Chapter Two

Spaniards in a Far Northern Frontera

The “5 Gs”Gold, God, Glory, Greed, and GoldThis is essentially what the Spanish (and

everyone else) was after in North AmericaRewards were for those who were brave

enough to seek itWarriors, sailors, and other ambitious men

sought glory while serving the Catholic ChurchExpanding Imperial controlBuffer against French and British

Spain’s Motivation for Settlement

OpportunitiesAcquire landImprove their economic statusCattle and mining industries were promising

Escape from oppressionExcessive unemploymentNatural disastersExcessive taxation (in old Spain)Ethnic prejudiceCriminals saw the frontier as a lawless

opportunity to engage in smuggling and banditry

Spanish Settlers’ Motivations

Few people felt crowded enough to venture to an unknown wilderness

Diseases severely reduced New Spain’s population Labor shortages

Settled parts of New Spain were hit the most Attempted to retain workers

Spanish Crown did not perceive Texas as a top priority No longer served as a defensive outpost Louisiana became more important

Lack of regional infrastructure and isolation Hostile Indian tribes threatened settlers Failed expeditions convinced settlers that Texas offered nothing of

substantial gain

Texas remained one of the least-inhabited territories of New Spain

Spanish Settlers’ Problems

Missions in Spanish TexasEverything in the mission was state controlledResponsibility

Catholicism was the sole religionGuard the FrontierChristianize the Native IndiansMinister to families, soldiers, and government

officialsMissionization limited

Church of San Fernando in San Antonio (1738)Only mission in Texas during the mid-18th century

Frontier Institutions

Church of San Fernando, San Antonio

Presidios in Spanish TexasResponsibility

Function primarily as a defensive agentServe as trade centersAttract pioneers seeking security from the

wildernessAssist in the missionization process

Discipline IndiansHelp maintain mission Indian labor force

Social and economic developmentProvide workServed as a venue to exchange goods and services

Frontier Institutions

Ranching and Cattle TradeMid-18th century cattle trade began to expand

Missionaries were the first enter the ranching industryIt quickly grew out of control and frontier settlers quickly

began seizing the mestenos (unclaimed cattle)to establish their own ranches

Plains west of San Antonio to the Guadalupe River became known as the “cradle of Texas ranching”

Pobladores (ranchers) made a modest living Women in families grew crops for their households

Livestock markets connect Texas to neighboring provinces and LouisianaMarkets in the United States, Coahuila, and Nuevo LeonEmergence of the capitalist orientation of the Texas

economy

Frontier Institutions

The emergence of semi-subsistence farmingFarming did not take hold of Spanish Texas due

to numerous setbacksTejano’s reliance on ranching and commerceLack of workers to clear land, dig irrigation

ditches, and tend cropsScarcity and difficulties in transporting farm

equipment to the frontierThreat of Indian raids on standing cropsAbsence of accessible markets that might have

fostered commercialization

Frontier Institutions

Towns Civilian settlements were scarce in the 18th century

Nacogdoches – 350 settlers in 1783 La Bahia – 450 pobladores in 1783 San Antonio – 1,248 settlers in 1783 Laredo – 700 settlers in 1789

Occupations in towns Artisans, vaqueros, pobladores, day laborers, merchants, bakers, tailors,

shoemakers, blacksmiths, and barbers Dwellings were often comprised of materials readily available in

the wilderness Urban problems

Disease (small pox and cholera) due to lack of sewage facilities and the concentration of rotting animal waste and carcasses Muddy streets brought mosquitos

Crime – vagrants, smugglers and prostitutes Lack of access to doctors Possibility of attacks by Comanches or other Plains Tribes Infant mortality rates were very high

Frontier Institutions

CultureCorridos (story-telling ballads) Religious holidays observedFandango (festive dances) and musicHorse racing and the carrera del gallo

Intellectual lifeFew books made their way to the frontierWriting was for the literate

Government officials, missionaries, and limited amounts of settlers

Diaries and journals from the conquistadors and missionaries helped piece together the histories of early Native American tribes

Frontier Society

EducationMixed success in bringing teachers in to instruct the

young in the 18th centuryUncertainty of frontier lifeBelief in the uselessness of an education on the frontierLack of books

By the early 19th century, some type of rudimentary educational facility was established in all the settlements

CommunicationsTexas was connected with Mexico via the Camino Real

(King’s Highway); also known as the San Antonio RoadMounted couriers carried mail from New Spain to the Texas

settlements

Frontier Society

Non-indigenous population of Texas500 people in 17313,000 people in the 1770s-1780s4,000 people in 1800

Wide range of ethnic identities during the 18th centuryMestizaje

The process of racial and cultural union involving Europeans, Indians, and Africans

Sexual imbalance due to men outnumbering womenSoldiers and mestizos (mixed bloods from European/Indian

parents) continued to mix with assimilated IndiansEspecially around the San Antonio area

Continued into the 19th century

Frontier Society

Wealth as Ethnic Classification1780 census showed that espanoles (Spaniards) made up

½ of the Texas populationMisleading because it does not designate undiluted

“Spanishness”Served as a all-embracing label that described relative wealth,

social and occupational standing, degree of cultural assimilation, and attitudes of the census takers

In reality, few true European Spaniards lived in TexasMost belonged to the mestizo category

Classification on the frontierSpaniards on the frontier believed that people of darker skin

hue and mixed blood could “pass” as Spaniards If they achieved social standing

Essentially, economic success could override racial makeup in classification

Frontier Society

Social ClassesClasses on the Texas frontier did not mirror those of New

Spain’s interiorCrillos (American-born Spaniards who inherited their European-

born parents’ possession)MestizosIndiansAfricans

Economic distinctionsGovernment officials and military officials had more secure

incomes, but were far from richEntrepreneurs such as rancheros and farmers comprised the

growing capitalist sector Owned better homes and more land

These two groups represented the “upper class” of New Spain’s society

The “lower class” consisted of common laborers, semi-skilled workers, and Hispanicized Indians

Frontier Society

SlaveryRoughly 50 blacks in Texas in the latter part of

the 18th centuryMost were not slaves

Either free or fugitive blacksThey integrated into Spanish society

Took on Spanish namesWorked as day laborers

Some farmers held slaves, but not manySpain’s official policy forbid Africans from

congregating in public and owning firearmsHowever, these regulations were not strictly

enforced

Frontier Society

Tejanas (Women in New Spain)Rigors of frontier life blurred gender discrimination

Women fought Indians, helped with ranch and farm chores, performed business functions

Women could use the judicial system as either plaintiff or defendant

Women were allowed to hold material assets and investments separate from their spouse

Problems for womenLack of social mobilityLittle opportunity for women to establish their own vocationsWomen could not vote or hold elected officeMen could legally prevent their wives from divorcing them

Overall, women had more rights in New Spain than women in French or British North American colonies

Frontier Society

Hispanicized Native Americans A great majority of the Texas tribes resisted missionization by

Catholic priests Some sought missionization for protection from neighboring

tribes The Coahuiltecans ceased to exist after the 18th century due to

Spanish displacement and missionization Warfare, disease, and territorial violations decimated many

Texas tribes during Spanish occupation Jumanos used missionization as a means to gain military protection

from competing tribes Later absorbed by the Apache Nation

Karankawas remained defiant until the late 18th century as they attempted to seek refuge from the Comanches and needed a stable food supply during the winter months

Caddos retained their homelands until the mid-1850s Successfully traded with the French

Indian Accommodation and Resistance

Resistance Among the Plains TribesApaches and the Wichitas openly rejected the

presence of the Spanish and FrenchResponded with vicious attacks on their settlementsStole livestock, horses, tools, weapons, and supplies

Plains Indians had better war strategies for fending off the EuropeansPlayed the Spanish against enemy tribesThey did not have villages or a formal military to

surrenderTreaties meant nothing due to the sheer number of

nomadic bands of Plains Indians

Indian Accommodation and Resistance

France ceded Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain after losses in the French-Indian Wars with Britain

Spain’s new Bourbon king, Carlos III established sweeping reform to streamline colonial administration Jose de Galvez was sent to New Spain to research reforms Marques de Rubi was sent to inspect the military and defenses

Reforms Replaced native Mexican lower-level administrators with

trusted officers from Spain Lessening military and missionary presence in East Texas Relocation of settlers in East Texas to San Antonio Decisive policies towards Texan Indians

Iron-fist policy towards the Apaches Appeasement policy toward the Comanches

The Bourbon Reforms

Spanish King Carlos III

Effects of the ReformsRefugees from East Texans requested to return to their

homes in East TexasTexas Governor finally gives in and lets them resettle along

the Trinity River, near present-day NacogdochesTeodoro de Croix was charged with the task of Indian

pacificationAgreed with Rubi that the Apaches were the primary enemies Collusion with the Comanches and Norteno bands would best

serve Spain’s purpose to undermine the ApachesRenewed warfare in Spain (Europe at large) left the Spanish

frontier with little military resources to pacify the ApachesDe Croix was left with the task of using small commissions and

cheap gifts to pacify the ApachesIt didn’t work

The Bourbon Reforms

Secularization of MissionsMake the missions less dependant on the government and

more dependant on the parishionersAll under the assumption that a large majority of Native

Americans in Texas were missionizedIn reality, missionization did little and only a small fraction of

Native Americans were true convertsMissions were slowly deserted due to several reasons

Anti-church sentiment ushered in by the Enlightenment made the intellectual support of missions unfeasible Seemed hypocritical for Spain to continue the fusion of Church and

StateEconomic stability of the province depended on a good market

Live stock was the answer Spain saw the taxation potential of treating missionary cattle as

private propertyNative Americans did not convert in the large numbers expected

End of the Spanish Era

Military issuesSoldiers were not well equipped to deal with

increasing Indian raidsHighly mobile Comanches and Witchitas attacked

farmers, civilian settlements, raided ranches, and began to trade with the United States

Presidios were ill-prepared to deal with this growing issuePresido installations were in constant need of repairUnder staffed, under equippedFood shortagesLack of uniformsMorale was at an all time low for the Spanish military

stationed in New Spain

End of the Spanish Era

Imperial intrusion was greatly resentedMost of the settlers in New Spain had come to appreciate

their semiautonomous relationship with the wildernessThey did not appreciate Europe’s interference that did

not benefit or acknowledge the struggles they enduredKing had prohibited international trade and came down

especially hard on ranchersNacogdoches had to continue trading illegally to ensure its

survivalRancheros around San Antonio illegally traded with the United

States for tobacco and other finished goods In short, legal restrictions on ranchers (the sole means of

profit for those in Texas) greatly irritated the settlersNotions of Mexican autonomy began to develop

End of the Spanish Era

Mexican Revolutionaries

Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

Juan Bautista de las Casas

Spain’s European wars go sour Spain increases taxation in New Spain due to its financial

distressTo make matters worse, France’s Napoleon conquers Spain in

1808The Spanish government goes into hiding New Spain establishes juntas (committees) to protect the New

World empire until Spanish monarchs could reclaim the throne

Revolt against the Spanish EmpireFather Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest from Dolores was

exposed as a plotter against the Spanish governmentOpted to begin a war against Spain’s failed government

The revolt echoed throughout New Spain and Texas Juan Bautista de las Casas took up Hidalgo’s message and

rallied up revolutionary support in the San Antonio area

Mexican Revolution

SetbacksWhile las Casas and Hidalgo did displace some Spanish

officials, they were ultimately arrested and sentenced to death for treason

Tejanos expressed great sympathy for the independence movement and civil war ultimately followedThe United States showed interest in helping the fledgling

revolutionaries Gutierrez de Lara worked to successfully claim Texas

independence from SpainSeries of battles lasting until 1821Battle of Medina River (20 mi. south of San Antonio) – the

bloodiest battle ever fought on Texas soil; 1,300 rebel soldiers killed

Mexican Revolution

300 Years of Spanish Rule EndsFew Tejanos mourn its passingA new Mexico looked forward to confronting

problems of Indian hostility and economic underdevelopment by:Enticing new settlersSpreading urban settlementsthe growth of the pastoral industries

Hispanic law remained after the RevolutionDebtor protection (animals nor agricultural devices

could be confiscated)Community property laws (including women's’

laws) remained

The Spanish Legacy

Spanish Cultural HeritageSpanish-Mexican terminologyThe rodeoOutsiders could still become part of the family

unitA new Tejano Culture

Obedezco pero no cumplo (I obey but do not comply)

Informal community buildingTraits of ruggedness

Norteno cultureThe will to work, applied to strength and prowessDetermination and courage in the face of danger

The Spanish Legacy