A
B
Catholic missions in California, New Mexico, and Texas tried to convert Native
Americans to Catholicism and to settle them on mission lands. To protect the
missions, Spanish soldiers manned nearby presidios, or forts.
The mission system declined during the 1820s and 1830s, after Mexico had
won its independence. After wresting the missions from Spanish control, the
Mexican government offered the surrounding lands to government officials and
ranchers. While some Native Americans were forced to remain as unpaid laborers,
many others fled the missions, returning to traditional ways. When Mexicans
captured Native Americans for forced labor, groups of hostile Comanche and
Apache retaliated by sweeping through Texas, terrorizing Mexican settlements
and stealing livestock that supported many American settlers and Mexican set-
tlers, or Tejanos.
THE IMPACT OF MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE
Trade opportunities between
Mexico’s northern provinces and the United States multiplied. Tejano livestock,
mostly longhorn cattle, provided tallow, hides, and other commercial goods to
trade in Santa Fe, New Mexico, north and west of Texas.
Newly free, Mexico sought to improve its economy. Toward that end, the
country eased trade restrictions and made trade with the United States more
attractive than trade between northern Mexico and other sections of Mexico.
Gradually, the ties loosened between Mexico and the northern provinces, which
included present-day New Mexico, California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
Mexico was beginning to discover what Spain had previously learned: own-
ing a vast territory did not necessarily mean controlling it. Mexico City—the seat
of Mexican government—lay far from the northern
provinces and often seemed indifferent to the problems of
settlers in Texas. Native American groups, such as the
Apache and the Comanche, continued to threaten the thin-
ly scattered Mexican settlements in New Mexico and Texas.
Consequently, the Mexican government began to look for
ways to strengthen ties between Mexico City and the
northern provinces.
MEXICO INVITES U.S. SETTLERS
To prevent border vio-
lations by horse thieves and to protect the territory from
Native American attacks, the Mexican government encour-
aged American farmers to settle in Texas. In 1821, and again
in 1823 and 1824, Mexico offered enormous land grants
to agents, who were called empresarios. The empresarios, in
turn, attracted American settlers, who eagerly bought cheap
land in return for a pledge to obey Mexican laws and
observe the official religion of Roman Catholicism.
Many Americans as well as Mexicans rushed at the
chance. The same restless determination that produced new
inventions and manufactured goods fed the American urge
to remove any barrier to settlement of the West. The popu-
lation of Anglo, or English-speaking, settlers from Europe
and the United States soon surpassed the population of
Tejanos who lived in Texas. Until the 1830s, the Anglo set-
tlers lived as naturalized Mexican citizens.
AUSTIN IN TEXAS
The most successful empresario,
Stephen F. Austin, established a colony between the Brazos
and Colorado rivers, where “no drunkard, no gambler, no
profane swearer, and no idler” would be allowed. By 1825,
Austin had issued 297 land grants to the group that later
Expanding Markets and Moving West 289
TEJANO CULTURE
The Anglo and Mexican cultures
of Texas have shaped one anoth-
er, especially in terms of music,
food, and language.
For example, Tejano music
reflects roots in Mexican mariachi
as well as American country and
western music and is now a
$100 million a year industry. As
for language, Tejanos often speak
a mixture of Spanish and English
called Spanglish.
As Enrique Madrid, who lives in
the border area between Texas
and Mexico, says, “We have two
very powerful cultures coming to
terms with each other every day
on the banks of the Rio Grande
and creating a new culture.”
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
A
Analyzing
Effects
How did
relations between
the Mexicans and
Native Americans
in the Southwest
change after
1821?
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
B
Analyzing
Motives
What did
Mexico hope to
gain from Anglo
settlement in
Texas?
A. Answer
After 1821,
Mexico gave
away their lands
and tried to
capture Native
Americans for
forced labor.
Native American
groups retaliated
with violence.
B. Answer
Mexico hoped
to protect
against raids by
Native
Americans and
horse theives,
and to bring
American manu-
factured goods
into Mexico.
