The Filibusters
?
Early Anglo Settlement in
Texas
SPAIN’S OWNERSHIP OF TEXAS
By 1800, Spain owned most of the
American Southwest including Texas.
People seeking adventure began coming to
Spanish Texas.
Some of these adventurers came for
profit, others came to establish
independent states.
These adventure-seekers were called
filibusters.
A filibuster is an adventurer who engages
in private rebellious activity in a foreign
country.
In 1800, Philip Nolan, perhaps the
most famous filibuster, came to
Texas to catch and sell wild
mustangs. Many others followed
suit.
The Spanish were suspicious of many
people, and they thought that all
filibusters were trying to make Texas
part of the U.S.
Spain was suspicious of some people
such as James Long. Long came to
Texas, captured Nacogdoches, and
claimed Texas as a free and
independent state.
Eventually, the term filibuster
became synonymous with a
trouble maker who wanted to
start rebellion.
Both Philip Nolan and James Long
were executed by the Spanish
government because of the fear
that the filibusters wanted to take
Texas away from Spain.
Jane Long, James’s wife, learned of his
death while living on Point Bolivar near
Galveston. She was left alone with a
young daughter and servant.
Mrs. Long endured severe weather, scarce
food, and the threat of attack from
Native Americans and Spanish soldiers.
At one point she used a small cannon to
frighten away some Karankawa Indians.
Later, Jane traveled to Mexico to
investigate her husband’s death.
She eventually returned to Texas where
she bought land and became a successful
business woman.
Jane Long’s bravery and
independent spirit has
earned her the nickname
“Mother of Texas”.
Mexicans living in New
Spain had been pushing for
independence.
Father Miguel Hidalgo
called for Mexico’s
independence from
Spain.
Father Hidalgo was
executed by the Spanish
government, and Spain
exercised tighter control
of its land.
But, people began to see
the cracks in Spanish
control.
One of Hidalgo’s supporters,
Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara, and a
former U.S. soldier, Augustus
Magee, decided to invade Texas
and free it from Spanish rule in
1812.Their effort became known
as the Gutierrez-Magee
Expedition.
They raised an army of 800 and
successfully defeated the Spanish
over a period of a few months.
The expedition members established
an independent state, but could not
agree on how to run the government.
Eventually the larger Spanish army
defeated the Republican army and
restored control over Texas.
There were other means of owning a
piece of Spanish Texas besides
rebellion.
In 1820 Moses Austin met with
Governor Martinez of Spain to request
permission to establish a colony in
Texas.
Land
Grant
Moses was given permission to settle
three hundred families in Texas.
The new land grant was the fertile
farmland between the Colorado and
Brazos Rivers.
Early
Spanish
settlers
came to
Texas for
missions,
but Anglo
settlers
came for
LAND
GRANTS!!
Moses Austin paved the way for
Anglo American colonization of Texas.
However, he died in 1821, before his
dream to colonize Texas was realized.
His dying wish was
that his son, Stephen,
fulfill his vision to
colonize Texas.
Stephen F. Austin was given permission
to colonize, and thus the first Anglo
Americans came to Texas.
Stephen F. Austin was the
first person to bring Anglo
Americans to Texas.
They felt like part of Texas belonged
to them since they had permission to
settle and had purchased land.
Just as Austin was making headway
in establishing his colony, he learned
that Mexico had finally won
independence from Spain.
His land grant was no longer
valid in the new government, so
he traveled to Mexico City and
asked the new government of
Mexico for permission to
colonize.
It took a year,
but eventually
Austin was given
the title of
empresario.
An empresario was
someone who arranged
business deals
including the buying
and selling of land.
Empresario
Stephen F.
Austin
Austin’s colony began to flourish.
By 1830, over 200 people lived in
the capital of the colony, San
Felipe de Austin.
The original three
hundred families to
settle in Austin's
colony became known
as the Old Three
Hundred.
Austin’s colony was very successful.
Other businessmen became empresarios
and settled more families on their own
land grants around Austin’s colony.
Let’s review the progression of the
Texas ownership.
We have now seen three flags fly
over Texas, and various individuals
make claims to the land.
First, both Spain and France had claims to
Texas during the years of exploration from
the late 1500’s through the late 1600’s.
Spain had
claims to the
American
Southwest,
which included
most of Texas.
France had
claims in
East Texas.
Eventually, Spain claimed
most of the Americas
including all of Texas.
France no longer had claims
on America with the sale of
the Louisiana Purchase (1803)
to the US.
Meanwhile, adventurous individuals called
filibusters tried to take parts of Texas and
create independent states.
Philip Nolan
James Long
Guiterrez-Magee
Expedition
Empresarios such as Stephen F. Austin were
given land grants to settle Texas.
Land
Grant
Eventually, Mexico won independence from
Spain.
France
Spain
Mexico
So by 1821, three flags had flown over
Texas- just three more to go!
The Anglo American
colonization of Texas
was well under way.
However, with
colonization came
conflict between the
Mexican government
and the colonists.
Review
What do you think will be sources of
conflict between these two groups?