Chapter 1
Section 2
Stephen F. Austin and the Empresarios
Moses Austin Begins Colonization in Texas
o Born – Conecticut…1761
o Moved to present-day Missouri to operate a lead mine…prospered
o Lost fortune in Panic of 1819
o To make money and pay off debt …proposed to bring 300 families to Texas
• Traveled 800 miles to present his petition {formal written request} to Governor Antonio Martínez…denied
• Luck changed!!! Met Baron de Bastrop, Felipe Enrique Neri…agreed to use his influence to help Austin with Spanish officials approval
• Austin returned to the east to begin recruiting …became ill and was dying when he learned his plan had been approved
• On his deathbed, ask his son, Stephen to carry out his dream of colonizing Texas
Stephen F. Austin Takes Over
• 27 years old…put aside a legal
career to fulfill his father’s wishes
o Attended Transylvania University in
Kentucky
o Served as a legislator from Missouri for
six years
o Judge in Arkansas
• 1821…Moses Austin’s grant was
legally transferred to his son,
Stephen
• Chose a site for his colony…land
between the Lavaca and San
Jacinto Rivers
o Easy for settlers to clear
o Plenty of rain
o Good farm land
o First settlement on the Colorado River
Settlers Arrive in Texas
o Traveled to New Orleans to recruit
colonists
o Success of colony depended
the character of the colonists…
• Be of good character
• Roman Catholic {or agree to become
Roman Catholic}
o Looked for people who were willing
suffer hard times or able to provide for themselves
o Colonists were required to pledge their loyalty to Spain
***Grant allowed Austin to bring 300 families to Texas
“Old Three Hundred”
❖ Settlers who were farmers received one labor {177 acres}
❖ Settlers who raised cattle received a sitio {a square league of 4,428 acres}
❖ After settlers qualified, the Baron de Bastrop {government’s agent} gave land titles {proof of ownership} to the colonists
Settlers began to arrive in 1821…
…through Nacogdoches along the El Camino Real
…by boat {Lively…purchased by Stephen F. Austin to transport colonists…miscommunication caused Lively to land at the mouth of the Brazos River instead of the Colorado River…some frustrated colonists returned home}
Austin’s Leadership
First years prospered in spite of…
▪ Drought
▪ Attacks by Karankawas
▪ Families returning to the
United States
***Success due to Stephen F. Austin’s outstanding leadership
1822 – Austin learned that Mexico had gained its independence from Spain on a trip to San Antonio de Béxar
***Mexico now ruled Texas***
Austin traveled to Mexico City {1,000 miles} to obtain permission for his colony from Mexican officials…took a year receive approval of the Mexican government…
While in Mexico…
…learned to speak Spanish
…won the trust of the Mexican leaders [could deal successfully with the new Mexican officials]
Stephen F. Austin
← was awarded grants under the national colonization laws of 1823 and 1824 and the state {Coahuila y Tejas} colonization law of 1825
← influenced laws that made colonists free from taxes
← obtained homestead rights for colonists {settlers land and tools could not be seized to pay back a debt}
First colony on the west bank of the Brazos River…
San Felipe de Austin
…center of colonial activity until it was burned in the Texas Revolution
Austin led colony in many different ways…
▪ colonist’s main representative to Mexican officials
▪ translated Spanish laws
▪ communicated government policies to settlers
“Father of Texas”
Expanding the Empresarial System
1830 – 30 people had received land grants in Texas
***Austin received more land grants
Green DeWitt {second most important empresario}
▪ Received grant in 1825
▪ Founded colony southwest of Austin’s original
Colony…headquarters Gonzales
▪ Permission to settle 400 families…only 166
settled by 1831
Martin de León {native of Mexico}
▪ Settled 200 Mexican families near coast between
Lavaca and Guadalupe Rivers
▪ Founded the town of Victoria in 1824
Arthur Wavell and Ben Milam
▪ Received a grant in northeastern Texas along the Red River
Haden Edwards
▪ Received an East Texas land grant in return for financing some of Austin’s dealings with the government
▪ Lost the grant after disputes with the Mexican government …settlers’ claims were not honored
▪ Joseph Vehlein and David Burnet brought settlers to land formerly granted to Edwards
Europeans…
▪ James Power and James Hewetson {Ireland}…Irish colony on the Gulf Coast
▪ John McMullen and James McGloin {Ireland}…Irish colony along the Nueces River
Texas in 1830
▪ Population…20,000 people
▪ La Bahía and Nacogdoches had grown
▪ New towns…
o San Felipe
o Gonzales
o Victoria
▪ Cotton and Cattle industries were growing
▪ Local government functioned in some communities
***Empresario system continued to expand Texas’s population
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