Mexican Texas
Mexican Texas is the name given by
Texas history scholars to the period between
1821 and
1836, when Texas was part of
Mexico, as a part of the state of
Coahuila y Tejas. The period begins with
Mexico's victory over
Spain in its
war of independence in 1821 and ended with
Texas'
declaration of independence from Mexico in 1836, forming the
Republic of Texas.
Before the outbreak of the
Mexican War of Independence in
1810, Texas was a part of the
Spanish colony of
New Spain. Texas was then part of Mexico (as a part of the state of
Coahuila y Tejas). The Rio Grande and South Texas areas had a history of independence movements by the local Mexican and especially Anglo-Mexican population, on account of unitary and perceived dictatorial and unconstitutional practices by the central Mexican government.
Northern and
East Texas, meanwhile, remained largely in the hands of
Native American tribes, some of whom were hostile to Mexican rule.
In the years following the
Louisiana Purchase and the acquisition of
New Orleans by the United States, settlers from the U.S. ("Anglos") had begun to move westward into Mexican territory based on Spanish land grants. Some of these settlers were active
filibusters, who sought the long-term annexation of the area to the U.S. Many brought their
African-American slaves with them and purchased slaves after immigrating to Mexico. The Mexican government had an uneasy relationship with these early settlers, in part because of the settlers being largely
Protestant in officially
Catholic Mexico, and because of attitudes of
racial superiority and
manifest destiny that they brought with them into the country.
In the
1820s, seeking additional settlers as a means of stabilizing the area, Mexico reached an agreement with
Stephen F. Austin reauthorizing his Spanish land grants. That allowed several hundred "Anglo" families to move into the region. As word of mouth about rich lands in Texas spread across the United States, thousands of additional settlers flooded into Texas, many of whom were not interested in being ruled by the government of Mexico. When Mexico
abolished slavery nationwide, the immigrants from the U.S. refused to comply with the law and resisted governmental efforts to enforce their national abolition of
slavery in the territory. This was coupled with complaints about the tightening political and economic control over the territory by the central government in
Mexico City, leading to the
Texas Revolution.
It should also be noted that Texas did not leave Mexico over slavery, which was abolished in Mexico in 1829. It left due to the Mexican Constitution of 1824 being abolished in 1835 and a centralized government replacing the former federal structure. The Mexican states of
Coahuila,
Nuevo Leon, and
Tamaulipas would also withdraw themselves from Mexico and would form their own federal republic called the
Republic of the Rio Grande with Laredo as the capital, which is in the present day
State of Texas. The Mexican state of
Yucatán also seceeded and formed the
Republic of Yucatán. And Texas withdrew from Mexico forming the
Republic of Texas. Several other states also went into open rebellion as well. Texas, however, was the only Mexican state to be successful in separating itself from Mexico.
*
Texas Revolution*
Republic of Texas*
Republic of the Rio Grande*
Mexican Constitution of 1824*
Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas from
Gammel's Laws of Texas, Vol. I. hosted by the
Portal to Texas History.
