Revised Study Sheet Exam 1 Texas Political History

Hernando Cortes – Cortes’ sponsor (Diego de Velazquez) sent an army led by Panfilo de Narvaez to Mexico in 1520 to arrest him but
the army was defeated and Narvaez went on to lead Spaniards to the shores of Texas 8 years later
Cabeza de Vaca – Narvaez’s second in command and treasurer; went to explore the Caribbean but was plagued by desertion and
hurricanes, ended up being stranded then swept west to Texas; survived a harsh winter in Malhado (San Luis) but lived with
the Native Americans as a doctor, slave, and merchant; left Malhado and continued exploring with “Four Ragged Castaways”
for 4 years, traveling 2,000 miles by foot in less than 2 years; wrote a book called Relacion about his observations of Indian
life; told viceroy of New Spain about signs of gold in northwestern Mexico, searching for the Seven Cities of Cibola
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado – commander under Viceroy Mendoza, sent north to conquer Cibola; found Cibola but no gold, went
to New Mexicoto search for another town called Quivira but also found nothing, returned to Mexico in 1542; expedition
provided information on land, resources, and Indians of the Panhandle
Robert Cavelier, Sieur de LaSalle – fur trader and adventurer; claimed all the lands drained by the Mississippi for France and named
the region Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV; a very mentally unstable man; granted two ships and provisions for expedition to
find the mouth of the Mississippi River to build his colony; lost all ships and tried to go north to Canada to escape but was
killed by Indians
Fort Saint Louis – colony established by Robert de LaSalle near Matagorda Bay, Spanish tried forever to find but couldn’t
King Charles II -
San Juan Bautista – mission created by Francisco Hidalgo; grew into complex of 3 missions, civilian complex, and presidio
Francisco Hidalgo – Spanish-Franciscan priest; served at Mission San Francisco de los Tejas (failure mission) but was enthusiastic
about mission work so convinced authorities in New Spain to create new missions along Hasinais; invited French to begin
missionary work in East Texas (bordered on treason)
Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac – governor of Louisiana; agreed to open missionary work to French because it could
introduce their trade goods to Indians
Louis Juchereau de St. Denis – experienced explorer, trader, diplomat; knew the Caddos, helped facilitate trade between all three
major Caddo groups
Chicken War 1719 - With news that Spain and France were on opposing sides in the conflict, Lt. Philippe Blondel at the French post of
Natchitoches, Louisiana, struck in June 1719 at the nearest Spanish target: San Miguel de Linares de los Adaes Mission, at a
site near that of present Robeline, Louisiana. Finding only a lay brother and one soldier at the mission, Blondel and his detail
of seven gathered up the sacred vestments and provisions, then raided the henhouse; Basically Spanish overreaction to
French
Los Adaes – Aguayo reestablished 6 missions and fort and build a new presidio; capitol of Spanish Texas and remained so until 1772;
Rio Hondo served as boundary with French Louisiana
Marquis of Aguayo – wealthy nobleman from Coahuila who offered to spend his own funds to meet the French threat in Texas,
became governor of Coahuila and Texas in 1719
La Bahia – presidio and mission located at first in San Antonio
French and Indian War 1754 – conflict between France and England over territory; Spain joined France in the fight but lost Cuba to
England, only regained by giving Florida to England; France gave Louisiana to Spain in compensation and hurry to end the
war, gave everything east of the Mississippi to England; Ended with the Treaty of Paris 1763
Royal Regulation of 1772 – Los Adaes was abandoned after Spain acquired Louisiana and capitol of Texas was transferred to San
Antonio de Bexar; cultivate trade with Indians who Spanish favored and punish others by withholding goods from them
Interior Provinces – administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1776 to provide more autonomy for the frontier
provinces of the Viceroyalty of New Spain; The goal of its creation was to establish a unified government in political, military
and fiscal affairs, was part of an effort to invigorate economic and population growth in the region to stave off
encroachment on the region by foreign powers
Spain and American War of Independence - dispute over colonial supremacy with the Kingdom of Great Britain; Spain declared war
on Britain as an ally of France, and provided supplies and munitions to the American forces.
Treaty of San Lorenzo 1795 – guaranteed Americans duty-free navigation of the Mississippi and the right to deposit goods at New
Orleans; Spain knew that the treaty would allow Louisiana to become even more heavily Americanized but most believe that
they were only facing demographic and economic reality
Napoleon Bonaparte – took over France’s revolutionary government, got Spain to return Louisiana to France, promised to never
allow Louisiana to ever fall to another country but broke his word and sold Louisiana to the United States
Louisiana Purchase – acquisition of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France in 1803
Thomas Jefferson – asserted constitutional power to negotiate treaties validated his ability to buy Louisiana
Neutral Ground Agreement - disputed area between Spanish Texas and the United States' newly acquired Louisiana Purchase; U.S.
General James Wilkinson and Spanish Lt. Col. Simón de Herrera, the two military commanders in the region, signed an
agreement declaring the disputed territory Neutral Ground (November 5, 1806) until the boundary could be formally
established by their respective governments
Joseph Bonaparte – Napoleon sent 100,000 troops to Louisiana and forced Charles IV and his son Ferdinand VII to renounce the
throne in favor of Joseph (1808)
King Ferdinand VII – favored by the peninsulares, natives of Spain who generally held the most powerful offices; tried to throw out
the Spanish Constitution of 1812 but people revolted so he reinstated it.
Miguel Hidalgo & the Mexican War of Independence – well-educated criolla parish priest who took a nontraditional approach to his
position, had unorthodox views of his religion; started the “Cry,” a call for good government and reform and not an outright
call for separation from Spain; provided leadership for the Indians and mestizos but couldn’t control their anger at upper
class
Gutierrez-Magee expedition – crossed Sabine in 1812 and took Nacogdoches without a fight and continued to take La Bahia,
eventually took over San Antonio and established a revolutionary government junta
Spanish Constitution of 1812 – established by the Cádiz Cortes, Spain's first national sovereign assembly, the Cortes Generales in
refuge in Cádiz during the Peninsular War; established the principles of universal male suffrage, national sovereignty,
constitutional monarchy and freedom of the press, and supported land reform and free enterprise
Adams-Onis Treaty – treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the boundary
between the U.S. and New Spain at the Sabine River; Spain hoped that ceding Florida and establishing a boundary between
Spanish and American claims from the Gul to the Pacific would ease Anglo pressure on Texas
Stephen Austin – wanted to settle in Texas to restore the house of Austin to its former status, chance for personal redemption, way
to escape his father’s shadow; became empresario of a colony in Texas
Mexican Constitution of 1824 – enacted after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide; emphasis on giving
power to the individual states rather than the central government
Fredonian Rebellion - the first attempt by Anglo (white) settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico; The settlers, led by Empresario
Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the Republic of Fredonia near Nacogdoches
Law of April 1830 - initiated by Lucas Alamán y Escalada, Mexican minister of foreign relations, and was designed to stop the flood of
immigration from the United States to Texas; authorized a loan to finance the cost of transporting colonists to Texas, opened
the coastal trade to foreigners for four years, provided for a federal commissioner of colonization to supervise empresario
contracts in conformity with the general colonization law, forbade the further introduction of slaves into Mexico, and
apparently was intended to suspend existing empresario contracts
Insurrection of 1832, or the 1st Battle of Anahuac – runaway slaves added to William Barret Travis and Patrick Jack’s garrison, but a
slave catcher tried to get them to help him reclaim the runaways, they lied to try to free the slaves but were discovered and
held without trial which sparked outrage and led to a skirmish
Anglo Conventions of 1832 and 1833 – 1832 requested the separation go Texas from Cohuila and reform of government but nothing
came of the convention; 1833 drafted a state constitution to submit to the Mexican government and asked for Texas to be
exempted from customs duties for another 3 years and that ban on immigration from the United States be lifted
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna – began a revolt against the centralist-leaning Bustamante government, promising to maintain the
federalist Constitution of 1824; led the patriot opposition to the Bustamante government; proved friendly to Texas (at first)
 liberal land law allowed Texans to buy directly from the state on generous terms, English became the official language in
the state, citizens received the right to trial by a jury, divided Texas into 3 parts (Bexar, Brazos, Nacogdoches), increased its
representation from 1 to 3; wanted the support of powerful military and religious leaders so became a centralist, made
himself a dictator by 1835
4 stages of Texas Revolution: Protection of slavery and land purchases, cultural differences, avoidance of taxes, and reaction to
government tyranny all played a role in bringing about the Texas Revolution
1) Battle of Gonzales 1835– fought between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army soldiers; Mexico had
given the settlers in Gonzales a small cannon to defend themselves but now felt like it was unwise to leave it in their hands
(because of political instability) so Mexico went to take it back, settlers were like NOPE
2) Siege of San Antonio 1835 – First major campaign of the Texas Revolution; From October until early December 1835 an army of
Texan volunteers laid siege to a Mexican army in San Antonio de Béxar
Sam Houston – formerly known as “Big Drunk”; represented Nacogdoches in 1833 convention, supported Wharton and more
aggressive colonists; went to Texas to negotiate with Comanches concerning hunting grounds for Indians being moved from
southeastern US to Oklahoma
James Fannin – led 100 men under Stephen Austin to probe area near Mission Concepcion,
David Burnet – appointed acting first president of the Republic of Texas (before it was officially a thing); sped up the inauguration of
Sam Houston because the Texas Army was about to take over the government
3) Battle of San Jacinto 1836 – Santa Anna defeated in battle by Sam Houston and forced to sign armistice calling for end to fighting
and retreat of Filisola to San Antonio and Urrea to Victoria
4) Battle of the Alamo 1836 – Texas rebels defeated, Mexico continued East
Mirabeau Lamar – secretary of war when Rusk took over the army from Houston, disagreed with merciful treatment of Santa Anna,
wanted to hold Santa Anna and make him pay for the Alamo and Goliad; along with Robert Potter and hotheads threatened
to overwhelm government; became vice president of Texas under Houston
Cherokee War – Cherokees, Kickapoos, Shawnees, and Delawares tried to rise against the republic but were defeated by Rusk’s
militia
Santa Fe Expedition 1841 - commercial and military expedition to secure the Republic of Texas's claims to parts of Northern New
Mexico for Texas in 1841; The expedition was unofficially initiated by the then President of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar, in an
attempt to gain control over the lucrative Santa Fe Trail and further develop the trade links between Texas and New Mexico;
tried to annex New Mexico into Texas
Mexican Incursions of 1842 – Mexico refused to recognize Texas independence and staged an invasion; Goliad, Refugio, and Victoria
were occupied, and on March 5 the Mexican troops under Rafael Vásquez appeared before San Antonio
John Tyler – President of the US at the time of Texas’ annexation; favored annexation but hesitated to open the subject because of
such strong opposition from the Northern Whigs and abolitionists
Anson Jones – Secretary of state for the Texas Republic, endorsed by Sam Houston in the general election, accused of being the
president’s puppet but easily won the election
James Polk – nominated by the Democratic Party to argue against annexation of Texas
Annexation Treaty of 1844 – official annexed Texas into the United States; passed by House by vote of 120:98, Senate 27:25
Britain and Texas Republic – British diplomats brought a promise from Mexico that rejection of annexation would bring a treaty
recognizing the independence of Texas, but Texas Senate rejected the proposal and both houses of legislature accepted
annexation resolution of US Congress
Annexation Resolution of 1845 – Texans approved annexation by a 4254:267 margin and constitution by 4174:312; Congress
accepted the state constitution and President Polk signed the Texas Admission Act in 1845