Today I want to focus on Steven F. Austin and the Original 300. So far, I have talked about how Mexican independence from Spain affected Texas. How Americans began to move into Texas and how they often interfered with local authorities. In this chapter, I will talk about the person known as the founder of Anglo-American Texas. Steven F. Austin and the Original 300.

He was born on November 3, 1793 to Moses and Maria (Brown) Austin in southwestern Virginia. His parents moved the family to Potosi in southeastern Missouri in 1798 and into what we now know as Washington County. His father sent him off the school in Connecticut and he eventually spent two years at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1810 he took over the management of his father’s land business. By 1820, he had moved to  Natchitoches (NA KA DISH), Louisiana and then to New Orleans. It was during this time that his father Moses was asking the Mexican government for permission to move 300 families into Texas.

Steven himself was not over enthusiastic about his father’s Texas venture, but he decided to go along with it. However, Moses died soon after receiving approval and young Austin began to carry on the colonization enterprise under his father's grant. He came to an understanding with Governor Antonio Maria Martinez about certain administrative procedures and was permitted by the governor to explore the coastal plain between the San Antonio and Brazos rivers for the purpose of selecting a site for the proposed colony. Some of the arrangement details were he was able to offer land to settlers in quantities of 640 acres to the head of a family, 320 acres for his wife, 160 acres for each child, and 80 acres for each slave. Martinez warned Austin that he would be responsible for the colonist’s good behavior. While Austin was in New Orleans recruiting people for the immigration, the provisional government set up after Mexican independence refused to approve the Spanish grant to Moses Austin, preferring to regulate colonization by a general immigration law....

For a complete transcript of today's show please go HERE

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In the latest episodes, I mentioned a couple of early Texas settlements, San Augustine, and Nacogdoches.. Today I want to concentrate on them because they were both very important to the settlement of Texas and they would play a role when Texas sought its independence from Mexico.

If you were coming into Texas from Louisiana you’ll encounter San Augustine first and then if you continue west you’ll land in Nacogdoches. The route between the two is referred to as El Camino Real (The King's Highway) and was one of, if not the, principal routes settlers took into Texas. The two communities have a history that actually goes back further then when the Europeans showed up. Both of these towns are on sites that were settled by native Americans hundreds of years before any European laid eyes on them.

In fact, the first Europeans to visit the San Augustine area were most likely members of the Moscoso expedition (a remnant of the De Soto group)  in the early 1540s. When they arrived they undoubtably encountered members of the Ayish tribe of the Hasinai Indians. There isn’t a lot known about the Ayish and some historians believe they spoke a dialect of the Caddoan language that had diverged from Caddo and other Caddoan languages in the distant past. Initially the Moscoso expedition recorded the people to be warlike and that they were buffalo hunters. They were left alone until about 140 years later when, in 1687, Frenchman Henri Joutel passed through the area as part of the failed colony established by La Salle on the Texas coast. There were other encounters with the tribe by Europeans in 1708 and 1713, but those encounters were primarily for the purpose of buying horses....

Complete Transcript is HERE

Here Come The Anglos (1821 to 1830) – Part II

Haden Edwards received his empresarial grant on April 14, 1825.. Like all empresarios he was to uphold land grants certified by the Spanish and Mexican governments, provide an organization for the protection of all colonists in the area, and receive a land commissioner appointed by the Mexican government.

Edwards's contract specified land for up to 800 Anglo-American families in a large area of East Texas from northwest of Nacogdoches, including the forks of the Trinity, west to the Navasota River, thence southeast along the Trinity River valley to upper Galveston Bay. The tract did not include Galveston Island, or the twenty-six-mile-wide coastal reserve forbidden to foreigners. The eastern boundary was the fifty-two-mile-wide border reserve along the Sabine River running north from the Gulf of Mexico to the thirty-second parallel. The state instructed Edwards to respect the property of long-time residents in the Nacogdoches area, some of whom had been there since the 1780s. Edwards, insensitive to Hispanic culture, reached Nacogdoches in October 1825 and threatened to dispossess those who had no proof of ownership unless they paid him for the land....

Transcript of program is HERE

Here Come The Anglos (1821 to 1830) Part 1

I’ve told you about how Mexico achieved independence from Spain, and some of the ramifications that  Mexico’s independence held for Texas.  In this episode I want to talk about some of the things going on in Texas between the year 1821 after independence and 1832. What takes place during this period has a direct affect on what will happen later and actually lays some of the groundwork for the colonists revolt against Mexican rule.

If you remember from my last discussion, both Spain and Mexico wanted a limited number of immigrants from the United States. They wanted an economic boost and they also wanted a buffer between established settlements and the native tribes that roamed throughout the territory. In this case, you can really say, here come the Anglos.

To accomplish this the Imperial Colonization Law was passed in January 1823, inviting Catholic immigrants to settle in Mexico. It provided for the employment of agents, called empresarios, to introduce families in units of 200. One of the sections of The Imperial Colonization Law from Spain had declared that all colonists must be Catholic, so that meant that Austin's first 300 families were affected and that included my ancestors, the Gates.  Now that changed with the 1824 National Colonization Law and the 1825 Coahuila and Texas State Colonization Law which said that foreigners must be Christian, and not necessarily Catholics and that they had to live by the laws of the nation.  What this meant was that they essentially agreed that they would be members of some established church. There were times when Protestant preachers (circuit preachers) would occasionally visit Texas, but it was rare that they held a service in public....

For the complete transcript of the program go HERE 

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In this episode, I’m going to explore Spain / Mexico / Texas and the events that took place between the three nations during the years 1815 to 1821. Before I can really discuss 1815 to 1821 and how the turmoil in Mexico was taken advantage of by some of the resident Anglos. I want to go over some events that took place in Texas between 1812 and 1815. There will also be a mention of the War of 1812 because that war, which lasted until 1815 also affected lives in Texas. Four your further reading and study, my sources for this information are listed at the end of the transcript file and at the bottom of the post.

Remember that Father Hidalgo issued his famous call for Mexican independence in 1810 and over the next several years violence erupted in New Spain or Mexico. At that time Texas was a part of Mexico and so it was natural that the violence and revolution would spill over into the territory.

The rebellion against Spain showed up in Texas in 1811 in San Antonio with what is called the Casas Revolt. This was one of were many challenges to imperial rule that took place after Father Hidalgo made his demands. Manuel Maria de Salcedo, the Texas governor who was loyal to the Spanish monarchy, discovered that the rebels planned on gaining assistance from the United States through Texas....

The Complete Transcript for Today's show is HERE

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In this Episode I discuss Changes in Mexico and Spain during the early part of the 19th century. This is the years, 1800 to 1812.

If you ask many people in the United States when Mexican Independence Day is, they’ll tell you it’s on May 5th, or as it is commonly known, Cinco De Mayo. Well, that’s not correct, it is  another example of how many Americans really don’t have any idea about history, Cinco De Mayo actually celebrates the Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, a holiday celebrated in parts of Mexico and the United States in honour of a military victory in 1862 over the French forces of Napoleon III. It actually took place 40 plus years after Mexican independence from Spain.

Mexico celebrates its independence on September 15th, because that is when the struggle for independence began. It was September of 1810 and Father Miquel Hidalgo, the parish priest of the small town of Dolores in central Mexico, uttered the country’s cry for independence. Mexican historians call it the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores). Father Hidalgo called not only for liberation from Spain, but also for the end of slavery and the return of lands to the Indigenous inhabitants....

For A Transcript of this program go HERE

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This video examines the current battle for control of Texas waters. It looks at the current water situation, asks who uses the water, who owns the water, and what's the real argument all about.

In this episode, I continue my discussion of what took place after Mexico took over governmental control of Texas. These laws were passed to try and regulate Anglo immigration. 

In January of 1823 Mexico passed the Imperial Colonization Law The first law that was passed in January 1823, and it is known as the Imperial Colonization Law. The law invited Catholic immigrants to settle in Mexico. It provided for the employments of agents, called empresarios, to introduce families in units of 200 and it was an attempt to regulate Anglo immigration.

The national colonization law was passed on August 18, 1824. It became the basis of all colonization contracts that affected Texas, except for Austin’s first contract. The law stated that it was up to the state to set up regulations to get divide unclaimed lands.  Congress agreed to not make any major change in the policy of immigration before 1840, but it had the right to stop immigration from certain countries to protect national security. 

The Coahuila and Texas State Colonization Law accepted the limits set by the national law. It gave heads of families who immigrated a league of land with the understanding that they should pay the state a small fee in installments at the end of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth years after settlement.

Passage of the restrictive laws was the result of heightened suspicions that the United States intended to seize Texas. 

Not a complete Transcript - 

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Reference Sites

Texas State Historical Association - https://www.tshaonline.org/home/

http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/amerbegin/power/text2/text2read.htm

The English Texans – Institute of Texas Cultures

So far, I’ve talked about the Native Peoples, the Spanish, and the French and the role they each played in the territory we now call Texas. 

Today, I want to talk about life in Texas once Mexico took control of Texas from Spain and also talk about the first group of English folks to enter into Texas.  This information comes from the Texas Historical Association and several other sites, that are referenced on our site.

Before we discuss the early colonists and their relations with Mexico, we must understand that the first group of folks of English origin who came into Texas seem to be the probably some of the least colony-minded people to make the move and they often did their best to be invisible to the authorities.....

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To learn more about the peoples who settled visit the Institute of Texan Cultures

Parlez-vous français? The French In Texas

Over the previous 10 episodes I focused primarily on the Native Peoples and the early Spanish explorations and attempts to colonize Texas. Today I will delve a little deeper into the French experiences in Texas. As we know the slogan "Six flags over Texas" is the slogan used to describe the six nations that have had sovereignty over some or all of the current territory of Texas, two of those are Spain (1519–1685; 1690–1821), and  France (1685–1690).  If you’ll notice the French “rule” ran for only 5 years, now the question arises whether France ever truly ruled Texas or if their flag flew in a very limited way in the territory.

Remember how in episode 9, I discussed how France and Spain had been involved in a war that last for years.  Once the war ended, there was still tension between the two nations and that extended to their “colonies” or explorations in the New World.  That tension increased after La Salle of France made a claim to Texas by establishing what is referred to La Salle's Texas Settlement  on the Texas coast in summer 1685.  Who as La Salle and what was this settlement? ...Ya gotta listen to get the answers....