started a ten-year struggle to gain their
independence from Mother Spain
Filibuster
Date
Philip Nolan
1800
General
James Wilkinson
and partner
Aaron Burr
former US - VP
Lieutenant
Augusta Magee
and
Bernando Gutierrez
de Lara
Samuel Kemper
and new partner
Gutierrez
1804
1812
1813
Goal
To capture and trade wild mustangs
for the Spanish government
They were kind of like double agents.
Spain paid them to take Kentucky and
Louisiana from the United States.
They had plans to take two (2) states
from the US for themselves
Sent by the US to remove the outlaws
from the
‘Neutral Grounds’
Instead, they built up a small army
and captured the city of Nacogdoches
Wanted to free Texas from US, so
that
it could be part of Mexico
Outcome
The Spanish killed him dead
near present day Waco
The plan failed. Wilkinson
double crossed his partner and
testified against him in court
Spanish Army
surrounded Magee’s troops for 4
months and he died
of diseases
( too much breathing )
Lost the battle of Medina
(the apple capital of Texas)
Hundreds of filibusters died in
that battle
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Dr James Long
1819
Angered by the US trading Florida for
Texas,
He gathered an army to free
Texas from Spain
Captured by the Spanish,
jailed in Mexico,
and executed by a Mexican
soldier
American filibusters set out into Texas against Spain
Philip Nolan
 Nolan also made maps of Texas
General James Wilkinson
 Spain hired Wilkinson, a United States Army general, as a double agent. Wilkinson
plotted with Aaron Burr ( former Vice-President of US ) to take Kentucky and
Louisiana from the United States and start an independent country. That plot failed
 Wanted to make Texas an independent country
 The border dispute continued between Texas and Louisiana
 Wilkinson set up the Neutral Ground Agreement: No Spanish or U.S. troops would
occupy this neutral area until the dispute was settled
Unrest in Mexico
Seeds of Revolution
 New Spain (Mexico) resented Spain’s control
 Taxes - Residents of New Spain did not like paying taxes to support the king and his
many wars
 Poverty - Spain’s class system kept most New Spain residents in poverty
 Napoleon Bonaparte – 1808, French emperor that dethroned the Spanish king
Napoleon sold Louisiana to President Thomas Jefferson @ .04 per acre.
How did the United States end up with Louisiana?
1. La Salle claimed the land for France
2. England fought and beat France in a war - 7 Year War or the French Indian War
3. France ceded the land to Spain - so England could not claim it
4. Another war in Europe allowed France to regain control
5. France sold it to the United States, in 1803 - the Louisiana Purchase
The Cry of Dolores
 A priest from Dolores, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, wrote ‘Grito de Dolores’ it was an
idea to make all New Spain’s classes be equal. No way, Shot Dead
 It called to begin a revolt to end the power of the peninsulares (upper class, Spaniards
born in Europe) in New Spain
 The criollos - Spaniards born in America refused to support the revolt
 The lower classes, the mestizos (mixed Spanish and Native American heritage) and
the Native Americans joined Hidalgo in the revolt
 Though this revolt failed, it led to other uprisings in New Spain
Key Filibuster Expeditions
Lieutenant Augustus Magee
 Magee left the US army, gathered his own men from the US, Indians, and Mexican
rebels and invaded Texas to free Texas from Spanish rule
 They captured the town of Nacogdoches in 1812
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Samuel Kemper
 Took over Magee’s army after Magee died (disease)
 He continued to add men to his army
 Forced the Spanish back to San Antonio
 Declared the state of Texas independent
 Hoped to make Texas part of the United States
 The Spanish finally defeated them in 1813
Bernardo Gutiérrez
 Wanted Texas to be part of Mexico
 Created a Mexican state constitution for Texas
 Was driven out by Kemper
Dr James Long
 Disagreed with the U.S. decision to turn Texas over to Spain
 Led a group to free Texas from Spanish rule
 Sought help from pirate, Jean Lafitte ( ZHAHN lah-FEET )
Adams-Onis Treaty (settled border dispute)
 Key point - The border between the US and Spanish Texas would be the Sabine River
(still the East border of Texas today)
 United States traded Spain, Texas for Florida
Jane Long – ‘Mother of Texas’
 Believed to have given birth to the first born U.S. citizen born in Texas
1. What is a filibuster ?
A. a politician who fights for settlers’ rights
B. a person who leads settlers into new territory
C. a person who wages an unofficial war on a country for his or her own benefit
D. a person who settles land disputes between countries
2. How did Spain’s class system contribute to the poverty in New Spain ?
A. the lower class had to pay taxes to the upper class
B. upper class peninsulares and criollos got the best jobs
C. Mestizos and Native Americans were not allowed to earn money
D. none of the above
3. Why was Spanish control over Texas weak in the early 1800s ?
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4. Who were the filibusters ?
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5. Why did people in Mexico begin to rebel against Spanish rule ?
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6. How did filibusters take advantage of this rebellion for their own purpose ?
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