Spanish Texas refers to the period of Spanish claim, exploration, and colonial administration in the region that became Texas, within the Viceroyalty of New Spain, from 1519 until 1821. During the later colonial period, Texas was associated with the interior provinces. Spanish slave-raiding expeditions into what became Texas began in the 16th century and contributed to conflict and distrust between Spaniards and Native American peoples. Spain did not attempt to establish a permanent settlement in Texas until after France established the colony of Fort Saint Louis in 1685. In 1688, the French colony collapsed amid internal dissension and attacks by the Karankawa. In 1690, responding to concerns about French encroachment, Spanish explorer Alonso de León escorted several Catholic missionaries to east Texas, where they established the first mission in Texas.
In 1716, the Spanish began establishing several additional missions and a presidio to maintain a buffer between Spanish territory and the Louisiana district of New France. San Antonio began as a Spanish mission and presidio complex in 1718 and later became the capital and largest settlement of Texas. Until the early 18th century, Spanish-administered Texas was associated with Nueva Extremadura, New Spain. The name New Philippines was later used for Texas, especially for the area north and east of the Medina and Nueces rivers, although the name gradually declined in use in favor of Texas. Spanish authority remained concentrated mainly around missions, presidios, ranches, and settlements.
Relations between the Spanish colony and the Lipan Apache were marked by conflict until 1749, when Spanish officials and Lipan leaders concluded a peace treaty. Spanish, Lipan Apache, and other communities were then affected by Comanche raids until 1785, when Spanish officials and Comanche leaders negotiated a peace agreement. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States asserted claims to an imprecisely defined area that included parts of Texas. The introduction of European diseases during colonial contact contributed to severe declines in Native American populations, one of several forces that reshaped settlement patterns in the region. The grazing of European livestock contributed to the spread of mesquite inland, replacing some native grasslands, while Spanish farmers introduced tillage and irrigation practices that also changed the landscape. During the Mexican War of Independence from 1810 to 1821, Texas experienced political and military upheaval. Reaching a maximum population of perhaps 5,000 Spanish, mixed-ancestry, and mission-affiliated Native residents in 1810, only about 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 independent Mexico. Texas became independent of Mexico in 1836 and joined the United States in 1845.
Spanish influence in Texas is significant and Spanish architectural concepts continued to shape the built environment. Many cities and rivers in Texas were named by Spaniards, and many counties in southern and western Texas have majority-Hispanic populations. Many Spanish legal practices still survive, including the concepts of a homestead exemption and 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, northeast of the Rio Grande.Edmondson (2000), p. 6. On the east, Texas bordered La Louisiane (French Louisiana). Although Spain claimed that the Red River formed the boundary between the two, France insisted that the border was the Sabine River, to the west.Edmondson (2000), p. 10.
Initial colonization attempts
Although Alonso Álvarez de Pineda claimed Texas for Spain in 1519, the area was largely ignored by Spain until the late seventeenth century.Chipman (1992), p. 26.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. 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."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 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.
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'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.'"Weber (1992), p. 149. Having no idea where to find the French colony, the Spanish launched ten expeditions—both land and sea—over the next three 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 Coahuiltecans.Weber (1992), pp. 151–152. In April 1689, the Frenchman helped guide the Spanish, under Alonso de León, to Fort Saint Louis, which had been destroyed by Karankawa Indians.Chipman (1992), p. 83. De León's expedition also met representatives of the Caddo people, who lived between the Trinity and the Red Rivers. The Caddo expressed interest in learning about Christianity.Weber (1992), p. 153.
De León sent a report of his findings to Mexico City, where it "created instant optimism and quickened religious fervor".Chipman (1992), p. 87. The Spanish government was convinced that the destruction of the French fort was "proof of God's 'divine aid and favor'". In his report de León recommended that presidios be established along the Rio Grande, the Frio River, and the Guadalupe River and that missions be established among the Hasinai Indians, whom the Spanish called the Tejas, in East Texas. In Castilian Spanish, this was often written as the phonetic equivalent Texas, which became the name of the future province.Chipman (1992), p. 18.
Missions
The viceroy approved the establishment of a mission but rejected the idea of presidios, primarily because New Spain was chronically short of funds.Chipman (1992), p. 88. On March 26, 1690, Alonso de León set out with 110 soldiers and several missionaries. The group stopped first to burn Fort Saint Louis to the ground, and then they proceeded to East Texas.Chipman (1992), p. 89. Mission San Francisco de los Tejas was completed near the Hasinai village of Nabedaches in late May, and its first mass was conducted on June 1.Weber (1992), p. 154. The missionaries refused to allow the unruly soldiers to remain near the missions, and when de León returned to Mexico later that year, only 3 of his initial 110 soldiers remained to assist the monks.Weber (1992), p. 154. 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 priests and 7 lay brothers.Chipman (1992), p. 91.
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 Tejas Indians, four amongst the Kadohadachos, and one for the tribes near the Guadalupe River. He was only able to recruit 10 friars and 3 lay brothers.Chipman (1992), pp. 93–94. His expedition reached the existing mission in August, 1691 and discovered that the priests there had established a second mission, Santísimo Nombre de María, 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.Chipman (1992), p. 97. When he left Texas later that year, most of the missionaries chose to return with him, leaving only 3 religious people and 9 soldiers at the missions.Chipman (1992), p. 98.
The group also left a smallpox epidemic. 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.Edmondson (2000), p. 6. 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. 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".Chipman (1992), p. 100. For the next 20 years, Spain again ignored Texas.Weber (1992), p. 155.
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 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.Weber (1992), p. 158. The two countries became allies during the War of the Spanish Succession and cooperated in the Americas. 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.Chipman (1992), p. 107. To dissuade the Tejas Indians from accepting goods from the French, a contingent of soldiers under Pedro de Aguirre traveled into Texas. His expedition reached only as far as the 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.Chipman (1992), p. 110. 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.Edmondson (2000), pp. 8–9.