This essay should be approximately 1 - 2 double-spaced page long. Correct spelling and grammar are important. Despite the well-known history of racism and bigotry in early Texas, ethnic relationships

His entourage included 300 hor semen, 70 footmen, and over 1000 conquered Native s. After investigating many rumors, all that was ever found were the Grand Canyon and poverty -stricken Native villages. Most likely, the Natives made up these stories about golden empires to keep the Spanish moving away from THEM. The Crown's interest in Texas declined after reading Coronado's report, which said Texas was suitable for agriculture, but nothing else. According to Coronado, Texas was “a gigantic expanse populated by generally inhospitable savage s who had no gold or silver.” However, because of the many abuses of Coronado and earlier Conquistadors, within the year the Spanish Crown passed new laws prohibiting personal adventures that led to the killing of Natives , and the Pope issued a decree re -affirming the humanness of the Natives and their right to religious instruction. The day of the Conquistado r was over. 3 MISSION/PRESIDIO SYSTEM From this point on, Spain showed marginal missionary interest in Texas that was usually piqued only when control of the region was challenged by others. Texas was thought of mostly as a buffer zone to insulate the mo re valuable Spanish holdings to the south. The Spanish attempt to consolidate their hold on Texas was based upon the Mission/Presidio system that had worked very well against the Moors back in Europe. Missions were manned by Franciscan Monks attempting to Christianize the Native s, indoctrinate them into the Spanish ways, (making them loyal to the King of Spain), and to help hold the territory against intruders. The mission grounds usually included a chapel and living quarters for the holy men and whatever f riendly local s wanted to live there. Sometimes a protective wall, workrooms, and storerooms completed the facility.

Fields and pastures were maintained beyond the walls. Towns were rigidly laid out with the streets perpendicular according to the 4 cardina l directions. The east side was reserved for the church; the west side they designated for the government. The Friars instructed the Natives in Christianity, employing a rigid religious routine, enforced by corporal punishment. Exploitation for labor was r ampant. Few Natives thought such tactics tolerable, although some members o f the local tribes sought new allies or at least safe refuge in the missions from the fiercer tribes. Unfortunately, the afore -mentioned disease took a terrible toll on th ose who regularly intera cted with the missionaries. Some Natives believed that it was the baptism of Holy Water that was generating the deaths. In many cases, the various tribes were such sworn enemies that separate missions had to be established in order to avoid bloodshed. If a mission was particularly successful, sometimes settlers from Mexico would come and join, creating ranchos stocked with cattle and even villas , with shops and artisans. At such a point the mission would convert into a local parish, and the missionaries would move on. The Spanish crown was usually generous in granting land to those who would brave this frontier. Unfortunately, success usually attracted the attention of the more aggressive Native tribes who would be drawn to the mis sion for the opportunity to plunder. The Spanish also built presidios (small forts) manned by a handful of soldiers to protect the mission. These forts were typically under -manned and under -equipped for seriously defend ing a territory from the warrior tribes. One presidio was found to have only 2 guns and 2 shields for its 60 -man contingent and suffered further from an inadequate number of horses. The chain of command was tightly maintained, and few officials were inclined 4 to do anything without approval from above. The decision -making process stretched across the Atlantic to Spain. The communication and supply process often took years. The idea of the "sword and cross" working together was a good example of the unity of Church and state in Spain. The Crown would oversee and promote the spread of Catholicism and maintain the Church. In return, the Church would endorse the aims of the State and tolerate political intervention in ecclesiastical affairs. Remember, such roots were well -established since the Crusades . The prevailing theory of mercantilism maintained that trade should be kept as much as possible within the empire. No thing was supposed to flow to neighboring jurisdictions, such as New France or later, the United States. Therefore, trade with the neighboring French colony was prohibited --despite the shortage of supplies and desperate need for commercial markets. Even du ring the rare times when France and Spain enjoyed good relations, the Spanish were reluctant to exchange goods. Problems escalated when a decree in 1776 stated that all unbranded livestock were the property of the Crown, and no "poaching" would be permitte d. Morale was often low. Frenchman Luis Juchereau de St. Denis and Spaniard Father Hidalgo (1713) attempted to combine trade and missionary activity in East Texas, for example, but the Spanish Crown all but vetoed the idea. Missions and Presidios in East Texas seemed to fare the worst under the system. As the most remote outpost on the Spanish frontier, they were the last to receive supplies.

At each settlement along the way, extra charges were added before the supplies moved on, making costs prohibitive when finally reaching East Texas. Sometimes, the closer missions took more than allocated, leaving a shortage for the East Texas outposts. This could explain why East Texas missions came to be more independent of authority. Figure 2: Rose Window in Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, Founded in 1720 in San Antonio . 5 THE SPANISH CAS TE SYSTEM PENINSULARES (European -born Spaniards) enjoyed the greatest prestige and advantage among the Spanish living in America . CRIOLLOS (pure -blooded Spaniards born in America) also held a favored status. MESTIZOS — a Spanish/Native ethnic mix generally received few considerations, while Indians and Africans filled in the lower end of the social order. Generally, females were subordinate to males . It is notable that the hazards of frontier life served as somewhat of an equalizer for sex as well as race. MINIMAL POPULATION Many factors combined to keep population increase low. Lack of proper sewage facilities and the presence of dead animals (often left to lay in water supplies) contributed to frequent smallpox and cholera epidemics . Doctors and medicines rarely made their way this far north. The link between sanitation and disease was not well known. Most settlements survived --but wit h dreadful losses. Infant mortality was especially high, and warfare with Indians was a constant. The sexual ratio was grossly out of balance, with males predominating. Unlike France and England, which had surplus population to export to America, Spain was a relatively sparsely populated country, with a labor shortage problem at home. Those few who did come to the New World naturally preferred the more settled regions of Mexico to the rawness of Texas . Mexico itself was underpopulated and thus discouraged i mmigration of its residents to Texas. In contrast, the livestock population thrived. It was enhanced by Alonso de Leon (1689), who brought cattle, horses, and mules to Texas for the purpose of propagation.

He traveled through the territory, depositing a m ale and female for each species on the bank of every water source he crossed from the Neches River to the Rio Grande. It was not long before nature brought its own steady increase. COMPETITION FOR TEXAS 1. NATIVE TRIBES --Little noticed at the time were the few horses that were lost or stolen from Coronado. These horses would multiply and become cultivated by the tribesmen along the Great Plains. By 1659, Apaches on horseback were raiding Spanish and Native settlements. For the first time in history, American Natives were equipped to meet European invaders on equal or even superior military terms on their own land. Although the Spanish maintained a strict policy of not selling guns to the Natives , the French had no such proh ibition. 6 Eventually, all Texas tribes learned about the horse, as had indigenous tribes as far away as Canada. The Texas area attracted these other tribes like a magnet. One group came from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and after stealing a herd from a competing tribe, went on to earn the reputation as the greatest horse men of them all. This tribe, named from a Native word for "snake people" became known as the Comanches . The horse gave the Comanches the freedom to become completely nomadic and follow the buffalo. The buffalo provided their food , clothing, meat and drink. The horse became the primary medium of value or exchange, which led the Comanche to bec ome so skillful at horse thievery. They never planted a seed, and while other tribes such as the Apache learned to ride; the Comanche pra ctically lived on his horse. The Comanche hordes seized a vast new kingdom: all the high plains and central plateaus of Texas.

They were armed with the long bow, and they could fire a shower of arrows with deadly acc uracy from the gallop. Comanches rode to war by the light of the moon . T heir favorite tactic was to strike deep into enemy territory and make their get -away before resistance could be organized. Eventually, all Apaches were driven from the plains and enti re tribes known to the Spanish in New Mexico disappeared from history (NOT from disease or Europeans, but from the Comanche). The Caddo stayed in the forests of East Texas and rarely ventured out; the Karankawa were confined to the marshy, fever -ridden coa st; and the Coahuiltecans to the south barely survived their encounters with the Comanche. Thus, although the Spanish soon came into painful contact with the Comanche, they did not understand the full extent of the power shift that had occurred. It would s oon be a Comanche boast that the warrior tribes PERMITTED Spanish settlements to exist on the fringes of Comanche territory only to raise horses for the Comanche to later steal.

The worst defeat for the Spanish military in Texas came at the hands of the Co manche on the very first encounter. In 1758, following the Comanche destruction of a mission in San Saba, the Spanish ordered a punitive expedition. This 600 -man excursion was nearly annihilated by the 2000 Comanche they pursued (the battle of Spanish Fort ). One -sided victories over sedentary Indians on the magnitude of Coronado or Cortez were no longer possible now that the Plains Indians had mastered horse -oriented warfare. The Spanish eventually concentrated defenses south of the Rio Grande to defend the established ranchos and silver mines. Most of Texas, therefore, could be considered "behind enemy lines." In a gross miscalculation, the Spaniards never gave the Comanche sufficient respect, considering their most serious adversary to be the French. Fro m time to time, temporary truces were arranged, usually on the basis of the Spanish making annual "gifts" to the Indians. However, making peace with one group of Comanche, for example, carried no weight whatsoever with any other Comanche group , due to thei r fragmented organization . 7 2. THE FRENCH --The FRENCH became covetous of the Spanish riches and sought to become a presence in America, themselves. After having a colony in Florida wiped out by the protective Spanish, the French concentrated in midwestern N orth America, where the Spanish had little interest. They established mostly fur -trading outposts. Requiring little land, cooperating with the Indians, and promoting inter -marriage between French and Indians made for excellent French -Indian relations. This can be contrasted with the brutal Spanish conquistadors who preceded them or the land - hungry English who came later. Unfortunately, most French Catholics did not want to leave France, and none of the persecuted French Protestants were allowed to come.

Thus, the French settlements remained very sparsely populated. Spain paid little attention to the French until Frenchman Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle , looking for the mouth of the Mississippi, instead found Matagorda Bay off the coast of Texas (1685). He constructed Ft. St. Louis and claimed all of Texas for Fra nce (one of the 6 Flags over Texas). This was galling to the Spaniards who were currently enemies with France. The French settlement was a disaster, however.

Disease, internal squabbles — including La Salle's assassination , and trouble with the Natives eventually demo lished the French. Few of the original 300 settlers survived. Periodically, France would return with new claims upon the area. However, b eginning with La Salle's excursion, jealous Spaniards were ever on guard to protect their "precious" Texas whenever th e French showed any interest in the region. Finally, in 1763, France gave the Louisiana Territory to Spain as compensation for Spain's help in the French and Indian (7 Years) War. Once the French were no longer a threat, New Spain authorities ordered the settlers in East Texas to pull back in support of the San Antonio area, which was much troubled by hostile Natives . Years later, w hen the Spanish Crown felt a need to reestablish holdings back in the East Texas region, the original settlers were allowed move back but at tremendous loss of time, life, and property. 3. THE UNITED STATES --By the end of the 1700's, the French lost interest in Texas and all of North America. Napoleon needed money to fight his democratic liberation wars in Europe and sold Louisiana to t he United States for $15 million (1803). The border between this Louisiana Purchase and Texas was unclear. President Thomas Jefferson claimed territory all the way to the Rio Grande. To keep the U.S. and Spanish soldiers from unnecessary fighting, military leaders on both sides created a "no man's land" between the Sabine River and the Arroyo Hondo, where neither side was permitted. Unfortunately, this strip became a haven for outlaws from both countries.

Meanwhile, land -hungry, undocumented Americans began to filter into East Texas, and La Salle, courtesy the Lone Star Junction . 8 militant Americans marched t hrough the region in expeditions called "filibusters" (such as the one led by Philip Nolan) , attempting to create new republic s for themselves or to claim the land for the U nited States . Spanish soldiers defeated all American attempts to wrest land from Texas, and these unauthorized attacks from the U .S. eventually ceased. In 1819, the Adams -Onis Treaty gave Florida to the U.S., and the United States relinquished all claims to Texas . However, the threat of North American incursion into Texa s was always a possibility. MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE Mexico found much to complain about Spain's colonial policies --not the least of which was the Peninsulares' disdain for the local Mestizos . Heavy taxes and involvement in the mother country's wars also became cause for lament. Spain finally lost its grip on New Spain altogether during the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The Spanish King was deposed by Napoleon Bonaparte and for a time was replace d by a "democracy" headed by Napoleon's brother. The forthcoming liberal constitution in Spain did not sit well with Mexican conservatives, and the anti -clerical tendencies of the new government in Spain did not suit Catholic officials in Mexico. Old Spain had become too liberal for New Spain, and for once, the upper classes in Mexico were favorably disposed for independence. Mexican liberals had long sought independence, and so formed a coalition with Mexican conservatives. Father Miguel Hidalgo ignited t he Mexican War for Independence in 1810, and a decade of bloody fighting (ten percent of the Mexican population --600,000 - -was killed) ensued. He called his revolt a "reconquista," a reversal of Cortez' conquest of Mexico. Revolutionaries eventually wreste d control of the country from the Spanish viceroy in 1821, with the Plan of Iguala , a constitutional monarchy . Not e ven the restoration of the Spanish King after Napoleon's defeat could generate sufficient interest to bring Mexico back under Spanish contr ol. In addition, the United States issued the Monroe Doctrine , which guaranteed the political integrity of ALL Latin American nations who had declared independence during the Napoleonic era . Great Britain, quickly able to establish trade with these fledgli ng nations, supported the U.S. in the policy. Under the new Mexican Constitution, the provinces of Texas and Coahuila (today's northern Mexico) lacked sufficient population for individual statehood, so the two were combined into a single state, with the e mphasis on Coahuila. The two merged territories rarely shared the same agenda . 9 REASONS FOR SPAIN'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN AND PROSPER IN TEXAS AND MEXICO 1. The Spanish government’s s trict commercial policy prohibited trade with France and even between different Spanish territories . This unrealistic policy result ed in law - breaking and needless poverty and deprivation. Very strict rules made it almost impossible for "legitimate" enterprises to survive. 2. A strict and tyrannical government was r iddled by graft from within. Spain was under the misguided illusion that poorly paid, isolated officials would remain vigorous and honest as they carried out their duties . 3. Hostility of the nomadic Indian tribes --especially after the assimilation of the horse -- hastened the demise of Spanish control. An ill -conceived Native policy --refusing to sell firearms to friendly tribes --left such tribes at the mercy of their enemies or drove them into the arms of the French who would sell the weapons. Thus, the Natives were never significantly incorporated into the Spanish system and often preferred to ally with the French. 4. There was a failure to sufficiently populate Texas. Only three towns emerged from the Spanish colonial era. 5. There was an overall lack of realistic polic ies. Spain held to the presidio/mission system long after it was proved unworkable. “Peso -pinching” government expenditures , especially where Texas was concerned , fostered resentment. SPANISH LEGACY IN TEXAS The Spanish legacy in Texas endures to this day. It include s: Spanish language, names of geographic locations (every major river in Texas bears a Spanish name), architecture, lifestyle, religion, established cities, modern highways that follow old Spanish trails, imported and distributed livestock, and techniques for livestock management, such as chaps, lasso, etc. Certain aspects of Spanish law, such as the idea of community property and the homestead have found their way into Texas tradition. Spanish fo ods complete the list. It is important to r emember that Spain ruled Texas for well over 300 years --about twice as long as Texas has belonged to the current owners . Virtual Reader : "Spain Reacts to the French Presence in Texas, 1689" Letter of Father Massanet to Don Carlos de Siguenza, 1690 We started the next morning, and three leagues off we found the village of the Frenchmen on the bank of the stream, 3 as I had been told by the two Indians, the 10 Querns and Juanillo the Papul. We arrived at about el even in the forenoon, and found six houses, not very large, built with poles plastered with mud, and roofed over with buffalo hides, another larger house where pigs were fattened, and a wooden fort made from the hulk of a wrecked vessel. The fort had one l ower room which was used as a chapel for saying mass, and three other rooms below ; above the three rooms was an upper story serving for a store -house, wherein we found some six loads of iron, not counting scattered pieces, and some steel, also eight small guns and three swivels made of iron, the largest pieces being for a charge of about six pounds of shot. The pieces and one swivel were buried, and Captain Alonso de Leon carried off two of the swivels. There was a great lot of shattered weapons, broken by the Indians — firelocks, carbines, cutlasses — but they had not left the cannon, only one being found. We found two unburied bodies, which I interred, setting up a cross over the grave. There were many torn -up books, and many dead pigs. These Frenchmen had a piece of land fenced in with stakes, where they sowed just a little corn, and had an asparagus bed; we found also very good endive. This place affords no advantages as to situation, for good drinking -water is very far off, and timber still further. T he water of the stream is very brackish, so much so that in five days during which the camp was pitched there all the horses sickened from the brackish water. The next day, we went down to explore the bay of Espiritu Santo, and coasted it until we succee ded in finding the mouth ; in the middle of this there is a flat rock, and all along the shore of the bay there are many lagoons which it is very difficult to cross.

Blackberries are abundant, large and fine, and there are a number of stocks which seem to be those of grape vines, but no trees, and no fresh water. The Indians dig wells for drinking water. After exploring the bay we returned to the main body of our party, whom we had left in the village ; we arrived there at noon, and remained there that af ternoon, and the next day they bent the large iron bars, making them up into bundles, in order to carry them with ease. We found the Indian with the reply to the letter which we had written to the Frenchmen; they said that we should wait for them, that the y would soon come, that another Frenchman was further on, and that they were waiting for him in order that they might come all together. The Indian received the horse, as we had ordered. As to the fort, Captain Alonso de Leon would not have it burnt down, and it remained as it was. The next day we set out on our return trip to the Guadalupe River, and when we got halfway, since we saw that the Frenchmen did not come, Captain Alonso de Leon, with twenty - five men, 3 went to the rancheria where they were, a nd the main party went on as far as the Guadalupe River, where it remained waiting three days. The Frenchmen were in the rancheria of the Toaa Indians, with the Tejas; they came to the Guadalupe with Captain Alonso de Leon and arrived there on the 2d 4 of May, '89. Two Frenchmen came, naked except for an antelope's skin, and with their faces, breasts, and arms painted like the Indians, and with them came the governor of the Tejas and eight of his Indians. Through that day and night I tried my utmost to show all possible consideration to the said governor, giving him two horses, and the blanket in which I slept, for I had 11 nothing else which I could give him. Speaking Spanish, and using as an interpreter one of the Frenchmen whom we had with us, I said to the governor that his people should become Christians, and bring into their lands priests who should baptize them, since otherwise they could not save their souls, adding that if he wished, I would go to his lands. Soon the aforementioned governor said he woul d very willingly take me there, and I promised him to go, and to take with me other priests like myself, repeating to him that I would be there in the following year, at the time of sowing corn. The governor seemed well pleased, and I was still more so, se eing the harvest to be reaped among the many souls in those lands who know not God. The next day was the day of the Holy Cross 1 — the 3d of May ; after mass the governor of the Tejas left for his home and we for this place. We arrived at Coahuila, and C aptain Alonso de Leon sent two Frenchmen — the one named Juan Archebepe, of Bayonne, the other Santiago Grollette — from Coahuila to Mexico, with Captain Francisco Martinez, and His Excellency the Conde de Galbe had the Frenchmen provided with suitable clo thes and dispatched to Spain on ship - board in the same year, '89. All this news did not fail to create excitement and to give satisfaction not only to His Excellency but also to other men of note in Mexico, and there were several meetings held in order to consider measures not only for keeping the French from gaining control of those regions and settling in them, but also for the introduction of religious ministers. Haynes, Sam and Wintz, Cary, Major Problems in Texas History , Cengage Learning, 2017, pages 34 and following. Practice Questions: 1. The most tangible value to Spain of Cabeza de Vaca's march across Texas was: a) discovery of the 7 Cities of Gold. b) strengthening Spanish claims to the territory. c) the conquest of the territory from t he Indians. d) the detailed map -making of the area. e) making peace with the Karankawa 2. Name the single event that made Spain the most jealous over its province of Texas? a) Mexico's invasion of the Alamo at San Antonio b) the discovery of large amounts of gold and silver in Texas c) the increasing territory utilized by Comanche far ms d) discovery of rich oil deposits in East Texas e) La Salle's construction of Fort Saint Louis 3. Missions are to friars as presidios are to ________________. a) horses b) soldiers c) priests d) food storage e) presidents 12 4. Which group does not belong on this list? (Figure out what kind of list it is). a) Portugal b) France c) the United States d) the Comanche 5. The Monroe Doctrine was well received by most of the Mexican population. a) True b) False 6. Which term does not belong on this list? (Figure out what kind of list it is). a) language b) geographic names c) church -state affiliation d) religion e) architecture Please match the descriptors with the appropriate answers: 7. Spanish father; Indian mother 8. Companion to Cabeza de Vaca 9. full blooded Spaniards, born in Mexico 10. pure Spaniard, born in Spain 11. “seeded” livestock i n Texas a) Alonso de Leon b) Criollos c) Mestizos d) Peninsulares e) Esteban 13. Spanish interest in Texas not only included keeping the French from gaining control of the region, but also a) to convert natives to Christianity. b) to exploit the furs and precious metals in the region. c) to gain an area for staging expeditions into U. S. territory. d) to establish important port cities along the Texas Gulf Coast. For Discussion: Why did Spain cling to her traditional policies for maintaining control of Texas long after these policies proved to be ineffective?