View source for Spanish Texas

{{short description|Province of New Spain}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2022}}
{{Texas History}}
{{History of Spain}}
'''Spanish Texas''' was one of the [[Provincias Internas|interior provinces]] of the colonial [[Viceroyalty of New Spain]] from 1519 until 1821. Spain claimed ownership of the region in 1519. Slave raids by Spaniards into what became Texas began in the 16th century and created an atmosphere of antagonism with [[Native Americans of the United States|Native Americans]] (Indians) which would cause endless difficulties for the Spanish in the future. Spain did not attempt to establish a permanent presence until after France established the [[French colonization of the Americas|colony]] of [[Fort Saint Louis (Texas)|Fort Saint Louis]] in 1685. In 1688, the French colony failed due to internal dissention and attacks by the [[Karankawa]] Indians. In 1690, responding to fear of French encroachment, Spanish explorer [[Alonso de León]] escorted several [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[missionary|missionaries]] to [[east Texas]], where they established the first [[Spanish missions in Texas|mission]] in Texas. That attempt to establish a Spanish colony failed due to the hostility of the [[Caddo]] Indians.  
[[File:Spanish explorations in Texas.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Trails taken by Spanish explorers from Mexico into Texas.]]
The Spanish returned to southeastern Texas in 1716, establishing several [[Spanish missions in Texas|mission]]s and a [[presidio]] to maintain a buffer between Spanish territory and the [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana district of New France]]. [[San Antonio]] was founded in 1719 and became the capital and largest settlement of Spanish ''Tejas''. The [[Lipan Apache]] menaced the newly founded colony until 1749 when the Spanish and Lipan concluded a peace treaty. Both the Spanish and Lipan were then threatened by [[Comanche]] raids until 1785 when the Spanish and Comanche negotiated a peace agreement. In 1803, the United States gained ownership of an indefinite part of Texas with the [[Louisiana Purchase]] and subsequently the influence of [[Anglo Americans]] increased.

During the [[Mexican War of Independence]] from 1810 to 1821 Texas experienced turmoil. Reaching a maximum population of perhaps 5,000 Spanish, mixed blood, and subject Indians in 1810, only 2,500 people remained in Hispanic Texas by the end of the war. Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821 and Spanish Texas became part of an independent Mexico. Texas became independent of Mexico in 1836 and joined the [[United States of America|United States]] in 1845.

The Spanish never achieved control of most of Texas which was on the far frontier of Spanish colonial ambitions. Despite the meager nature of Spanish colonization, Hispanic influence in Texas is extensive. Spanish architectural concepts still flourish. Many cities and rivers in Texas were named by the Spanish and many counties in southern and western Texas have majority Hispanic populations. The inadvertent introduction of European diseases by the Spanish caused Native American populations to plummet, leaving a population vacuum later filled by Anglo American settlers. Grazing of European livestock caused [[mesquite]] to spread inland replacing native grassland while Spanish farmers tilled and irrigated the land and changed the landscape.   Although Texas eventually adopted much of the Anglo-American legal system, many [[Law of Texas|Spanish legal practices survived]], including the concepts of a [[homestead exemption]] and of [[community property]].

==Location==
Spanish Texas (''Tejas'') was a colonial province within the northeastern mainland region of the [[Viceroyalty of New Spain]]. On its southern edge, ''Tejas'' was bordered by the provinces of [[Coahuila]] and [[Nuevo Santander]]. The boundary between the provinces was set at the line formed by the [[Medina River]] and the [[Nueces River]], {{convert|100|mi|km|0}} northeast of the [[Rio Grande]].<ref name=edmondson6>Edmondson (2000), p. 6.</ref> On the east, Texas bordered ''La Louisiane'' ([[Louisiana (New France)|French Louisiana]]). Although Spain claimed that the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] formed the boundary between the two, France insisted that the border was the [[Sabine River (Texas-Louisiana)|Sabine River]], {{convert|45|mi|km}} to the west.<ref name=edmonson10>Edmondson (2000), p. 10.</ref>

== Initial colonization attempts ==
[[File:Claude Bernou Carte de lAmerique septentrionale.jpg|right|thumb|This 1681 map of North America lists the [[Rio Grande]] as Rio Bravo, and shows the lack of information Europeans had of the area that is now Texas.]]
Although [[Alonso Álvarez de Pineda]] claimed Texas for Spain in 1519, the area was largely ignored by Spain until the late seventeenth century.<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 26.</ref><ref group=Note>Spaniard [[Cabeza de Vaca]] and three companions wandered lost along the Texas Gulf Coast and the Rio Grande between 1528 and 1535 trying to find their way back to a Spanish settlement after they survived the ill-fated [[Narváez expedition]] in [[Florida]]. De Vaca made the first contact with Indians in Texas in November 1528. Chipman (1992), p. 11.</ref> However Spanish slave raids into what became Texas began in the late 16th century. Among others, Spanish governor [[Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva]] captured hundreds of Indians and sold them to owners of silver mines in Mexico.<ref name="tshaonline.org">"Handbook of Texas Online", Robert S. Weddle, "Carvajal Y De La Cueva, Luis De," accessed 13 August 2016, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fcadn</ref> Frequent epidemics of European diseases reduced the Indian population. The first epidemic, possibly of [[cholera]], among the Indians in Texas was recorded in 1528 by [[Cabeza de Vaca]] and they continued to impact the Indian population until the end of the 19th century.<ref name="Ewers">{{cite journal |last1=Ewers |first1=John C. |title=The Influence of Epidemics on the Indian Populations and Cultures of Texas |journal=Plains Anthropologist |date=May 1973 |volume=18 |issue=60 |pages=108–109 |jstor=23667140 }}</ref>

In 1685, the Spanish learned that France had established a colony in the area between [[New Spain]] and [[Florida]]. Believing the French colony was a threat to Spanish mines and shipping routes, Spanish King [[Carlos II|Carlos II's]] Council of War recommended that "Spain needed swift action 'to remove this thorn which has been thrust into the heart of America. The greater the delay the greater the difficulty of attainment.'"<ref name="weber149">Weber (1992), p. 149.</ref> Having no idea where to find the French colony, the Spanish launched ten&nbsp;expeditions&mdash;both land and sea&mdash;over the next three&nbsp;years. While unable to fulfill their original goal of locating the French settlement, the expeditions did provide Spain a deeper understanding of the geography of the [[Gulf Coast]] region. The last expedition, in 1689, discovered a French deserter living in southern Texas with the [[Coahuiltecan]]s.<ref>Weber (1992), pp. 151&ndash;152.</ref> In April 1689, the Frenchman helped guide the Spanish, under [[Alonso de León]], to [[Fort Saint Louis (Texas)|Fort Saint Louis]], which had been destroyed by [[Karankawa]] Indians.<ref name="chipman83">Chipman (1992), p. 83.</ref> De León's expedition also met representatives of the [[Caddo]] people, who lived between the [[Trinity River (Texas)|Trinity]] and the [[Red River of the South|Red]] Rivers. The Caddo expressed interest in learning about [[Christianity]].<ref name=weber153>Weber (1992), p. 153.</ref>

De León sent a report of his findings to [[Mexico City]], where it "created instant optimism and quickened religious fervor".<ref name=chipman87>Chipman (1992), p. 87.</ref> The Spanish government was convinced that the destruction of the French fort was "proof of God's 'divine aid and favor'".<ref name=chipman87/> In his report de León recommended that [[presidio]]s be established along the [[Rio Grande]], the [[Frio River]], and the [[Guadalupe River (Texas)|Guadalupe River]] and that missions be established among the [[Hasinai]] Indians,<ref name=chipman88/> whom the Spanish called the ''Tejas'',<ref name="weber162"/> in [[East Texas]]. In [[Castilian Spanish]], this was often written as the phonetic equivalent ''Texas'', which became the name of the future province.<ref name=chipman18>Chipman (1992), p. 18.</ref>

===Missions===
{{Further|Spanish missions in Texas}}
[[File:Spanish-texas.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Missions in Spanish Texas at the beginning of the Spanish colonization in the area.]]
The [[Viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire|viceroy]] approved the establishment of a mission but rejected the idea of presidios, primarily because New Spain was chronically short of funds.<ref name=chipman88>Chipman (1992), p. 88.</ref> On March 26, 1690, [[Alonso de León]] set out with 110&nbsp;soldiers and several missionaries. The group stopped first to burn Fort Saint Louis to the ground, and then they proceeded to East Texas.<ref name=chipman89>Chipman (1992), p. 89.</ref> [[Mission San Francisco de la Espada|Mission San Francisco de los Tejas]] was completed near the Hasinai village of [[Nabedache]]s in late May, and its first [[Mass (Catholic Church)|mass]] was conducted on June 1.<ref name=chipman89/><ref name="weber154">Weber (1992), p. 154.</ref> The missionaries refused to allow the unruly soldiers to remain near the missions, and when [[Alonso de León|de León]] returned to Mexico later that year, only 3 of his initial 110&nbsp;soldiers remained to assist the monks.<ref name="weber154">Weber (1992), p. 154.</ref> Father [[Damián Massanet]], the priest in charge of the mission, left on June 2 to meet the tribes north of the mission before returning to Mexico to request an additional 14&nbsp;priests and 7&nbsp;lay brothers.<ref name=chipman89/><ref>Chipman (1992), p. 91.</ref>

On January 23, 1691, Spain appointed the first governor of Texas, General [[Domingo Terán de los Ríos]]. Terán was ordered to help establish seven new missions, including two more among the [[Hasinai|Tejas]] Indians, four amongst the [[Kadohadacho]]s, and one for the tribes near the [[Guadalupe River (Texas)|Guadalupe River]]. He was only able to recruit 10&nbsp;friars and 3&nbsp;lay brothers.<ref>Chipman (1992), pp. 93&ndash;94.</ref> His expedition reached the existing mission in August, 1691 and discovered that the priests there had established a second mission, [[Santísimo Nombre de María]], {{convert|5|mi|km|spell=in}} east of [[San Francisco de los Tejas]]. One of the priests had died, leaving two to operate the missions. The Indians regularly stole their cattle and horses and were becoming insolent. With provisions running low, Terán chose not to establish any more missions.<ref name=chipman97>Chipman (1992), p. 97.</ref> When he left Texas later that year, most of the missionaries chose to return with him, leaving only 3 religious people and 9&nbsp;soldiers at the missions.<ref name=chipman98>Chipman (1992), p. 98.</ref>

The group also left a [[smallpox]] epidemic.<ref name="weber154"/> The Indians had no natural immunity to the disease and at first blamed the outbreak on the baptismal waters. After thousands of natives had succumbed, the survivors rose up against the missions.<ref name=edmondson6>Edmondson (2000), p. 6.</ref> In 1693, the [[Caddo]] warned the [[Franciscan]] missionaries to leave the area or be killed. The missionaries buried the church bells and burned the mission, then returned to Mexico.<ref name="weber155"/> Although this first Spanish attempt to settle Texas failed, it provided Spain an increased awareness of the terrain, rivers, and coastline of Texas and convinced the government that "even the most tractable of Indians" could only be converted "by a combination of coercion and persuasion".<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 100.</ref> For the next 20 years, Spain again ignored Texas.<ref name="weber155">Weber (1992), p. 155.</ref>

==Conflict with France==
During the early eighteenth century, France again provided the impetus for Spain's interest in Texas. In 1699, French forts were established at [[Biloxi Bay]] and on the [[Mississippi River]], ending Spain's exclusive control of the Gulf Coast. Although Spain "refused to concede France's right to be in Louisiana" and warned King [[Louis XIV of France]] that he could be [[excommunicated]] for ignoring the 200-year-old papal edict giving the Americas to Spain, they took no further actions to stop France's encroachment or expand the Spanish presence.<ref name="weber158">Weber (1992), p. 158.</ref> The two countries became allies during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] and cooperated in the Americas.<ref name="weber158"/> Despite their friendship, Spain remained unwilling to allow the French to trade within their territory. On hearing rumors of French incursions into Texas in 1707, the viceroy of New Spain ordered all provincial governors to prevent the entry of foreigners and their goods.<ref name=chipman107>Chipman (1992), p. 107.</ref> To dissuade the Tejas Indians from accepting goods from the French,<ref name=chipman107/> a contingent of soldiers under [[Juan Pedro Aguirre|Pedro de Aguirre]] traveled into Texas. His expedition reached only as far as the [[Colorado River (Texas)|Colorado River]] and turned around after learning that the Tejas chief was still unhappy with the Spanish. The group did visit the area around the [[San Antonio River]], and was much impressed with the land and availability of water.<ref name=chipman110>Chipman (1992), p. 110.</ref> They believed the river to be unnamed and called it San Antonio de Padua, not realizing that Terán and Massanet had camped nearby years before on the feast day of [[Saint Anthony of Padua]] and had given the river the same name.<ref name=edmondson8and9>Edmondson (2000), pp. 8&ndash;9.</ref>

In 1711, Franciscan missionary [[Francisco Hidalgo]], who had served in the earlier Texas missions, wanted to reestablish missions with the [[Caddo]]s. The Spanish government was unwilling to provide the funding and troops for the project, so Hidalgo approached the French governor of [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]], [[Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac]] for help.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 159.</ref> Cadillac was under orders to turn Louisiana into a profitable colony and believed that Spanish settlers closer to Louisiana could provide new trading opportunities.<ref name=chipman110/> He sent [[Louis Juchereau de St. Denis]], along with brothers [[Pierre and Robert Talon]], who, as children, had been spared at the massacre of [[French colonization of Texas|Fort Saint Louis]], to find Hidalgo and offer assistance.<ref name="weber160">Weber (1992), p. 160.</ref> In July 1714, the French delegation reached the Spanish frontier, at that time around the [[Rio Grande]], where Hidalgo was located.<ref name=weber160/> Although [[Louis Juchereau de St. Denis|St. Denis]] was arrested and questioned, he was ultimately released.<ref name=chipman111>Chipman (1992), p. 111.</ref> The Spanish recognized that the French could become a threat to other Spanish areas, and ordered the reoccupation of Texas as a buffer between French settlements in Louisiana and [[New Spain]].<ref name="weber160"/>

On April 12, 1716, an expedition led by [[Domingo Ramón (explorer)|Domingo Ramón]] left [[Guerrero, Coahuila|San Juan Bautista]] for Texas, intending to establish four missions and a presidio which would be guarded by twenty-five soldiers.<ref name=chipman111>Chipman (1992), p. 111.</ref><ref name=chipman112>Chipman (1992), p. 112.</ref> The party of 75&nbsp;people included 3&nbsp;children, 7&nbsp;women, 18&nbsp;soldiers, and 10&nbsp;missionaries.<ref name=weber160/> These were the first recorded female settlers in Spanish Texas.<ref name=chipman112/> After marrying a Spanish woman, St. Denis also joined the Spanish expedition.<ref name="weber160"/>

The party reached the land of the [[Hasinai]] people in late June 1716 and was greeted warmly.<ref name=chipman113/> On July 3, mission San Francisco was reestablished as [[Mission Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas]] for the [[Neche Indians]]. Several days later, [[Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción]] was established at the main village of the Hainai, the head tribe of the Hasinai Confederacy, along the [[Angelina River]]. A third mission, [[Mission Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe|Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe]], was established {{convert|15|mi|km}} east of Purísima Concepción, at the main village of the [[Nacogdoche]] tribe, at what is now [[Nacogdoches, Texas|Nacogdoches]]. A final mission, [[Mission San José de los Nazonis|San José de los Nazonis]], was built among the [[Nasoni|Nazoni]] Indians just north of present-day [[Cushing, Texas|Cushing]].<ref name=chipman113>Chipman (1992), p. 113.</ref> A presidio, [[Nuestra Señora de los Dolores]], was built opposite San Francisco de los Tejas.<ref name=chipman115>Chipman (1992), p. 115.</ref>

During this period, the area was named the [[New Philippines]] by the missionaries in the twin hopes of gaining royal patronage, and that the Spanish efforts would be as successful as in the Philippines a century and a half earlier. The alternate name became official and remained in use for several decades, but had virtually disappeared from use (in favor of 'Texas') by the end of the century. The name however persisted in documents, especially in land grants <ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first1=Jesús F. |last1=de la Teja |title=New Philippines |encyclopedia=Handbook of Texas Online |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/usn01 |date=June 15, 2010 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association}}</ref>

[[File:Adaie.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|The first map to depict an Adaes (Adaie) settlement, shown to the west of a cluster of Natchitoches villages, was drawn in 1718 by [[Guillaume Delisle]].]]
At the same time, the French were building a fort in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] to establish a more westward presence. The Spanish countered by founding two more missions just west of Natchitoches, San Miguel de los Adaes and Dolores de los Ais.<ref name="weber162">Weber (1992), p. 162.</ref> The missions were located in a disputed area; France claimed the [[Sabine River (Texas–Louisiana)|Sabine River]] to be the western boundary of Louisiana, while Spain claimed the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] was the eastern boundary of Texas, leaving an overlap of {{convert|45|mi|km}}.<ref name="edmonson10"/>

The new missions were over {{convert|400|mi|km}} from the nearest Spanish settlement, [[San Juan Bautista, Coahuila|San Juan Bautista]].<ref name=chipman113/> It was difficult to reprovision the missions, and by 1718 the missionaries were in dire straits.<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 116.</ref> [[Martín de Alarcón]], who had been appointed governor of Texas in late 1716, wished to establish a way station between the settlements along the [[Rio Grande]] and the new missions in East Texas. The [[Coahuiltecan people|Coahuiltecans]] had built a thriving community near the headwaters of the [[San Antonio River]],<ref name="weber163"/> in the area the Spanish had admired in 1707. Alarcón led a group of 72&nbsp;people, including 10&nbsp;families, into Texas on April 9, 1718. They brought with them 548&nbsp;horses, 6&nbsp;droves of mules, and other livestock. On May 1, the group created a temporary mud, brush and straw structure to serve as a mission, [[Alamo Mission in San Antonio|San Antonio de Valero]], whose chapel was later known as the [[Alamo Mission in San Antonio|Alamo]]. The mission was initially populated with three to five Indians that one of the missionaries had raised since childhood. Alarcon built a presidio, [[Presidio San Antonio de Bexar|San Antonio de Béxar]] {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} north of the mission,.<ref name=chipman117>Chipman (1992), p. 117.</ref> Alarcón also chartered the municipality of Béjar, now [[San Antonio]]. Given a status higher than a village (''pueblo'') but lower than a city (''ciudad''), San Antonio became the only ''villa'' in Texas, and the colonists who settled there relied on farming and ranching to survive.<ref name="weber163">Weber (1992), p. 163.</ref> With the new settlement established, Alarcón continued on to the East Texas missions, where he found evidence of much illicit trade with France.<ref name=chipman118>Chipman (1992), p. 118.</ref>

The following year, the [[War of the Quadruple Alliance]] broke out, aligning Spain against France, Great Britain, the [[Dutch Republic]], and [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]]. The war was fought primarily over Italy, but Great Britain and France launched several attempts to capture Spanish colonies in North America.<ref>Weber (1992), pp. 165–166.</ref> In June 1719, 7&nbsp;Frenchmen from Natchitoches took control of [[Mission San Miguel de los Adaes]] from its sole defender, who did not know that the countries were at war. The French soldiers explained that 100 additional soldiers were coming, and the Spanish colonists, missionaries, and remaining soldiers abandoned the area and fled to San Antonio.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 166–167.</ref>

The [[José de Azlor y Virto de Vera|Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo]] volunteered to reconquer Texas and raised an army of 500&nbsp;soldiers.<ref name=weber167/> Aguayo was named the governor of [[Coahuila]] and Texas and the responsibilities of his office delayed his trip to Texas by a year, until late 1720.<ref name=chipman120>Chipman (1992), p. 120.</ref> Just before he departed, the fighting in Europe halted, and King [[Philip V of Spain|Felipe V of Spain]] ordered them not to invade Louisiana, but instead find a way to retake Eastern Texas without using force.<ref name=weber167/> The expedition brought with them over 2,800&nbsp;horses, 6,400&nbsp;sheep and many goats; this constituted the first large "cattle drive" in Texas. This greatly increased the number of domesticated animals in Texas and marked the beginning of Spanish ranching in Texas.<ref name=chipman121>Chipman (1992), p. 121.</ref>

In July 1721, while approaching the [[Neches River]], Aguayo's expedition met St. Denis, who had returned to the French and was leading a raid on San Antonio. Realizing that he was badly outnumbered, St. Denis agreed to abandon East Texas and return to Louisiana. Aguayo then ordered the building of a new Spanish fort [[Nuestra Señora del Pilar de los Adaes]], located near present-day [[Robeline, Louisiana]], only {{convert|12|mi|km}} from Natchitoches. The new fort became the first capital of Texas, and was guarded by 6&nbsp;cannon and 100&nbsp;soldiers.<ref name=weber167>Weber (1992), p. 167.</ref> The six East Texas missions were reopened, and Presidio Dolores, now known as Presidio de los Tejas, was moved from the Neches River to a site near mission Purísima Concepción near the [[Angelina River]].<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 123.</ref> The Spaniards then built another fort, [[Presidio La Bahía del Espíritu Santo]], known as La Bahía, on the site of the former French Fort St. Louis.<ref name=weber168/> Nearby they established a mission, [[Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga|Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga]] (also known as La Bahía), for the Coco, Karankawa, and [[Cujane]] Indians. Ninety men were left at the garrison.<ref name=chipman126>Chipman (1992), p. 126.</ref> Aguayo returned to Mexico City in 1722 and resigned his governorship.<ref name=chipman126/> At the beginning of his expedition, Texas had consisted only of San Antonio and about 60&nbsp;soldiers; at his resignation, the province had grown to consist of 4&nbsp;presidios, over 250&nbsp;soldiers, 10&nbsp;missions, and the small civilian town of San Antonio.<ref name=weber168>Weber (1992), p. 168.</ref><ref name=chipman126/>

== Settlement difficulties ==
Shortly after Aguayo returned to Mexico, the new viceroy of New Spain, [[Juan de Acuña, marqués de Casafuerte]], was ordered to cut costs accrued for the defense of the northern part of the territory.<ref name=chipman128>Chipman (1992), p. 128.</ref> Acuña appointed Colonel [[Pedro de Rivera y Villalón]] to inspect the entire northern frontier. Beginning in what is now California in November 1724, Rivera spent the next three years inspecting the northern frontier, reaching San Antonio in August 1727. His reports of Los Adaes, [[Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto]], and the presidio at San Antonio were favorable, but he was unimpressed with Presidio de los Tejas, whose 25&nbsp;soldiers were guarding empty missions.<ref name=chipman129>Chipman (1992), p. 129.</ref> The native population had refused to congregate into communities around the missions and refused baptism unless they were on the brink of death. Because the Indians were well-armed, the Franciscans were unable to compel them to join the missions. The frustrated missionaries finally petitioned the Spanish government for 50&nbsp;soldiers to burn the Indians' houses of worship and force them to build homes near the missions.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 186.</ref> No troops were forthcoming.<ref name="weber187">Weber (1992), p. 187.</ref>

Rivera recommended closing Presidio de los Tejas and reducing the number of soldiers at the other presidios. His suggestions were approved in 1729,<ref name=chipman130>Chipman (1992), p. 130.</ref> and 125&nbsp;troops were removed from Texas, leaving only 144&nbsp;soldiers divided among Los Adaes, La Bahía, and San Antonio. The three East Texas missions which had depended on Presidio de los Tejas were relocated along the San Antonio River in May 1731, increasing the number of missions in the San Antonio area to five.<ref name=chipman131>Chipman (1992), p. 131.</ref> The San Antonio missions usually contained fewer than 300&nbsp;Indians. Many of those who lived at the mission had nowhere else to go, and belonged to small tribes that have since become extinct.<ref name="weber192">Weber (1992), p. 192.</ref>

The Spanish government believed that settlers would defend their property, alleviating the need for some of the presidios.<ref name=chipman135>Chipman (1992), p. 135.</ref> Texas was an unappealing prospect for most settlers, however, due to the armed nomadic tribes, high costs, and lack of precious metals.<ref name="weber192"/> In 1731, the Spanish government resettled 
55&nbsp;people, mostly women and children, from the [[Canary Islands]] to San Antonio. At that time, only 300&nbsp;Hispanic settlers lived in San Antonio, with 200&nbsp;others dispersed throughout the rest of the colony. The new immigrants began farming and renamed the town San Fernando de Béxar, establishing the first municipal, and only civilian, government in Texas.<ref name="weber193">Weber (1993), p. 193.</ref> [[Juan Leal Goraz]], the oldest of the settlers, was appointed the first councilman.<ref name=chipman136>Chipman (1992), p. 136.</ref>
[[File:Spanish Missions in Texas.JPG|left|thumb|upright=1.3|Spanish missions within the boundaries of what is now the state of Texas. Land north of the missions was controlled by the Comanche, Apache, Wichita, and Caddo confederacy.]]
As the first settlers of the municipality, the Islanders and their descendants were designated [[Hidalgo (Spanish nobility)|hidalgos]].<ref name=chipman137>Chipman (1992), p. 137.</ref> The established settlers resented the Islanders for their new titles and exclusive privileges within the city government.<ref name=chipman139>Chipman (1992), p. 139.</ref> The newcomers did not know how to handle horses, rendering them useless in mounted warfare against the Apaches. Unlike the established settlers, who relied on ranching, the Islanders were primarily farmers, and their refusal to build fences led to many disagreements when livestock trampled the fields.<ref name=chipman140>Chipman (1992), p. 140.</ref> By the early 1740s, however, intermarriage and the need for closer economic ties had helped to alleviate some of the infighting, and the original settlers were given permission to serve as magistrates and council members.<ref name=chipman145>Chipman (1992), p. 145.</ref>

Spain discouraged manufacturing in its colonies and limited trade to Spanish goods handled by Spanish merchants and carried on Spanish vessels. Most of the ports, including all of those in Texas, were closed to commercial vessels in the hopes of dissuading smugglers. By law, all goods bound for Texas had to be shipped to [[Veracruz]] and then transported over the mountains to [[Mexico City]] before being sent to Texas. This caused the goods to be very expensive in the Texas settlements.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 175.</ref> Settlers were often forced to turn to the French for supplies, as the fort at Natchitoches was well-stocked and goods did not have to travel as far. Without many goods to trade, however, the remaining Spanish missionaries and colonists had little to offer the Indians, who remained loyal to the French traders.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 173.</ref>

== Peace with France ==
[[File:Nouvelle-France map-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Map of [[New France]] (blue color) in 1750, before the [[French and Indian War]]]]
Indians confirmed in 1746 that French traders periodically arrived by sea to trade with tribes in the lower [[Trinity River (Texas)|Trinity River]] region. Eight years later, the Spanish learned of rumors that the French had opened a trading post at the mouth of the Trinity River. In September 1754, the governor, [[List of Texas Governors and Presidents|Jacinto de Barrios y Jáuregui]] sent soldiers to investigate, and they captured five Frenchmen who had been living at an Indian village.<ref name=chipman164>Chipman (1992), p. 164.</ref> To dissuade the French from returning, Spain built the presidio of San Agustín de Ahumada and the mission of Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Orcoquisac near the mouth of the Trinity at [[Galveston Bay]].<ref>Weber (1992), p. 184.</ref> Conditions were awful at the new location, and both the presidio and the mission were closed in 1770.<ref>Chipman (1992), pp. 165, 166.</ref>

The [[Presidio La Bahía]] was moved from the [[Guadalupe River (Texas)|Guadalupe River]] to [[Goliad, Texas|Goliad]] on the [[San Antonio River]] in 1749. Within five years, a new mission for the [[Karankawa]] tribes, [[Spanish missions in Texas|Nuestra Señora del Rosario de los Cuhanes]], was built upstream of the presidio. This mission survived for many years.<ref name=chipman168>Chipman (1992), p. 168.</ref> Despite the new missions and presidios, Texas was one of the least populated provinces on the northern frontier of New Spain.<ref name="weber195">Weber (1992), p. 195.</ref> By 1760, almost 1,200&nbsp;Hispanic people lived in Texas, with half in San Antonio, 350 at [[Los Adaes]], and 260 at La Bahía. Other Spaniards lived in what is now the [[El Paso]] area, but that was considered part of New Mexico and not part of Texas.<ref name="weber194">Weber (1992), p. 194.</ref>

On November 3, 1762, as part of the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762)|Treaty of Fontainebleau]], France ceded the portion of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain. Spain had assisted France against Britain in the [[Seven Years' War]], and lost both [[Manila]] and [[Havana]] to the British. Although the Louisiana colony was a financial liability, King [[Charles III of Spain|Carlos III]] of Spain reluctantly accepted it, as that meant France was finally ceding its claim to Texas.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 198.</ref> At the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] on February 10, 1763, Great Britain recognized Spain's right to the lands west of the Mississippi. Great Britain received the remainder of France's North American territories, and Spain exchanged some of their holdings in Florida for Havana.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 199.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; float:right;"
|+San Antonio de Béxar Population<ref name=chipman187>Chipman (1992), p. 187.</ref><ref name=chipman188>Chipman (1992), p. 188.</ref>
|-
!Year!!Population
|-
|1740
|437&ndash;560
|-
|1762
|514&ndash;661
|-
|1770
|860
|-
|1777
|1,351
|-
|1780
|1,463
|}

With France no longer a threat to Spain's North American interests, the Spanish monarchy commissioned the [[Cayetano Pignatelli, 3rd Marquis of Rubi|Marquis of Rubí]] to inspect all of the presidios on the northern frontier of New Spain and make recommendations for the future. Rubí's two-year journey, beginning in early 1766, covered {{convert|7,000|mi|km|spell=in}} from the Gulf of California to East Texas. This was the first comprehensive look at the New Spain frontier since the 1720s, when [[Pedro de Rivera y Villalon|Pedro de Rivera]] conducted his expedition. Rubí was unimpressed with the presidio at San Saba, which he declared to be the worst in the kingdom of New Spain.<ref name=chipman173>Chipman (1992), p. 173.</ref> He recommended that only the presidios at San Antonio and La Bahía be maintained, and that East Texas be totally abandoned, with all population moving to San Antonio.<ref name=chipman181>Chipman (1992), p. 181.</ref> With Louisiana in Spanish control, there was no need for Los Adaes to reside so closely to Natchitoches, especially after the missions had relocated to San Antonio. In August 1768, the acting governor, [[Juan María Vicencio]], Baron of Ripperdà, moved his headquarters and the garrison to San Antonio, and in 1772 San Antonio became the new Texas capital. Los Adaes was abandoned completely.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 211.</ref> The new governor also augmented the garrison at San Antonio to protect the town from recurring Indian attacks. A new presidio, Fuerte de Santa Cruz de Cibolo, was also established {{convert|40|mi|km|0}} southeast of San Antonio to protect farmers and ranchers from attacks.<ref name=chipman184>Chipman (1992), p. 184.</ref>

As a result of Rubí's recommendations, Presidio de San Agustín de Ahumada was closed in 1771, leaving the Texas coast unoccupied except for La Bahía. In July 1772, however, the governor of Texas heard rumors that English traders were building a settlement in the area of the Texas coast that had been abandoned.<ref name="weddle79">Weddle (1995), p. 79.</ref> The commander of La Bahía was sent to find the settlement, but saw no sign of other Europeans. His expedition did, however, trace the [[San Jacinto River (Texas)|San Jacinto River]] to its mouth where it emptied into [[Galveston Bay]].<ref name="weddle80">Weddle (1995), p. 80.</ref>

=== Founding of Nacogdoches ===
The 500&nbsp;Hispanic settlers who had lived near [[Los Adaes]] had to resettle in San Antonio in 1773.<ref name="weber222"/> In the six years between the inspection and the removal of the settlers, the immigrant population of East Texas had increased from 200 Europeans to 500, a mixture of Spanish, French, Indians, and a few blacks. The settlers were given only five days to prepare to relocate to San Antonio. Many of them perished during the three-month trek and others died soon after arriving.<ref name=chipman186>Chipman (1992), p. 186.</ref>

After protesting, they were permitted in the following year to return to East Texas, but only as far as the Trinity River, {{convert|175|mi|km}} from Natchitoches. Led by [[Antonio Gil Y'Barbo]], the settlers founded the town of Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Bucareli "where the trail from San Antonio to Los Adaes crossed the Trinity."<ref name="weber222">Weber (1992), p. 222.</ref> The settlers helped smuggle contraband goods from Louisiana to San Antonio, and also helped the soldiers with coastal reconnaissance.<ref name="weddle86">Weddle (1995), p. 86.</ref>

In May 1776, King Carlos III created a new position, the [[Commandancy General of the Internal Provinces of the North]] (''Provincias Internas''), to control frontier areas across northern [[New Spain]], including Spanish Texas. The first appointee, [[Teodoro de Croix]], served as governor and commander-in-chief of the area from 1776 until 1783.<ref>Weber (1992), pp. 224–225.</ref> As de Croix prepared to take office, his predecessor, Baron of Ripperdà, wrote a detailed report, dated April 27, 1777, of the settlements in Texas. One-third of the report detailed the village of Bucareli, which he labeled as "'of the greatest importance as a means of acquiring reports of a coast as extensive as it is uninhabited.'"<ref name="weddle88">Weddle (1995), p. 88.</ref> The Bucareli settlers regularly performed coastal explorations and developed a friendship with the [[Bidai]] tribe, who reported any signs of foreigners along the coast.<ref name="weddle88"/> In the summer of 1777, Gil Ybarbo discovered that a group of Englishmen had come from the sea and stayed long enough to plant a crop near the [[Neches River]]. He led an expedition to find the Englishmen, but, although they discovered the fields, the expedition did not find any of the settlers.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 89.</ref>

In 1779, the Comanches began raiding the Bucareli area, and the settlers chose to move further east to the old mission of Nacogdoches, where they founded the town of the same name. The new town quickly became a waystation for contraband.<ref name="weber222"/> The settlers did not have authorization to move, and no troops were assigned to protect the new location until 1795.<ref name=chipman187>Chipman (1992), p. 187.</ref>

==Conflict with the Native Americans==

===Apache raids===
[[File:Wohngebiet Lipan.png|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[Lipan Apache people|Lipan Apache]] territories]]
The tribes traded freely, and soon many had acquired French guns, while others had traded for Spanish horses. Tribes without access to either resource were left at a disadvantage. The [[Lipan Apache people|Lipan Apache]], who had been seasonal farmers, were soon pressed by the [[Comanche]], who had horses, and the [[Wichita (tribe)|Wichita]], who had guns.<ref name="weber188"/> The Apaches were bitter enemies of the Tejas of East Texas and had transferred their enmity to the Spanish as friends of the Tejas.<ref name=chipman133>Chipman (1992), p. 133.</ref> After discovering San Antonio in 1720, the Apache mounted small-scale raids on the area to steal livestock, especially horses.<ref name=weber188/> The Hispanic population of San Antonio was only about 300 and all of Texas about 500 and the Apache killed an average of 3&nbsp;Spaniards each year and stole approximately 100&nbsp;animals from the beleaguered colony. In retaliation, the Spanish launched multiple attacks on the Apaches, capturing horses and mules, hides and other plunder, and taking Apache captives, whom the Spanish used as household slaves.<ref name=anderson111>Anderson (1999), p. 111.</ref> By 1731, however, the San Antonio garrison was begging the government for help in negotiating a peace with the tribes.<ref name="weber188">Weber (1992), pp. 127, 188, 193.</ref>

The threat of Apache raids led to a constant state of unease in San Antonio, and some families left the area, while others refused to leave the safety of the town to tend their livestock.<ref name=chipman139/> The problems culminated with a late-night raid on San Antonio by 350&nbsp;Apache on June 30, 1745, retaliation for a Spanish military campaign several months before. The attackers were repelled with the assistance of 100&nbsp;Indians from nearby Mission Valero.<ref name=chipman145>Chipman (1992), p. 145.</ref> The Apache also preyed on other tribes, including the [[Attakapa|Deadose]] and [[Tonkawa]]. In the 1740s, these weaker tribes requested missions along the [[San Gabriel River (Texas)|San Gabriel River]] in the hopes that the Spanish could protect them from attack.<ref name=anderson113>Anderson (1999), p. 113.</ref> Mission San Francisco Xavier was established at the confluence of the San Gabriel River and Bushy Creek in January 1746 to serve the Deadose, Mayeye, and [[Karankawa|Coco]] Indians.<ref name=chipman150>Chipman (1992), p. 150.</ref> In 1748 alone, the Apaches raided the mission four times, killing three&nbsp;soldiers and four of the Indian residents.<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 151.</ref> Many of the resident Indians fled the mission due to the threat of attacks.<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 152.</ref> This did not deter the missionaries, who founded two more missions, San Ildefonso and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, in the area the following year. Within six months, all of the potential converts at San Ildefonso had left.<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 153.</ref> By 1755, the missions were transferred to a new location on the [[San Marcos River]].<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 156.</ref>

The Apache were coming under increased pressure from the Comanche advancing from the north and sought peace with the Spanish. A peace was declared in August 1749, when a group of [[Apache]] chiefs and Spanish officials "symbolically [buried] the trouble between the two parties" by burying weapons in the plaza at [[San Antonio]]. The Spanish also promised to provide military assistance to the Apache.<ref name=anderson120>Anderson (1999), p. 120.</ref> The [[Lipan Apache]] had asked for missions several times, and in 1757 all property of the former San Gabriel missions, as well as the military garrison which briefly protected them, was transferred to new [[Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá]] along the [[San Saba River]] northwest of San Antonio.<ref name="weber188"/><ref>Chipman (1992), pp. 158,&nbsp;159.</ref> A log stockade was constructed {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} from the mission, on the other side of the river, so that the soldiers would not corrupt the Indians. The stockade could hold up to 400&nbsp;including the 237&nbsp;women and children who accompanied the soldiers.<ref name="weber189">Weber (1992), p. 189.</ref>

Apaches shunned the mission, and on March 16, 1758, a band of [[Comanche]], [[Tonkawa]], and [[Hasinai]] warriors, angry that the Spaniards were assisting their Apache enemies, pillaged and burned the mission, killing eight people.<ref name="weber189"/> The San Sabá mission was the only Spanish mission in Texas to be completely destroyed by Indians, and it was never rebuilt.<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 161.</ref> Although the Indian force had 2000&nbsp;members, they chose not to attack the fort.<ref name="weber189"/>

The Spanish government refused to abandon the area completely out of fear that such an action would make them appear weak. While they planned a response, Indians raided the San Saba horse herd, stealing all of the horses and pack mules and killing 20&nbsp;soldiers.<ref>Chipman (1992), p. 162.</ref> In October 1759, Spain sent the San Sabá commander, Colonel [[Diego Ortiz Parrilla]], on an expedition north to the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] to avenge the attack. The tribes were forewarned and led Parrilla's army to a fortified Wichita village, surrounded by a stockade and a moat, where natives brandished French guns and waved a French flag. After a skirmish in which 52&nbsp;Spaniards were killed, wounded, or deserted, the Spanish retreated.<ref name="weber189"/> The San Sabá presidio was replaced with a limestone fortress and a moat, but the Comanches and their allies remained close and killed any soldiers who ventured out. By 1769, Spain abandoned the fort.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 191.</ref>

In 1762, missionaries established two unauthorized missions south of San Sabá, in the [[Nueces River]] valley. For several years the Apache lived in the missions most of the year, but left in winter to hunt buffalo. One of the missions closed in 1763, when the Apache never returned from their hunt.<ref name=anderson124>Anderson (1999), p. 124.</ref> The surviving mission closed in January 1766, after a force of 400&nbsp;natives from the northern tribes attacked, killing 6&nbsp;Apaches and taking 25&nbsp;captives as well as all the livestock in the valley. Forty-one Spanish troops and their small cannon ambushed the northern tribes as they returned to East Texas. Before the Spanish were forced to retreat, over 200&nbsp;Indians and 12&nbsp;Spanish soldiers died.<ref name=anderson125>Anderson (1999), p. 125.</ref> After the battle, the Apache refused to return to the mission and returned to raiding near San Antonio. Raids by the northern tribes decreased, however.<ref name=anderson126>Anderson (1999), p. 126.</ref>

===Comanche===
[[File:Comancheria.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Comanchería prior to 1850. The Comanche shared the land with their allies, the [[Kiowa]], [[Kiowa Apache]], and Wichita.]]  
{{see also|Spanish peace treaties with the Comanche}}
The first recorded contact between the Comanche and the Spanish in Texas was in 1743 when a small band of Comanche visited San Antonio. The 
Comanche were expanding southward from Colorado and pushing the Apache off the Great Plains. About 1750 they became the dominant power in the northwestern one-half of Texas, called the [[Comancheria|Comanchería]] (Spanish for "[[Comanche]] lands"), and maintained their dominance for 100 years.<ref>{{cite book |first=Pekka |last=Hämäläinen |title=The Comanche Empire |date=2008 |page=2 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, Connecticut |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jd4Km3Y8oAwC&pg=PA2 |isbn=978-0-300-15117-6}}</ref> Through a combination of diplomacy and war, the Comanche established an extensive long-distance trade network and spread their language and culture among allied Indian tribes. Initially, the Spanish in Texas called them the ''norteños'' (northerners) a collective term for the Wichita and other Indian tribes in northern Texas.
<ref>{{cite journal |first=Pekka |last=Hämäläinen |title=The Western Comanche Trade Center: Rethinking the Plains Indian Trade System |journal=Western Historical Quarterly |volume=29 |issue=4 |date=Winter 1998 |pages=485–513 |doi=10.2307/970405 |jstor=970405}}</ref>

The Comanche were divided into the western bands which primarily raided and traded in New Mexico and the eastern banks which primarily raided and traded in Texas. For much of the 1770s, the Comanche raided in [[New Mexico]].<ref name=anderson139>Anderson (1999), p. 139.</ref> The Comanche were defeated in a battle in Colorado in 1779 by a Spanish army led by New Mexico governor [[Juan Bautista de Anza]] and redirected their activities to the weakly defended Texas. During the same time period the Apaches, who had been stockpiling guns received from the Karankawas, returned to raiding settlements in Texas, violating their peace treaty.<ref name=chipman198>Chipman (1992), p. 198.</ref> The Comanche promptly declared war on the Apache.<ref name=anderson139 />

Gálvez became the viceroy of New Spain in 1785.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 228.</ref> Gálvez ordered that the Native Americans be encouraged to use alcohol, which they could only get through trading, and that the firearms they were traded be poorly made so that they would be awkward to use and easy to break.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 229.</ref> His policies were never implemented, as Spain did not have the money to provide gifts such as those to the tribes.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 230.</ref> Instead, the Spanish negotiated a treaty with the Comanche in late 1785.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 163.</ref> The treaty promised annual gifts to the Comanches, and the peace it brought lasted for the next 30&nbsp;years.<ref name=chipman199>Chipman (1992), p. 199.</ref> By late 1786, northern and western Texas were secure enough that [[Pedro Vial]] and a single companion safely "pioneered a trail from San Antonio to [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]]," a distance of {{convert|700|mi|km}}.<ref>Weber (1992), pp. 234&ndash;235.</ref>

The Comanches were willing to fight the enemies of their new friends, and soon attacked the Karankawa. Over the next several years, the Comanches killed many of the Karankawa in the area and drove the others into Mexico.<ref name="weddle164">Weddle (1995), p. 164.</ref> By 1804, very few natives lived on the barrier islands, where the Karankawa had made their home.<ref name="weddle167">Weddle (1995), p. 167.</ref> In January 1790, the Comanche also helped the Spanish fight a large battle against the Mescalero and Lipan Apaches at Soledad Creek west of San Antonio.<ref name=chipman200>Chipman (1992), p. 200.</ref> Over 1,000&nbsp;Comanche warriors participated in raids against the Apache in 1791 and 1792, and the Apache were forced to scatter into the mountains in Mexico.<ref name=anderson140>Anderson (1999), p. 140.</ref> In 1796, Spanish officials began an attempt to have the Apache and Comanche coexist in peace, and over the next ten years the intertribal fighting declined.<ref name=anderson141>Anderson(1999), p. 141.</ref>

=== Karankawa difficulties ===

In 1776, Native Americans at the Bahia missions told the soldiers that the Karankawas had massacred a group of Europeans who had been shipwrecked near the mouth of the [[Guadalupe River (Texas)|Guadalupe River]].<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 81.</ref> After finding the remains of an English commercial [[frigate]], the soldiers warned the Karankawa to refrain from attacking seamen. The soldiers continued to explore the coast, and reported that foreign powers could easily build a small settlement on the barrier islands, which were difficult to access from the mainland, and then ascend the Trinity or San Jacinto Rivers into the heart of Texas. Captain Luis Cazorla, the commander of the La Bahía presidio, recommended that Spain build a small fort on the barrier islands and provide a shallow-draft vessel to continually reconnoiter the coast. The fort would be both a deterrent to the more bloodthirsty tribes and to the English. The Spanish government, fearful of smuggling, declined to give permission for a port or a boat on the Texas coast.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 82.</ref>

De Croix was unimpressed with his new province, complaining that,

{{blockquote|"'A villa without order, two presidios, seven missions, and an errant population of scarcely 4,000 persons of both sexes and all ages that occupies an immense desert country, stretching from the abandoned presidio of Los Adaes to San Antonio, ... does not deserve the name of the Province of Texas ... nor the concern entailed in its preservation.'"<ref name=chipman193>Chipman (1992), p. 193.</ref>}}

Despite his distaste for the area, he increased the number of troops in the interior provinces by 50% and created units of "light troops" which did not carry all of the heavy gear and could fight on foot. His administration also attempted to build alliances with native troops, and planned to work with the Comanche and the Wichita to wipe out the Apache raiders.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 226.</ref> The plan was shelved when Spain entered the [[American Revolution]] as an ally of the French and the American revolutionaries and money and troops were diverted to attacking Florida instead of exterminating the Apaches.<ref name=chipman192/><ref>Thonhoff (2000), p. 25.</ref> After soldiers in Coahuila aligned with the [[Mescalero]]s against the Lipan Apaches, however, Spain was able to sign a peace treaty with the Lipans. The Comanches were also becoming more brazen, attacking Presidio La Bahía in 1781, where they were repulsed.<ref name=chipman192>Chipman (1992), p. 192.</ref>

After hearing that Englishman George Gauld had surveyed the Gulf Coast all the way to Galveston Bay in 1777, [[Bernardo de Gálvez]] appointed a French engineer, Luis Antonio Andry, to conduct a similar survey for Spain.<ref>Weddle (1995), pp. 137, 150, 152.</ref> Andry finished his survey in March 1778, and anchored off [[Matagorda Bay]] after running dangerously low on provisions. Over a period of days, the Karankawa lured a few men at a time from the ship with offers of assistance and killed all but one, a [[Maya civilization|Mayan]] sailor named Tomás de la Cruz.<ref name="weddle155">Weddle (1995), p. 155.</ref> The Karankawa also burned the ship and the newly created map, possibly the first detailed Spanish map of the Texas-Louisiana coast.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 156.</ref> Several months later, the Native Americans living at Mission Rosario, near La Bahía, escaped to join the Karankawa, and together they began raiding livestock and harassing settlers. The governor pardoned many of the fugitives, and most of them returned to the mission.<ref name="weddle155"/> The Karankawa continued to cause difficulties for the Spanish, and in 1785 the interim commandant-general, Joseph Antonio Rengel, noted that they were unable to explore in the Matagorda Bay region as long as the Karankawa held it.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 161.</ref>

The Spanish again arranged for their coastline to be mapped, and in September 1783, [[History of Galveston, Texas|José de Evia]] left Havana to chart the coastline between [[Key West]] and Matagorda Bay.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 169.</ref> During his journey, Evia gave Galveston Bay its name, in honor of his sponsor, De Gálvez.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 176.</ref> Evia later mapped the Nuevo Santander coast between Matagorda Bay and Tampico, part of which later belonged to Texas.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 187.</ref>

In 1791 and 1792, Fray José Francisco Garza befriended some of the Karankawa and other native peoples.<ref name="weddle164">Weddle (1995), p. 164.</ref> Their friendship allowed Garza to explore much of the coastal areas that had been too dangerous to visit.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 165.</ref> The Native Americans requested that Garza build a mission at the junction of the San Antonio and Guadalupe Rivers,<ref name="weddle164" /> and in February 1793 Mission Nuestra Señora del Refugio opened near Mission Lake at the head of San Antonio Bay. Over 230&nbsp;Native Americans lived at the mission initially, but within two years they were forced to move to a less flood-prone site,<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 166.</ref> which became known as [[Refugio, Texas|Refugio]].<ref name="weddle167" /> By the end of the eighteenth century, only a small number of the hunting and gathering tribes within Texas had not been [[Christianized]].<ref name=chipman202>Chipman (1992), p. 202.</ref>

== Conflict with the United States ==
The [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Second Treaty of Paris]] in 1783 ended the [[American Revolution]] and established the United States of America.<ref name=chipman196/> The treaty extended the new country's western boundary to the Mississippi River<ref>{{citation|last=Lewis|first=James E.|title=The American Union and the Problem of Neighborhood: The United States and the Collapse of the Spanish Empire, 1783&ndash;1829|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill |year=1998 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KpHdBwAAQBAJ |isbn=0-8078-2429-1}}</ref> and within the first year after it was signed 50,000&nbsp;American settlers crossed the [[Appalachian Mountains]]. As it was difficult to return east across the mountains, the settlers began looking toward the Spanish colonies of Louisiana and Texas to find places to sell their crops.<ref name=chipman196>Chipman (1992), p. 196.</ref> Spain closed the mouth of the Mississippi to foreigners from 1784 until 1795 despite [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s 1790 threat to begin an Anglo-Spanish war over the matter.<ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1998|p=15}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1998|p=22}}</ref> Americans risked arrest to come to Texas, many of them desiring to capture wild mustangs in [[West Texas]] and trade with the Indians.<ref name="weber296"/> In 1791, [[Philip Nolan (Texas trader)|Philip Nolan]] became the first Anglo-American known to pursue horse-trading in Texas, and he was arrested several times for being within Spain's borders.<ref name=chipman213>Chipman (1992), p. 213.</ref> The Spanish feared that Nolan was a spy, and in 1801 they sent 150&nbsp;troops to capture Nolan and his party of 6&nbsp;men; Nolan was killed during the ensuing battle.<ref name=owsley34>{{citation|last1=Owsley|first1=Frank Lawrence Jr. |last2=Smith|first2=Gene A.|title=Filibusters and Expansionists: Jeffersonian Manifest Destiny, 1800&ndash;1821|publisher=University of Alabama Press|location=Tuscaloosa |year=1997 |page=34 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ykoCBAAAQBAJ |isbn=0-8173-0880-6}}</ref> By 1810, many Americans were trading guns and ammunition to the Texas Indians, especially the Comanche, in return for livestock. Although some chiefs refused to trade with them and reported their movements to Spanish authorities, other bands welcomed the newcomers.<ref>Anderson (1999), p. 252.</ref><ref name=anderson253/> A drought made rangeland scarce and stopped the Comanche's herds from increasing. To meet the American demand for livestock, the Comanche turned to raiding the area around San Antonio.<ref name=anderson253/>

The Spanish government believed that security would come with a larger population, but was unable to attract colonists from Spain or from other New World colonies.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 280.</ref> By the late 18th century, Texas was one of the least populated regions of New Spain, with fewer than two inhabitants per square [[League (unit)|league]].<ref name=chipman205>Chipman (1992), p. 205.</ref> The population was relatively stagnant, having grown only to 3,169&nbsp;individuals in 1790 from 3,103 in 1777.<ref name=chipman2056>Chipman (1992), pp. 205&ndash;206.</ref> Over half of the population was classified as Spaniards, with settled Indians making up the next largest category. Blacks, mostly slaves, made up less than 1% of the population in 1777, and only 2.2% of the 1793 census. Over two-thirds of the adults in Texas were married, and single men outnumbered single women, although there was a high percentage of widows.<ref name=chipman206/> Intermarriage was fairly common, mostly between white men and women of mixed origin. Children from these unions often passed as whites.<ref name=chipman207>Chipman (1992), p. 207.</ref> Illegitimate births increased steadily throughout the century, reaching 20% of all births in 1799.<ref name=chipman206>Chipman (1992), p. 206.</ref> Despite the small population, however, Spain actively discouraged immigration to Texas, and a permanent garrison was placed in Nacogdoches in 1790 to keep foreigners from settling in the area.<ref name=chipman209>Chipman (1992), p. 209.</ref> Immigrants from the United States were allowed to settle in Louisiana and Florida after taking an oath of allegiance, but were not required to convert to [[Roman Catholicism]].<ref>Weber (1992), p. 281.</ref>

[[File:Louisiana1804 loc filename ct000654.png|left|thumb|upright=1.3|The Louisiana Territory and Texas in 1804]]

In 1799, Spain gave Louisiana back to France in exchange for the promise of a throne in central Italy. Although the agreement was signed on October 1, 1800, it did not go into effect until 1802. The following year, [[Napoleon]] sold Louisiana to the United States. Many of the Spaniards who had moved to the colony left for Texas, Florida, or other Spanish-held lands. The original agreement between Spain and France had not explicitly specified the borders of Louisiana, and the descriptions in the documents were ambiguous and contradictory.<ref name="weber291"/> Even when both territories had been under Spanish control, there was disagreement on where the border should be. In 1793, the King of Spain decided that there was no need to move the boundary from Natchitoches to the [[Sabine River (Texas-Louisiana)|Sabine River]], as had been recommended by some Frenchmen.<ref>Weddle (1995), p. 194.</ref>

The United States insisted that its purchase also included most of [[Spanish West Florida|West Florida]] and all of Texas.<ref name="weber291">Weber (1992), p. 291.</ref> [[Thomas Jefferson]] claimed that Louisiana stretched west to the [[Rocky Mountains]] and included the entire [[drainage basin|watershed]] of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and their tributaries, and that the southern border was the Rio Grande. Spain maintained that Louisiana extended only as far as Natchitoches, and that it did not include West Florida or the [[Illinois Territory]].<ref>Weber (1992), p. 292.</ref>

Texas was again considered a buffer province, this time between New Spain and the United States. In 1804, Spain planned to send thousands of colonists to increase the number of residents in Texas (then at 4,000&nbsp;Hispanic inhabitants). The plan was cancelled as the government did not have the money to relocate the settlers.<ref name="weber295">Weber (1992), p. 295.</ref> The responsibility for defending Texas now rested with [[Nemesio Salcedo]], who held the newly reopened position of [[Commandancy General of the Provincias Internas|Commandant General of the Internal Provinces]].<ref name="weber295"/> Salcedo promoted immigration to Texas, and a new town, Trinidad de Salcedo, was founded where the Trinity River intersected the road from San Antonio to Nacogdoches. For a brief time, Salcedo also allowed former Spanish subjects from Louisiana to come to Texas. A few Americans who had become naturalized Spaniards settled in Texas during that time. Salcedo warned, however, that "'the foreigners are not and will not be anything but crows to pick out our eyes.'"<ref name="weber296">Weber (1992), p. 296.</ref>

King [[Charles IV of Spain]] ordered data compiled to determine the true boundary.<ref name=chipman223>Chipman (1992), p. 223.</ref> Before the border was settled, both sides led armed excursions into the disputed areas, and Spain began increasing the number of troops stationed in Texas. By 1806, the number had doubled, with over 883 stationed in and around Nacogdoches.<ref>{{harvp|Owsley|Smith|1997|p=36}}</ref> At the end of 1806, local commanders negotiated a temporary agreement in which neither the Spanish nor the Americans would venture into the area between the Sabine River and Arroyo Hondo.<ref name=chipman224>Chipman (1992), p. 224.</ref> This neutral ground quickly became a haven for lawlessness<ref>{{harvp|Owsley|Smith|1997|p=38}}</ref> and it did not stop individuals from crossing the boundary.<ref name=chipman226/> While on a mission for the United States Army to explore some of the disputed areas of the Louisiana Purchase<ref>{{citation |last=Hoig |first=Stan |title=Beyond the Frontier: Exploring the Indian Country |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UnjM1D2GEZwC&pg=PA70 |page=70 |isbn=0-8061-3046-6}}</ref> [[Zebulon Pike]] was arrested by the Spanish while camping on the Rio Grande and escorted back to Natchitoches. Although his maps and notes were confiscated, Pike was able to recreate most of it from memory. His glowing comments about Texas lands and animals made many Americans yearn to control the territory.<ref name=chipman226>Chipman (1992), p. 226.</ref>

== End of Spanish period ==
In May 1808, Napoleon forced King [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]] to abdicate the Spanish throne. His replacement, Napoleon's elder brother [[Joseph Bonaparte]] (Joseph I), was appointed King of Spain, to violent protests from the Spanish citizens. The uprisings continued for the next six years, until his abdication in 1814 and the return of Ferdinand VII. During the time, there was little oversight of the New World colonies.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 275.</ref> A shadow government operated out [[Cádiz]] during Joseph's reign, operating under the [[Spanish Constitution of 1812]]. The constitutional government included representatives from the colonies, including Texas and New Mexico in New Spain. When King [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]] resumed his throne, he refused to recognize the new constitution or the representative government. He was forced to change his mind in 1820 as the only way to avert a military coup.<ref name=weber297>Weber (1992), p. 297.</ref>

During this time of turmoil, it was unclear who actually governed the colonies: Joseph I, the shadow government representing Ferdinand VII, the colonial officials, or revolutionaries in each province.<ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1998|p=34}}</ref> The [[Mexican War of Independence]] began in 1810 at the instigation of [[Miguel Hidalgo]]. Fearing that the revolution would reach colonial Texas, governor [[Manuel María de Salcedo]] ordered the Texas borders closed to all foreigners. He was soon reversed by his uncle, the Commandant General.<ref>{{harvp|Owsley|Smith|1997|p=40}}</ref> In January 1811,  revolutionaries led by [[Juan Bautista de las Casas]] overthrew and imprisoned Salcedo, and established a new government in Texas. Salcedo persuaded [[Ignacio Elizondo]] (his jailer) to return to the royalist cause and the two organized a counter-coup. Las Casas and Hidalgo were each captured and executed by the end of the summer.<ref>{{harvp|Owsley|Smith|1997|p=41}}</ref>
[[File:Viceroyalty of New Spain Location 1819 (without Philippines).png|thumb|upright=1.3|The Viceroyalty of [[New Spain]] in 1819]]
Although officially neutral during the Mexican War of Independence, the United States allowed rebels to trade at American ports<ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1998|p=80}}</ref> and much of the weaponry and ammunition used by the rebels came from the United States. Americans also provided manpower for the conflict, with Natchitoches serving as a launching point for several expeditions into Texas.<ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1998|p=37}}</ref> In 1812, Mexican insurgent [[Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara]] led a small force of Americans into Texas.<ref name=weber299/> Indians from the eastern part of Texas quickly joined the insurgency.<ref name=anderson253>Anderson (1999), p. 253.</ref> Calling themselves the [[Republican Army of the North]], the group captured San Antonio in 1813, assassinated the governor, Manuel María de Salcedo, and proclaimed Texas independent from Spain.<ref name="weber299"/> The death of the governor caused many of the Anglo-Americans to desert the cause, but on April 17, 1813, the [[Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition]] members composed Texas's first constitution, which provided for a centralized form of government.<ref name=chipman236>Chipman (1992), p. 236.</ref> Spanish forces recaptured the province later that year at the [[Battle of Medina]], and killed 1300 and executed any Tejanos accused of having Republican tendencies.<ref name="weber299"/> Within 2&nbsp;weeks almost 400&nbsp;rebels were executed and their wives and daughters were imprisoned for 2&nbsp;months. Royalist soldiers even chased many of the women and children who had fled San Antonio, killing 200&ndash;300. Captured Americans were given an opportunity to take an oath of loyalty to Spain, and those who refused were escorted back to the United States.<ref>{{harvp|Owsley|Smith|1997|p=58}}</ref> Fearing that the Comanche would still constitute a threat, Spanish general Arredondo ordered all ranchers to move temporarily to San Antonio to help defend the city. When they returned to their ranches several months later, they found that the Comanche had slaughtered all of the livestock, leaving most of the carcasses where they fell.<ref name=anderson253/> The Spanish army looted the rest of Texas too, and by 1820 fewer than 2000&nbsp;Hispanic citizens remained in Texas.<ref name="weber299">Weber (1992), p. 299.</ref> "Spanish Texas, or what remained of it, had become a desolate, unprotected land that could not feed itself."<ref name=anderson254>Anderson (1999), p. 254.</ref>

Another revolutionary, [[José Manuel Herrera]], created a government on [[Galveston Island]] in September 1816 which he proclaimed part of a Mexican Republic.<ref name=chipman238>Chipman (1992), p. 238.</ref> A group of French exiles in the United States attempted to create their own colony on the Trinity River, known as Le Champ d'Asile. The exiles planned to use the colony as a base to liberate New Spain and then free Napoleon from St. Helena. They abandoned the colony shortly and returned to Galveston.<ref name=chipman239>Chipman (1992), p. 239.</ref>

[[File:Adams onis map.png|thumb|upright=1.3|This map shows the results of the [[Transcontinental Treaty]], which ended the border conflict between Spain and the United States.]]
On February 22, 1819, Spain and the United States reached agreement on the [[Transcontinental Treaty]], which ceded Florida to the United States in return for the United States relinquishing its claim on Texas. The official boundary of Texas was set at the [[Sabine River (Texas–Louisiana)|Sabine River]] (the current boundary between Texas and Louisiana), then following the Red and [[Arkansas River]]s to the 42nd parallel (California's current northern border).<ref name="weber299"/><ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1998|p=124}}</ref> For the next two years, until early February 1821, Spain delayed ratification of the treaty, using it as leverage to prevent the United States from formally recognizing one of the rebellious Spanish colonies as an independent nation.<ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1998|p=136}}</ref> During this period many Americans spoke out against the treaty and the renunciation of the claim to Texas.<ref name="weber300"/> An essay in the ''City of Washington Gazette'' denounced the treaty, claiming that "'a league'" of the land in Texas was worth more to the United States "'than the whole territory west of the Rocky Mountains'".<ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1998|p=145}}</ref>

In 1819, [[James Long (filibuster)|James Long]] led the [[Long Expedition]] to invade Texas. He declared Texas an independent republic, but by the end of the year his rebellion had been quelled by Colonel [[Juan Ignacio Pérez]] and his Spanish troops. The following year Long established a new base near Galveston Bay "to free Texas from 'the yoke of Spanish authority... the most atrocious despotism that ever disgraced the annals of Europe.'"<ref name="weber300">Weber (1992), p. 300.</ref> His basis for a rebellion was soon gone, however.

On February 24, 1821, [[Agustín de Iturbide]] launched a drive for [[Mexican War of Independence|Mexican Independence]]. Texas became a part of the newly independent nation without a shot being fired.<ref name="weber300"/>

== Spanish Texas population ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+'''Population Statistics of Spanish Texas''' 
|-
!Year||Pop Spaniards/[[Criollo people|Criollo]]||% pop ||Mestizo, Castizo and other castes ||% pop ||Amerindians||% pop ||Slaves||% pop || Total Population||Inhabitants per Sq.League
|-
| 1682
!129<br /> (Coulson and Joyce estimates for [[Ysleta Mission]],<br /> first Spanish foundation in modern-day Texas)<ref name="Coulson, Joyce 2003">{{cite web |author=David P. Coulson |author2=Linda Joyce |url=https://bivir.uacj.mx/Reserva/Documentos/rva2005128.pdf|title=United States state-level population estimates: Colonization to 1999|date= August 2003|publisher=USDA|page=44}}</ref>
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
|-
| 1731
!500<ref>Weber, David J. (1993), The Spanish Frontier in North America, Yale Western Americana Series, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-05198-0</ref>
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
|-
| 1742 (Peter Gerhard estimations)
!1,800<ref name="Tjarks">{{cite web|author=Alicia Vidaurreta Tjarks|url=https://bivir.uacj.mx/Reserva/Documentos/rva2005128.pdf|title=Comparative Demographic Analysis of Texas, 1777-1793*|date=|page=8}}</ref>
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
! 1,290
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!3,090
!N/A
|-
| 1761
!About 1,200<ref name="Chipman 1992"/>
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
|-
|1777
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!-1%<ref name="Chipman 1992">Chipman (1992), pp. 205–206, 194</ref> 
!3,103<ref name="Chipman 1992"/><ref name="Tjarks"/>
!N/A
|-
| 1780
! 2,000
! 50%<ref name="Calvert">{{Cite book|last1=Calvert|first1=Robert A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgbQngEACAAJ|title=The History of Texas|last2=León|first2=Arnoldo De|last3=Cantrell|first3=Gregg|publisher=[[Wiley-Blackwell]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1-118-61772-4|page=35}}</ref>
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
! N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!4,000<ref name="Tjarks"/>
!N/A
|-
| 1790<br />([[Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo|Revillagigedo]] census)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vsalgs.org/stnemgenealogy/nwspstat.html|title=New Spain (Mexico), 1790 Statistics Charts|date=24 December 2013|access-date=23 December 2017|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224102407/http://vsalgs.org/stnemgenealogy/nwspstat.html|archive-date=24 December 2013}}</ref>
!1,326
!41%
!1,083
!32%
!912
!27%
!N/A
!2.2%
!3,169<ref name="Chipman 1992"/> - 3,334
!N/A
|-
|1800 
!4,800<br /> ([[Juan Bautista Elguézabal]] census)<ref name="Tjarks"/>
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
! N/A
!N/A
|-
|1810 
!5,000<ref>{{cite book|author=Mario Ojeda, Mario Ojeda Gómez|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S29gAAAAMAAJ|title=Administración del desarrollo de la frontera norte|date=1982|access-date=6 October 2021|page=43| publisher=Colegio de México |isbn = 978-968-12-0191-3}} Published on Elena Gallego. Rare Books.</ref>
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!3,334<br /> (Fernando Navarro y Noriega estimation, included in his work ''Memoria sobre la población de Nueva España'')<ref>{{cite web|author=|url=https://elenagallegorarebooks.com/texas-is-given-a-population-of-3334/|title=Texas is given a population of 3,334|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008201408/https://elenagallegorarebooks.com/texas-is-given-a-population-of-3334/|access-date=2021-10-08|archive-date=2021-10-08}}</ref> 
!N/A
|-
|1821
!2,500<ref group=Note>The [[Mexican War of Independence]] caused a loss of population throughout the country, including Texas. On the other hand, Spanish Texas consisted of East Texas and the part of Louisiana bordering Texas, where Los Adaes was located. West Texas belonged to Santa Fe de New Mexico, which included El Paso. In 1821, El Paso and the surrounding area had 8,000 Hispanics.{{citation needed|date=April 2022|reason=the number in the table is cited, it this note covered by same cite?}}</ref><ref name="Basanate 2008">{{cite journal|author=Marcela Terrazas y Basanate|url= http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1870-57662008000200008 |title=Las fronteras septentrionales de México ante el avance norteamericano, 1700-1846|journal = Península|date=January 2008|volume = 3|issue = 2|pages = 149–162|access-date=6 October 2021}} Península vol.3 no.2 Mérida January 2008</ref> 
!10%<ref>{{cite web |author=Enrique Rajchenberg S. |author2=Catherine Héau-Lambert |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5026821.pdf |title=El desierto como representación del territorio septentrional de México|access-date=6 October 2021|page=7}}</ref> 
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
|-
|1830
!3,000<ref name="Coulson, Joyce 2003"/>
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
!N/A
|-
|}

==Legacy==
[[File:Mission-Concepcion.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mission Concepcion|Mission Concepción]] is one of the San Antonio missions which is part of a [[National Historic Landmark]].]]
Spanish control of Texas was followed by Mexican control of Texas, and it can be difficult to separate the Spanish and Mexican influences on the future state. The most obvious legacy is that of the language;<ref name=chipman242/> the state's name comes from the Spanish rendering of an Indian word.<ref name=maxwell61>{{citation|last=Maxwell|first=Margaret Muenker|title=Let's Visit Texas Missions|publisher=Eakin Press|location=Austin |year=1998 |page=61 |isbn=1-57168-197-3}}</ref> Every major river in modern Texas, except the Red River, has a Spanish or Anglicized name, as do 42 of the [[List of counties in Texas|state's 254 counties]] and numerous towns also bear Spanish names.<ref name=chipman242>Chipman (1992), p. 242.</ref> Even many of the words that have been incorporated into American English, such as barbecue, canyon, ranch, and plaza, come from Spanish words.<ref name=maxwell61/> An additional obvious legacy is that of [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]]. At the end of Spain's reign over Texas, virtually all inhabitants practiced the Catholic Christian religion, and it is still practiced in Texas by a large number of people.<ref name=chipman259>Chipman (1992), p. 259.</ref> The Spanish missions built in San Antonio to convert Indians to Catholicism have been restored and are a [[National Historic Landmark]].<ref name=chipman255>Chipman (1992), p. 255.</ref>

The landscape of Texas was changed as a result of some Spanish policies. As early as the 1690s, Spaniards brought European livestock, including cattle, horses, and mules, with them on their expeditions throughout the province. Some of the livestock strayed or stayed behind when the Spanish retreated from the territory in 1693, allowing the Indian tribes to begin loosely managing herds of the animals.<ref name=chipman246>Chipman (1992), p. 246.</ref> These herds grazed heavily on the native grasses, allowing [[mesquite]], which was native to the lower Texas coast, to spread inland. Although the introduced livestock were able to adapt to the changing conditions, the buffalo had a more difficult time grazing among the new vegetation, beginning the decline in their numbers.<ref name=anderson130>Anderson (1999), p. 130.</ref> Spanish farmers also introduced tilling and irrigation to the land, further changing the landscape.<ref name=chipman247>Chipman (1992), p. 247.</ref> Spanish architectural concepts were also adopted by those in Texas, including the addition of patios, tile floors and roofs, arched windows and doorways, carved wooden doors, and wrought iron grillwork.<ref>{{harvp|Maxwell|1998|p=62}}</ref>

Although Texas eventually adopted much of the Anglo-American legal system, many Spanish legal practices were retained. Among these was the Spanish model of keeping certain personal property safe from creditors. Texas implemented the first [[homestead exemption]] in the United States in 1839, and its property exemption laws are now the most liberal in the United States.<ref name=chipman254>Chipman (1992), p. 254.</ref> Furthermore, Spanish law maintained that both husband and wife should share equally in the profits of marriage, and, like many other former Spanish provinces, Texas retained the idea of [[community property]] rather than use the Anglo laws in which all property belonged to the husband.<ref name=chipman253>Chipman (1992), p. 253.</ref> Furthermore, Spanish law allowed an independent executor to be named in probate cases who is not required to gain court permission for each act not explicitly listed in the testament. Texas retained this idea, and it has eventually spread to other states, included [[Arizona]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and [[Idaho]].<ref name=chipman253>Chipman (1992), p. 253.</ref> In other legal matters, Texas kept the Spanish principle of adoption, becoming the first U.S. state to allow adoption.<ref name=chipman252>Chipman (1992), p. 252.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Spain|Texas}}
*{{C|Spanish Texas|Spanish Texas topics}}
*{{C|Pre-statehood history of Texas}}
*[[List of Texas Governors and Presidents#Spanish Texas|List of colonial and Mexican governors of Texas]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=26em}}

===Notes===
{{reflist|group=Note}}

===Sources===
* {{citation|last=Anderson|first=Gary Clayton|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman |title=The Indian Southwest, 1580&ndash;1830: Ethnogenesis and Reinvention|year=1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1KS904za-g8C|isbn=0-8061-3111-X}}
* {{citation|last=Chipman|first=Donald E.|title=Spanish Texas, 1519&ndash;1821|publisher=University of Texas Press|location=Austin |date=2010 |orig-date=1992 |edition=revised |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzAB5n6p5UQC|isbn=978-0-292-77659-3}}
* {{citation|last=Edmondson|first=J. R.|title=The Alamo Story: From History to Current Conflicts |publisher=Republic of Texas Press |place=Plano |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nb46Ye6Nb8MC |isbn=1-55622-678-0|year=2000}}
* {{citation|last=Thonhoff|first=Robert H.|title=The Texas Connection With The American Revolution|publisher=Eakin Press|location=Austin |year=2000|isbn=1-57168-418-2}}
* {{citation|last=Weber|first=David J.|author-link=David J. Weber|title=The Spanish Frontier in North America|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven, Connecticut|series=Yale Western Americana Series|year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MUCmD15yEAYC |isbn=0-300-05198-0}}
* {{citation|last=Weddle|first=Robert S.|title=Changing Tides: Twilight and Dawn in the Spanish Sea, 1763&ndash;1803|series=Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students Number 58 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press|location=College Station |year=1995 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=luH4W_mOz4sC |isbn=0-89096-661-3}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Chipman |first1=Donald E. |first2=Harriett Denise |last2=Joseph |title=Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin |date=1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=77AeAgAAQBAJ |isbn=978-0-292-79316-3}}
*{{Cite book|last=Martinez de Vara|first=Art|title=Tejano Patriot: The Revolutionary Life of Jose Francisco Ruiz, 1783 - 1840|publisher=[[Texas State Historical Association]] Press|location=[[Austin, Texas]]|year=2020|isbn=978-1-62511-058-9}}

{{Spanish Texas}}
{{Spanish colonization of the Americas|footer=yes}}
{{Texas History Navbox}}
{{Spanish Empire}}
{{Former sovereign or unrecognized states within the United States}}
{{Thirteen Colonies}}
{{Authority control}}
{{good article}}

[[Category:Spanish Texas| ]]
[[Category:New Spain]]
[[Category:Colonial Mexico]]
[[Category:Colonial United States (Spanish)]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Texas]]
[[Category:1690s in Texas|*]]
[[Category:18th century in Texas|*]]
[[Category:1800s in Texas|*]]
[[Category:1810s in Texas|*]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1690]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1821]]
[[Category:1690 establishments in Texas|*]]
[[Category:1690 establishments in New Spain]]
[[Category:1821 disestablishments in New Spain]]
[[Category:19th-century disestablishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Former Spanish colonies]]