Spanish Rule in Texas:1682 - 1821

Mission - a settlement in Indian territory

The goal of the mission was to transform Native Americans into Christians and loyal Spanish subjects.

Friars ran the missions.

They invited Indians to live there, then taught them about Christianity and the language and customs of Spain

They also taught them Spanish farming

methods.

Presidio - a fort designed to protect the mission from unfriendly Indians and to help control the Native Americans inside the mission

The First Missions

Alonso de León and Father Damian Massanet established the first mission in East Texas, called San Francisco de los Tejas.

Shortly after, friars started a second mission in East Texas named Santísimo Nombre de María.

At first the local Tejas Indians welcomed the Spanish and their missions.

But that quickly changed.

Mission Failure

The Tejas Indians never fully accepted the friars’ teachings.

Spanish soldiers treated them with contempt.

Many Indians became sick with diseases carried by the Spanish.

When floods destroyed the Indians’ crops, they blamed the Spanish and plotted to kill them.

The Spanish abandoned the missions and headed west.

A Frenchman named St. Denis, worked with a Spanish missionary, Father Hidalgo, to help build more missions among the Caddo Indians in East Texas.

They established six missions and a presidio.

One of these missions, Los Adaes, became the capital of the province of Texas.

In 1719, the French raided Los Adaes in an attack known as the Chicken War.

This attack forced the Spanish to abandon their East Texas missions once again.

They retreated to San Antonio de Valero, a mission located halfway between the Rio Grande and East Texas.

When the war between Spain and France ended, the Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo helped Spain regain control of East Texas.

He rebuilt old missions and founded new ones, including La Bahía.

Spanish missions in Central Texas were often raided by Lipan Apaches, Comanches, Wichitas, and Tonkawas.

In 1749, the Lipans and the Spanish made peace.

The Lipans agreed to convert to Christianity if the Spanish would protect them from the Comanches.

The Spanish built a mission, Santa Cruz de San Sabá, for the Lipans.

They did not realize it was in Comanche territory.

The Lipans had told them to build there, hoping to start a war between the Comanches and the Spanish.

In 1758, Comanches, Wichitas, and Tonkawas burned down the mission and killed the missionaries.

Recruiting Native Americans

Most Indians who lived in the missions joined by choice.

Friars sometimes offered gifts to draw in the Indians.

Some came for a steady supply of food or for protection from their enemies.

The Indians were controlled once they entered the mission.

They were punished for bad behavior, and those that ran off were captured and returned.

Soldiers’ Lives

Presidio soldiers had many duties-

• Guard the mission livestock

• Carry messages

• Protect supply wagon trains

• Keep order in the missions

• Protect the mission from hostile Indians

Native Americans in the missions studied the catechism, a set of questions and answers about Catholic beliefs.

Many were converted and baptized.

Native Americans had to work in the missions…

In addition to daily chores, they made goods that could be traded

The Spanish appointed some mission Indians to be local chiefs.

These local chiefs carried out the orders of the missionaries.

Indians were not allowed to use guns.

They could vote in local elections and hold public office.

Disease

Indians had no defense against Spanish diseases.

Epidemics, the rapid spread of diseases in a short time, killed thousands of Native Americans in Texas.

Many Indians rejected life in the missions.

Many joined the missions for protection against their enemies or for food, not because they wanted to follow the Christian faith.

Soldiers were underpaid and poorly treated by officers.

The friars and the soldiers often argued over how to treat the Indians.

When France lost the Seven Years’ War against Great Britain, it ceded the territory of Louisiana to Spain.

Cede - to give up formal ownership of something

Spain sent the Marqués de Rubí to Texas in 1767 to review its colonies in North America.

Rubí reported that Spanish power was spread too thin in Texas to be effective.

On the basis of that report, Spain closed most of the missions and presidios in Texas.

By the 1770s, only those in the area of San Antonio and La Bahía remained.

Spanish settlers were directed to move to those

Parts of the Spanish culture took root in Texas. The unique blend of cultures found in Texas is termed Tejano.

The Spanish introduced the ranching industry to Texas.

Many places in Texas received Spanish names that are still in use today.

Every major river in Texas, except for one, has a Spanish name.

The Spanish outposts of San Antonio and La Bahía, along with the town of Nacogdoches, remained major Spanish settlements in Texas

Threats to Spanish Control

Several factors weakened Spain’s control over Texas.

In the early 1800s, Comanches, Apaches, and other tribes controlled most of Texas, except for the Spanish cities of Nacogdoches, San Antonio, and La Bahía.

In 1803, France sold Louisiana to the United States.

For years, the United States and Spain argued over whether or not Texas was part of the Louisiana Territory.

In 1810, Mexico began a ten-year struggle with Spain over its independence.

Early Filibusters

Filibuster - a person who wages an unofficial war on a country for his own benefit:

Philip Nolan - Nolan claimed he was capturing and selling wild horses in Texas for the Spanish government.

The Spanish worried about Nolan’s ties to the United States.

They attacked and killed Nolan.

General James Wilkinson - Spain hired Wilkinson, a United States Army general, as a double agent.

Wilkinson plotted with Aaron Burr to take Kentucky and Louisiana from the United States and start an independent country.

The plot failed.

New Spain (Mexico) resented Spain’s control:

Taxes - Residents of New Spain did not like paying taxes to support the king and his many wars.

Poverty - Spain’s class system kept most New Spain residents in poverty.

The Cry of DoloresA priest from Dolores, Miguel Hidalgo y

Costilla, began a revolt to end the power of the peninsulares in New Spain.

Peninsulares-upper class, Spaniards born in Europe

The criollos refused to support the revolt.

Criollos-Spaniards born in America

The lower classes, the mestizos, and the Native Americans joined Hidalgo in the revolt.

Mestizos-mixed Spanish and Native American heritage

Though this revolt failed, it led to other uprisings in New Spain.

Key Filibuster Expeditions

Lieutenant Augustus Magee

• Left the United States Army and formed an army of men to free Texas from Spanish rule

• Magee died, probably of disease and Samuel Kemper takes over command of his forces.

Samuel Kemper

• Took command of Magee’s army upon his death

• Declared the state of Texas independent

• Hoped to make Texas part of the United States

• Was defeated at the Battle of Medina

Bernardo Gutiérrez

• Wanted Texas to be part of Mexico

• Created a Mexican state constitution for Texas

• Was driven out by Kemper

Dr. James Long

• Disagreed with the U.S. decision to turn Texas over to Spain

• Led a group to free Texas from Spanish rule

• Captured a presidio, but was forced to surrender it. Was sent to jail and killed there.