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143-523: The Spanish returned to southeastern Texas in 1716, establishing several missions and a presidio to maintain a buffer between Spanish territory and the Louisiana district of New France . San Antonio was founded in 1719 and became the capital and largest settlement of Spanish Tejas . The Lipan Apache menaced the newly founded colony until 1749 when the Spanish and Lipan concluded a peace treaty. Both

286-617: A Mayan sailor named Tomás de la Cruz. The Karankawa also burned the ship and the newly created map, possibly the first detailed Spanish map of the Texas-Louisiana coast. Several months later, the Native Americans living at Mission Rosario, near La Bahía, escaped to join the Karankawa, and together they began raiding livestock and harassing settlers. The governor pardoned many of the fugitives, and most of them returned to

429-702: A French deserter living in southern Texas with the Coahuiltecans . In April 1689, the Frenchman helped guide the Spanish, under Alonso de León , to Fort Saint Louis , which had been destroyed by Karankawa Indians. De León's expedition also met representatives of the Caddo people, who lived between the Trinity and the Red Rivers. The Caddo expressed interest in learning about Christianity . De León sent

572-457: A French flag. After a skirmish in which 52 Spaniards were killed, wounded, or deserted, the Spanish retreated. The San Sabá presidio was replaced with a limestone fortress and a moat, but the Comanches and their allies remained close and killed any soldiers who ventured out. By 1769, Spain abandoned the fort. In 1762, missionaries established two unauthorized missions south of San Sabá, in

715-672: A contingent of soldiers under Pedro de Aguirre traveled into Texas. His expedition reached only as far as the Colorado River and turned around after learning that the Tejas chief was still unhappy with the Spanish. The group did visit the area around the San Antonio River , and was much impressed with the land and availability of water. They believed the river to be unnamed and called it San Antonio de Padua, not realizing that Terán and Massanet had camped nearby years before on

858-421: A dining room, and a pantry. A heavy outer wall was built around the main part of the mission, and rooms for 350 Indians were built into the walls. A new church, which still stands, was constructed in 1768 from local limestone. The mission lands were given to its Indians in 1794, and mission activities officially ended in 1824. After that, the buildings were home to soldiers, the homeless, and bandits. It

1001-612: A disadvantage. The Lipan Apache , who had been seasonal farmers, were soon pressed by the Comanche , who had horses, and the Wichita , who had guns. The Apaches were bitter enemies of the Tejas of East Texas and had transferred their enmity to the Spanish as friends of the Tejas. After discovering San Antonio in 1720, the Apache mounted small-scale raids on the area to steal livestock, especially horses. The Hispanic population of San Antonio

1144-593: A friendship with the Bidai tribe, who reported any signs of foreigners along the coast. In the summer of 1777, Gil Ybarbo discovered that a group of Englishmen had come from the sea and stayed long enough to plant a crop near the Neches River . He led an expedition to find the Englishmen, but, although they discovered the fields, the expedition did not find any of the settlers. In 1779, the Comanches began raiding

1287-574: A great extent by its long established tourism industry but also by its position as a gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America . As of 2024, Texas and Florida are the second and third most populous states in the nation, respectively. Other areas of the Gulf Coast have benefited less, though economic development fueled by tourism has greatly increased property values along the coast, and is now

1430-533: A maximum population of perhaps 5,000 Spanish, mixed blood, and subject Indians in 1810, only 2,500 people remained in Hispanic Texas by the end of the war. Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821 and Spanish Texas became part of an independent Mexico. Texas became independent of Mexico in 1836 and joined the United States in 1845. The Spanish never achieved control of most of Texas which

1573-482: A mixture of Spanish, French, Indians, and a few blacks. The settlers were given only five days to prepare to relocate to San Antonio. Many of them perished during the three-month trek and others died soon after arriving. After protesting, they were permitted in the following year to return to East Texas, but only as far as the Trinity River, 175 miles (282 km) from Natchitoches. Led by Antonio Gil Y'Barbo ,

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1716-563: A more westward presence. The Spanish countered by founding two more missions just west of Natchitoches, San Miguel de los Adaes and Dolores de los Ais. The missions were located in a disputed area; France claimed the Sabine River to be the western boundary of Louisiana, while Spain claimed the Red River was the eastern boundary of Texas, leaving an overlap of 45 miles (72 km). The new missions were over 400 miles (640 km) from

1859-518: A population vacuum later filled by Anglo American settlers. Grazing of European livestock caused mesquite to spread inland replacing native grassland while Spanish farmers tilled and irrigated the land and changed the landscape. Although Texas eventually adopted much of the Anglo-American legal system, many Spanish legal practices survived , including the concepts of a homestead exemption and of community property . Spanish Texas ( Tejas )

2002-557: A presidio which would be guarded by twenty-five soldiers. The party of 75 people included 3 children, 7 women, 18 soldiers, and 10 missionaries. These were the first recorded female settlers in Spanish Texas. After marrying a Spanish woman, St. Denis also joined the Spanish expedition. The party reached the land of the Hasinai people in late June 1716 and was greeted warmly. On July 3, mission San Francisco

2145-638: A report of his findings to Mexico City , where it "created instant optimism and quickened religious fervor". The Spanish government was convinced that the destruction of the French fort was "proof of God's 'divine aid and favor'". In his report de León recommended that presidios be established along the Rio Grande , the Frio River , and the Guadalupe River and that missions be established among

2288-601: A response to the first permanent French outposts along the Gulf Coast ten years later. Following government policy, Franciscan missionaries sought to make life within mission communities closely resemble that of Spanish villages and Spanish culture. To become Spanish citizens and "productive" inhabitants, Native Americans learned vocational skills, such as plows , farm implements, and gear for horses, oxen, and mules fell into disrepair, blacksmithing skills soon became indispensable. Weaving skills were needed to help clothe

2431-583: A threat to Spain's North American interests, the Spanish monarchy commissioned the Marquis of Rubí to inspect all of the presidios on the northern frontier of New Spain and make recommendations for the future. Rubí's two-year journey, beginning in early 1766, covered seven thousand miles (11,000 km) from the Gulf of California to East Texas. This was the first comprehensive look at the New Spain frontier since

2574-542: A toehold in the frontier land. The missions introduced European livestock , fruits, vegetables, and industry into the Texas area. In addition to the presidio (fortified church) and pueblo (town), the misión was one of the three major agencies employed by the Spanish crown to extend its borders and consolidate its colonial territories . In all, twenty-six missions were maintained for different lengths of time within

2717-546: A year, until late 1720. Just before he departed, the fighting in Europe halted, and King Felipe V of Spain ordered them not to invade Louisiana, but instead find a way to retake Eastern Texas without using force. The expedition brought with them over 2,800 horses, 6,400 sheep and many goats; this constituted the first large "cattle drive" in Texas. This greatly increased the number of domesticated animals in Texas and marked

2860-478: Is located in Weches at Mission Tejas State Park . Located 3 miles (5 km) south of Mission San José, San Juan Capistrano served Coahuiltecan natives. It was the most distant of the missions from the presidio at Bexar and was often raided by Apaches. By 1762, the mission consisted of a stone chapel with stone rooms for the priests and the soldiers who lived at the mission. Rooms made of adobe were built along

3003-479: The Alamo . The mission was initially populated with three to five Indians that one of the missionaries had raised since childhood. Alarcon built a presidio, San Antonio de Béxar one mile (1.6 km) north of the mission,. Alarcón also chartered the municipality of Béjar, now San Antonio . Given a status higher than a village ( pueblo ) but lower than a city ( ciudad ), San Antonio became the only villa in Texas, and

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3146-662: The Atlantic seaboard and the fourth largest in the U.S. overall. Two major events were turning points in the earlier history of the Gulf Coast region. The first was the American Civil War , which caused severe damage to some economic sectors in the South , including the Gulf Coast. The second event was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 . At the end of the 19th century Galveston was, with New Orleans, one of

3289-672: The Brothers of Mary , who cleaned it and began conducting services again. It is now open to the public for prayer, and is part of the National Park Service. Mission San José de los Nazonis was the third mission established in East Texas in 1716. Located near a Nazoni village, the mission was established by the Domingo Ramón - St. Denis expedition and was near the present-day site of Cushing, Texas . Although

3432-532: The Canary Islands to San Antonio. At that time, only 300 Hispanic settlers lived in San Antonio, with 200 others dispersed throughout the rest of the colony. The new immigrants began farming and renamed the town San Fernando de Béxar, establishing the first municipal, and only civilian, government in Texas. Juan Leal Goraz , the oldest of the settlers, was appointed the first councilman. As

3575-735: The Gulf of Mexico . The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , and Florida , and these are known as the Gulf States . The economy of the Gulf Coast area is dominated by industries related to energy, petrochemicals, fishing, aerospace, agriculture, and tourism. The large cities of the region are (from west to east) Brownsville , Corpus Christi , Houston , Galveston , Beaumont , Lake Charles , Lafayette , Baton Rouge , New Orleans , Gulfport , Biloxi , Mobile , Pensacola , Panama City , St. Petersburg , and Tampa . All are

3718-675: The Hasinai Indians, whom the Spanish called the Tejas , in East Texas . In Castilian Spanish , this was often written as the phonetic equivalent Texas , which became the name of the future province. The viceroy approved the establishment of a mission but rejected the idea of presidios, primarily because New Spain was chronically short of funds. On March 26, 1690, Alonso de León set out with 110 soldiers and several missionaries. The group stopped first to burn Fort Saint Louis to

3861-527: The Kadohadachos , and one for the tribes near the Guadalupe River . He was only able to recruit 10 friars and 3 lay brothers. His expedition reached the existing mission in August, 1691 and discovered that the priests there had established a second mission, Santísimo Nombre de María , five miles (8.0 km) east of San Francisco de los Tejas . One of the priests had died, leaving two to operate

4004-600: The Mississippi River , ending Spain's exclusive control of the Gulf Coast. Although Spain "refused to concede France's right to be in Louisiana" and warned King Louis XIV of France that he could be excommunicated for ignoring the 200-year-old papal edict giving the Americas to Spain, they took no further actions to stop France's encroachment or expand the Spanish presence. The two countries became allies during

4147-528: The Nueces River valley. For several years the Apache lived in the missions most of the year, but left in winter to hunt buffalo. One of the missions closed in 1763, when the Apache never returned from their hunt. The surviving mission closed in January 1766, after a force of 400 natives from the northern tribes attacked, killing 6 Apaches and taking 25 captives as well as all the livestock in

4290-465: The Port of Houston are two of the ten busiest ports in the world by cargo volume. As of 2004, seven of the top ten busiest ports in the U.S. are on the Gulf Coast. The discovery of oil and gas deposits along the coast and offshore, combined with easy access to shipping, have made the Gulf Coast the heart of the U.S. petrochemical industry . The coast contains nearly 4,000 oil platforms . Besides

4433-616: The Red River formed the boundary between the two, France insisted that the border was the Sabine River , 45 miles (72 km) to the west. Although Alonso Álvarez de Pineda claimed Texas for Spain in 1519, the area was largely ignored by Spain until the late seventeenth century. However Spanish slave raids into what became Texas began in the late 16th century. Among others, Spanish governor Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva captured hundreds of Indians and sold them to owners of silver mines in Mexico. Frequent epidemics of European diseases reduced

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4576-449: The Rio Grande , where Hidalgo was located. Although St. Denis was arrested and questioned, he was ultimately released. The Spanish recognized that the French could become a threat to other Spanish areas, and ordered the reoccupation of Texas as a buffer between French settlements in Louisiana and New Spain . On April 12, 1716, an expedition led by Domingo Ramón left San Juan Bautista for Texas, intending to establish four missions and

4719-401: The San Antonio River , in the area the Spanish had admired in 1707. Alarcón led a group of 72 people, including 10 families, into Texas on April 9, 1718. They brought with them 548 horses, 6 droves of mules, and other livestock. On May 1, the group created a temporary mud, brush and straw structure to serve as a mission, San Antonio de Valero , whose chapel was later known as

4862-816: The Seven Years' War , and lost both Manila and Havana to the British. Although the Louisiana colony was a financial liability, King Carlos III of Spain reluctantly accepted it, as that meant France was finally ceding its claim to Texas. At the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763, Great Britain recognized Spain's right to the lands west of the Mississippi. Great Britain received the remainder of France's North American territories, and Spain exchanged some of their holdings in Florida for Havana. With France no longer

5005-588: The War of the Spanish Succession and cooperated in the Americas. Despite their friendship, Spain remained unwilling to allow the French to trade within their territory. On hearing rumors of French incursions into Texas in 1707, the viceroy of New Spain ordered all provincial governors to prevent the entry of foreigners and their goods. To dissuade the Tejas Indians from accepting goods from the French,

5148-463: The 1720s, when Pedro de Rivera conducted his expedition. Rubí was unimpressed with the presidio at San Saba, which he declared to be the worst in the kingdom of New Spain. He recommended that only the presidios at San Antonio and La Bahía be maintained, and that East Texas be totally abandoned, with all population moving to San Antonio. With Louisiana in Spanish control, there was no need for Los Adaes to reside so closely to Natchitoches, especially after

5291-732: The 1770s, the Comanche raided in New Mexico . The Comanche were defeated in a battle in Colorado in 1779 by a Spanish army led by New Mexico governor Juan Bautista de Anza and redirected their activities to the weakly defended Texas. During the same time period the Apaches, who had been stockpiling guns received from the Karankawas, returned to raiding settlements in Texas, violating their peace treaty. The Comanche promptly declared war on

5434-628: The Alamo , and during the Mexican–American War supplies for the U.S. Army were stored there. The buildings are now owned by the state of Texas and operated as memorial by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas . Shortly after its founding, Mission San Antonio de Valero became overcrowded with refugees from the closed East Texas missions, and Father Antonio Margil received permission from

5577-458: The Apache in 1791 and 1792, and the Apache were forced to scatter into the mountains in Mexico. In 1796, Spanish officials began an attempt to have the Apache and Comanche coexist in peace, and over the next ten years the intertribal fighting declined. In 1776, Native Americans at the Bahia missions told the soldiers that the Karankawas had massacred a group of Europeans who had been shipwrecked near

5720-409: The Apache. Gálvez became the viceroy of New Spain in 1785. Gálvez ordered that the Native Americans be encouraged to use alcohol, which they could only get through trading, and that the firearms they were traded be poorly made so that they would be awkward to use and easy to break. His policies were never implemented, as Spain did not have the money to provide gifts such as those to the tribes. Instead,

5863-539: The Bucareli area, and the settlers chose to move further east to the old mission of Nacogdoches, where they founded the town of the same name. The new town quickly became a waystation for contraband. The settlers did not have authorization to move, and no troops were assigned to protect the new location until 1795. The tribes traded freely, and soon many had acquired French guns, while others had traded for Spanish horses. Tribes without access to either resource were left at

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6006-548: The Comanche and the Spanish in Texas was in 1743 when a small band of Comanche visited San Antonio. The Comanche were expanding southward from Colorado and pushing the Apache off the Great Plains. About 1750 they became the dominant power in the northwestern one-half of Texas, called the Comanchería (Spanish for " Comanche lands"), and maintained their dominance for 100 years. Through a combination of diplomacy and war,

6149-572: The Comanche established an extensive long-distance trade network and spread their language and culture among allied Indian tribes. Initially, the Spanish in Texas called them the norteños (northerners) a collective term for the Wichita and other Indian tribes in northern Texas. The Comanche were divided into the western bands which primarily raided and traded in New Mexico and the eastern banks which primarily raided and traded in Texas. For much of

6292-521: The Deadose, Mayeye, and Coco Indians. In 1748 alone, the Apaches raided the mission four times, killing three soldiers and four of the Indian residents. Many of the resident Indians fled the mission due to the threat of attacks. This did not deter the missionaries, who founded two more missions, San Ildefonso and Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, in the area the following year. Within six months, all of

6435-528: The El Paso district, which were turned over to diocesan pastors only in 1852. In 1881, the Jesuits took control and renamed it Mission de Nuestra Señora del Monte Carmelo. In 1980, the name was changed to Mission San Antonio de los Tiguas. The church is still in use today. The first mission established within the boundaries of Spanish Texas was San Francisco de la Espada. In 1689, Spanish authorities found

6578-738: The French and the American revolutionaries and money and troops were diverted to attacking Florida instead of exterminating the Apaches. After soldiers in Coahuila aligned with the Mescaleros against the Lipan Apaches, however, Spain was able to sign a peace treaty with the Lipans. The Comanches were also becoming more brazen, attacking Presidio La Bahía in 1781, where they were repulsed. After hearing that Englishman George Gauld had surveyed

6721-407: The Gulf Coast all the way to Galveston Bay in 1777, Bernardo de Gálvez appointed a French engineer, Luis Antonio Andry, to conduct a similar survey for Spain. Andry finished his survey in March 1778, and anchored off Matagorda Bay after running dangerously low on provisions. Over a period of days, the Karankawa lured a few men at a time from the ship with offers of assistance and killed all but one,

6864-555: The Gulf Coast from Houston, Texas , eastward, extreme rainfall events are a significant threat, commonly from tropical weather systems, which can bring 4 to 10 or more inches of rain in a single day. In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the central Texas coast, then migrated to and stalled over the greater Houston area for several days, producing extreme, unprecedented rainfall totals of over 40 inches (1,000 mm) in many areas, unleashing widespread flooding. Climate scientists predict more hurricanes for Florida and

7007-477: The Gulf Coast has a summer precipitation maximum, with July or August commonly the wettest month due to the combination of frequent summer thunderstorms produced by relentless heat and humidity, and tropical weather systems, including tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes , while winter and early spring rainfall also can be heavy. This pattern is evident in southern cites as Houston , New Orleans , Mobile, Alabama , and Pensacola, Florida . However,

7150-406: The Gulf Coast was a natural magnet in the South providing access to shipping lanes and both national and international commerce. The development of sugar and cotton production (enabled by slavery ) allowed the South to prosper. By the mid-19th century the city of New Orleans , being situated as a key to commerce on the Mississippi River and in the Gulf, had become the largest U.S. city not on

7293-434: The Gulf Coast was struck by a catastrophic hurricane. Due to its immense size, Hurricane Ike caused devastation from the Louisiana coastline all the way to the Kenedy County, Texas , region near Corpus Christi . In addition, Ike caused flooding and significant damage along the Mississippi coastline and the Florida Panhandle Ike killed 112 people and left upwards of 300 people missing, never to be found. Hurricane Ike

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7436-444: The Gulf Coast, predominantly Florida, is dotted with many bays and inlets. The Gulf Coast climate is humid subtropical, although Southwest Florida features a tropical climate. Much of the year is warm to hot along the Gulf Coast, while the three winter months bring periods of cool (or rarely, cold) weather mixed with mild temperatures. The area is highly vulnerable to hurricanes as well as floods and severe thunderstorms . Much of

7579-412: The Gulf Coast. In 2008 floods in Iowa destroyed the local Flood Museum which held materials from the Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 . Before European settlers arrived in the region, the Gulf Coast was home to several pre-Columbian kingdoms which had extensive trade networks with empires such as the Aztecs and the Mississippi Mound Builders. Shark and alligator teeth and shells from

7722-437: The Gulf have been found as far north as Ohio, in the mounds of the Hopewell culture. The first Europeans to settle the Gulf Coast were primarily the French and the Spanish . The Louisiana Purchase (1803), Adams–Onís Treaty (1819) and the Texas Revolution (1835–1836) made the Gulf Coast a part of the United States during the first half of the 19th century. As the U.S. population continued to expand its frontiers westward,

7865-550: The Indian population. The first epidemic, possibly of cholera , among the Indians in Texas was recorded in 1528 by Cabeza de Vaca and they continued to impact the Indian population until the end of the 19th century. In 1685, the Spanish learned that France had established a colony in the area between New Spain and Florida . Believing the French colony was a threat to Spanish mines and shipping routes, Spanish King Carlos II's Council of War recommended that "Spain needed swift action 'to remove this thorn which has been thrust into

8008-411: The San Saba horse herd, stealing all of the horses and pack mules and killing 20 soldiers. In October 1759, Spain sent the San Sabá commander, Colonel Diego Ortiz Parrilla , on an expedition north to the Red River to avenge the attack. The tribes were forewarned and led Parrilla's army to a fortified Wichita village, surrounded by a stockade and a moat, where natives brandished French guns and waved

8151-406: The Spanish and Lipan were then threatened by Comanche raids until 1785 when the Spanish and Comanche negotiated a peace agreement. In 1803, the United States gained ownership of an indefinite part of Texas with the Louisiana Purchase and subsequently the influence of Anglo Americans increased. During the Mexican War of Independence from 1810 to 1821 Texas experienced turmoil. Reaching

8294-409: The Spanish efforts would be as successful as in the Philippines a century and a half earlier. The alternate name became official and remained in use for several decades, but had virtually disappeared from use (in favor of 'Texas') by the end of the century. The name however persisted in documents, especially in land grants At the same time, the French were building a fort in Natchitoches to establish

8437-454: The Spanish government ordered all of East Texas to be abandoned. In 1779, Antonio Gil Y'Barbo led a group of settlers who had been removed from Los Adaes to the area to settle in the empty mission buildings. This began the town of Nacogdoches, Texas . Mission Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de los Ais was originally established in 1717 in the area of Ayish Bayou (modern San Augustine, Texas ) by Father Antonio Margil de Jesus . The mission

8580-413: The Spanish negotiated a treaty with the Comanche in late 1785. The treaty promised annual gifts to the Comanches, and the peace it brought lasted for the next 30 years. By late 1786, northern and western Texas were secure enough that Pedro Vial and a single companion safely "pioneered a trail from San Antonio to Santa Fe ," a distance of 700 miles (1,100 km). The Comanches were willing to fight

8723-462: The Texas coast. De Croix was unimpressed with his new province, complaining that, "'A villa without order, two presidios, seven missions, and an errant population of scarcely 4,000 persons of both sexes and all ages that occupies an immense desert country, stretching from the abandoned presidio of Los Adaes to San Antonio, ... does not deserve the name of the Province of Texas ... nor the concern entailed in its preservation.'" Despite his distaste for

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8866-472: The Texas coastline in particular. Earthquakes are extremely rare to the area, but a 6.0 earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico on September 10, 2006, could be felt from the cities of New Orleans to Tampa. Due to the release of greenhouse gas emissions, glaciers and ice sheets are melting and expanding the oceans. The United States coastlines are projected to rise 1 foot in three decades or between 10 and 12 inches on average by 2050. The Gulf Coast will likely see

9009-472: The United States approximately $ 2.6 billion in relief efforts and caused at least seven deaths. By 2051, the cost of flood damage is expected to increase by 61%, or $ 32 billion. The Gulf Coast is a major center of economic activity. The marshlands along the Louisiana and Texas coasts provide breeding grounds and nurseries for ocean life that drive the fishing and shrimping industries. The Port of South Louisiana ( Metropolitan New Orleans in Laplace ) and

9152-407: The above, the region features other important industries including aerospace and biomedical research , as well as older industries such as agriculture and — especially since the development of the Gulf Coast beginning in the 1920s and the increase in wealth throughout the United States — tourism . Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita have destroyed a number of museums and archives in

9295-443: The area from 1776 until 1783. As de Croix prepared to take office, his predecessor, Baron of Ripperdà, wrote a detailed report, dated April 27, 1777, of the settlements in Texas. One-third of the report detailed the village of Bucareli, which he labeled as "'of the greatest importance as a means of acquiring reports of a coast as extensive as it is uninhabited.'" The Bucareli settlers regularly performed coastal explorations and developed

9438-418: The area, he increased the number of troops in the interior provinces by 50% and created units of "light troops" which did not carry all of the heavy gear and could fight on foot. His administration also attempted to build alliances with native troops, and planned to work with the Comanche and the Wichita to wipe out the Apache raiders. The plan was shelved when Spain entered the American Revolution as an ally of

9581-415: The assistance of 100 Indians from nearby Mission Valero. The Apache also preyed on other tribes, including the Deadose and Tonkawa . In the 1740s, these weaker tribes requested missions along the San Gabriel River in the hopes that the Spanish could protect them from attack. Mission San Francisco Xavier was established at the confluence of the San Gabriel River and Bushy Creek in January 1746 to serve

9724-517: The beginning of Spanish ranching in Texas. In July 1721, while approaching the Neches River , Aguayo's expedition met St. Denis, who had returned to the French and was leading a raid on San Antonio. Realizing that he was badly outnumbered, St. Denis agreed to abandon East Texas and return to Louisiana. Aguayo then ordered the building of a new Spanish fort Nuestra Señora del Pilar de los Adaes , located near present-day Robeline, Louisiana , only 12 miles (19 km) from Natchitoches. The new fort became

9867-866: The biggest change, with sea levels expected to rise between 14 and 18 inches. The Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Report predicted more frequent, major and destructive high tide flooding events along with taller storm surges by 2050 after scientists determined high tide flooding has been "increasingly common" over the past few years due to the rising sea levels. The impacts are expected to be dramatic. Low-lying coastal areas are expected to experience multiple factors, including increased levels of flooding, accelerated erosion, loss of wetlands and low-lying terrestrial ecosystems, and seawater intrusion into freshwater sources. Rising sea level and erosion will also imperil critical habitats for many commercially important fisheries that depend on inshore waters for either permanent residence or nursery area. In 2021 alone rising sea levels cost

10010-424: The centers or major cities of their respective metropolitan areas and many of which contain large ports . The Gulf Coast is made of many inlets , bays , and lagoons . The coast is intersected by numerous rivers, the largest of which is the Mississippi River . Much of the land along the Gulf Coast is, or was, marshland . Ringing the Gulf Coast is the Gulf Coastal Plain , which reaches from Southern Texas to

10153-463: The central and southern Florida peninsula and South Texas has a pronounced winter dry season, as at Tampa and Fort Myers . On the central and southern Texas coast, winter, early spring and mid-summer are markedly drier, and September is the wettest month on average at Corpus Christi and Brownsville, Texas . Tornadoes are infrequent at the coast but do occur; however, they occur more frequently in inland portions of Gulf Coast states. Over most of

10296-853: The colonists who settled there relied on farming and ranching to survive. With the new settlement established, Alarcón continued on to the East Texas missions, where he found evidence of much illicit trade with France. The following year, the War of the Quadruple Alliance broke out, aligning Spain against France, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic , and Austria . The war was fought primarily over Italy, but Great Britain and France launched several attempts to capture Spanish colonies in North America. In June 1719, 7 Frenchmen from Natchitoches took control of Mission San Miguel de los Adaes from its sole defender, who did not know that

10439-440: The countries were at war. The French soldiers explained that 100 additional soldiers were coming, and the Spanish colonists, missionaries, and remaining soldiers abandoned the area and fled to San Antonio. The Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo volunteered to reconquer Texas and raised an army of 500 soldiers. Aguayo was named the governor of Coahuila and Texas and the responsibilities of his office delayed his trip to Texas by

10582-401: The current viceroy of Mexico. The mission inherited the lands of the closed Mission San Francisco Xavier de Najera 3 miles (5 km) south of San Antonio de Valero. Most of the Native Americans at the mission were Coahuiltecans who disliked the hard work of mission life. The Native Americans often ran away and were brought back forcibly by soldiers or priests. The current church building

10725-497: The disease and at first blamed the outbreak on the baptismal waters. After thousands of natives had succumbed, the survivors rose up against the missions. In 1693, the Caddo warned the Franciscan missionaries to leave the area or be killed. The missionaries buried the church bells and burned the mission, then returned to Mexico. Although this first Spanish attempt to settle Texas failed, it provided Spain an increased awareness of

10868-555: The enemies of their new friends, and soon attacked the Karankawa. Over the next several years, the Comanches killed many of the Karankawa in the area and drove the others into Mexico. By 1804, very few natives lived on the barrier islands, where the Karankawa had made their home. In January 1790, the Comanche also helped the Spanish fight a large battle against the Mescalero and Lipan Apaches at Soledad Creek west of San Antonio. Over 1,000 Comanche warriors participated in raids against

11011-531: The entire northern frontier. Beginning in what is now California in November 1724, Rivera spent the next three years inspecting the northern frontier, reaching San Antonio in August 1727. His reports of Los Adaes, Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto , and the presidio at San Antonio were favorable, but he was unimpressed with Presidio de los Tejas, whose 25 soldiers were guarding empty missions. The native population had refused to congregate into communities around

11154-534: The feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua and had given the river the same name. In 1711, Franciscan missionary Francisco Hidalgo , who had served in the earlier Texas missions, wanted to reestablish missions with the Caddos . The Spanish government was unwilling to provide the funding and troops for the project, so Hidalgo approached the French governor of Louisiana , Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac for help. Cadillac

11297-468: The fields. By the early 1740s, however, intermarriage and the need for closer economic ties had helped to alleviate some of the infighting, and the original settlers were given permission to serve as magistrates and council members. Spain discouraged manufacturing in its colonies and limited trade to Spanish goods handled by Spanish merchants and carried on Spanish vessels. Most of the ports, including all of those in Texas, were closed to commercial vessels in

11440-523: The first capital of Texas, and was guarded by 6 cannon and 100 soldiers. The six East Texas missions were reopened, and Presidio Dolores, now known as Presidio de los Tejas, was moved from the Neches River to a site near mission Purísima Concepción near the Angelina River . The Spaniards then built another fort, Presidio La Bahía del Espíritu Santo , known as La Bahía, on the site of

11583-573: The first settlers of the municipality, the Islanders and their descendants were designated hidalgos . The established settlers resented the Islanders for their new titles and exclusive privileges within the city government. The newcomers did not know how to handle horses, rendering them useless in mounted warfare against the Apaches. Unlike the established settlers, who relied on ranching, the Islanders were primarily farmers, and their refusal to build fences led to many disagreements when livestock trampled

11726-400: The first stone building was built in 1727. The building now known as the Alamo was not built until 1744, and most of its actual structure does not remain. The mission eventually grew to include a granary, workhouse, and rooms for the priests, native peoples, and soldiers. To protect from frequent Apache raids, a wall surrounded the buildings. Outside the wall were farmlands and ranches owned by

11869-451: The former French Fort St. Louis. Nearby they established a mission, Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga (also known as La Bahía), for the Coco, Karankawa, and Cujane Indians. Ninety men were left at the garrison. Aguayo returned to Mexico City in 1722 and resigned his governorship. At the beginning of his expedition, Texas had consisted only of San Antonio and about 60 soldiers; at his resignation,

12012-403: The future boundaries of the state of Texas. Since 1493, Spain had maintained missions throughout New Spain (Mexico and portions of what today are the southwestern United States ) to facilitate colonization . The eastern Tejas missions were a direct response to fear of French encroachment when the remains of La Salle's Fort Saint Louis were discovered near Matagorda Bay in 1689, and

12155-567: The governor of Coahuila and Texas , the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo, to build a new mission. On February 23, 1720, the new mission, San José y San Miguel de Aguayo was established 5 miles (8 km) south of San Antonio de Valero. Like San Antonio de Valero, Mission San José served the Coahuiltecan natives. The first buildings, made of brush, straw, and mud, were quickly replaced by large stone structures, including guest rooms, offices,

12298-455: The governor, Jacinto de Barrios y Jáuregui sent soldiers to investigate, and they captured five Frenchmen who had been living at an Indian village. To dissuade the French from returning, Spain built the presidio of San Agustín de Ahumada and the mission of Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Orcoquisac near the mouth of the Trinity at Galveston Bay . Conditions were awful at the new location, and both

12441-490: The ground, and then they proceeded to East Texas. Mission San Francisco de los Tejas was completed near the Hasinai village of Nabedaches in late May, and its first mass was conducted on June 1. The missionaries refused to allow the unruly soldiers to remain near the missions, and when de León returned to Mexico later that year, only 3 of his initial 110 soldiers remained to assist the monks. Father Damián Massanet ,

12584-461: The heart of America. The greater the delay the greater the difficulty of attainment.'" Having no idea where to find the French colony, the Spanish launched ten expeditions—both land and sea—over the next three years. While unable to fulfill their original goal of locating the French settlement, the expeditions did provide Spain a deeper understanding of the geography of the Gulf Coast region. The last expedition, in 1689, discovered

12727-576: The heart of Texas. Captain Luis Cazorla, the commander of the La Bahía presidio, recommended that Spain build a small fort on the barrier islands and provide a shallow-draft vessel to continually reconnoiter the coast. The fort would be both a deterrent to the more bloodthirsty tribes and to the English. The Spanish government, fearful of smuggling, declined to give permission for a port or a boat on

12870-441: The hopes of dissuading smugglers. By law, all goods bound for Texas had to be shipped to Veracruz and then transported over the mountains to Mexico City before being sent to Texas. This caused the goods to be very expensive in the Texas settlements. Settlers were often forced to turn to the French for supplies, as the fort at Natchitoches was well-stocked and goods did not have to travel as far. Without many goods to trade, however,

13013-646: The inhabitants. As buildings became more elaborate, mission occupants learned masonry and carpentry under the direction of craftsmen contracted by the missionaries. In the closely supervised setting of the mission the Native Americans were expected to mature in Christianity and Spanish political and economic practices until they would no longer require special mission status. Then their communities could be incorporated as such into ordinary colonial society. This transition from official mission status to ordinary Spanish society, when it occurred in an official manner,

13156-517: The last decades of the 18th century. This mission system was developed in response to the often very detrimental results of leaving the Hispanic control of relations with Native Americans on the expanding frontier to overly enterprising civilians and soldiers. This had resulted too often in the abuse and even enslavement of the Indians and a heightening of antagonism. In the end, the mission system

13299-736: The local Waco and Tonkawa tribes congregating near the headwaters of the Comal river. It was closed in 1758 because of Comanche depredations and was never protected by a complementing presidio garrison. Mission Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de los Nacogdoches was established in 1716 by the Domingo Ramón-St. Denis expedition. Located in East Texas, the mission was established to serve the Nacogdoche tribe. It closed several years later because of threats from French Louisiana but reopened in 1721. The mission continued until 1773, when

13442-491: The location of the mission in the late 1970s. It is one of three archeologically confirmed mission locations in East Texas and the only site open to the public. The City of San Augustine constructed a museum, campground and archeology lab in 2000. Since July 1, 2016, the Texas Historical Commission has operated the site as Mission Dolores State Historic Site . Mission San Miguel de Linares de los Adaes

13585-548: The main village of the Nacogdoche tribe, at what is now Nacogdoches . A final mission, San José de los Nazonis , was built among the Nazoni Indians just north of present-day Cushing . A presidio, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores , was built opposite San Francisco de los Tejas. During this period, the area was named the New Philippines by the missionaries in the twin hopes of gaining royal patronage, and that

13728-516: The major discoveries of oil in Texas and spurred on by further discoveries in the Gulf waters, has been a vehicle for development in the central and western Gulf which has spawned development on a variety of fronts in these regions. Texas in particular has benefited tremendously from this industry over the course of the 20th century and economic diversification has made the state a magnet for population and home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other U.S. state. Florida has grown as well, driven to

13871-474: The mission closed after the French took the presidio at Los Adaes, it was reopened several years later by the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo . In 1730, it was moved temporarily to what is now Austin, near Barton Springs only for a few months before being permanently relocated to San Antonio, where it became known as San Juan Capistrano. Mission Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe was established in 1756 in central Texas near present-day New Braunfels, Texas , to serve

14014-670: The mission closed. Its lands were later given to Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña. On Spanish Missions in neighboring regions: On general missionary history: On colonial Spanish American history: Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States , also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast , is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet

14157-448: The mission had nowhere else to go, and belonged to small tribes that have since become extinct. The Spanish government believed that settlers would defend their property, alleviating the need for some of the presidios. Texas was an unappealing prospect for most settlers, however, due to the armed nomadic tribes, high costs, and lack of precious metals. In 1731, the Spanish government resettled 55 people, mostly women and children, from

14300-492: The mission's founder, Antonio de Olivares , as well as for the viceroy of New Spain, Baltasar de Zúñiga y Guzmán, Marquis of Valero . The mission later became known as the Alamo. Its first location was west of San Pedro Springs, and after being moved several times, it was finally established above a bend in the San Antonio River, where it would be easy to defend. The early mission buildings were made of grass, and

14443-413: The mission, killing eight people. The San Sabá mission was the only Spanish mission in Texas to be completely destroyed by Indians, and it was never rebuilt. Although the Indian force had 2000 members, they chose not to attack the fort. The Spanish government refused to abandon the area completely out of fear that such an action would make them appear weak. While they planned a response, Indians raided

14586-608: The mission. The mission served the Coahuiltecan Native Americans until 1793, when mission activities ended. At that time the land and livestock were divided among the thirty-nine Indians remaining at the mission. The buildings later served as a home for a Mexican army unit before becoming a military hospital in 1806. During the Texas Revolution , the buildings served as the site of the Battle of

14729-696: The mission. The Karankawa continued to cause difficulties for the Spanish, and in 1785 the interim commandant-general, Joseph Antonio Rengel, noted that they were unable to explore in the Matagorda Bay region as long as the Karankawa held it. Spanish missions in Texas The Spanish Missions in Texas comprise the many Catholic outposts established in New Spain by Dominican , Jesuit , and Franciscan orders to spread their doctrine among Native Americans and to give Spain

14872-505: The missions and refused baptism unless they were on the brink of death. Because the Indians were well-armed, the Franciscans were unable to compel them to join the missions. The frustrated missionaries finally petitioned the Spanish government for 50 soldiers to burn the Indians' houses of worship and force them to build homes near the missions. No troops were forthcoming. Rivera recommended closing Presidio de los Tejas and reducing

15015-426: The missions had relocated to San Antonio. In August 1768, the acting governor, Juan María Vicencio , Baron of Ripperdà, moved his headquarters and the garrison to San Antonio, and in 1772 San Antonio became the new Texas capital. Los Adaes was abandoned completely. The new governor also augmented the garrison at San Antonio to protect the town from recurring Indian attacks. A new presidio, Fuerte de Santa Cruz de Cibolo,

15158-410: The missions. The Indians regularly stole their cattle and horses and were becoming insolent. With provisions running low, Terán chose not to establish any more missions. When he left Texas later that year, most of the missionaries chose to return with him, leaving only 3 religious people and 9 soldiers at the missions. The group also left a smallpox epidemic. The Indians had no natural immunity to

15301-535: The most developed cities in the region. The city had the third busiest port in the U.S. and its financial district was known as the "Wall Street of the South". Since then the Gulf Coast has been hit with numerous other hurricanes. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane. It was the most damaging storm in the history of the United States, causing upwards of $ 80 billion in damages, and leaving over 1,800 dead. Again in 2008

15444-410: The mouth of the Guadalupe River . After finding the remains of an English commercial frigate , the soldiers warned the Karankawa to refrain from attacking seamen. The soldiers continued to explore the coast, and reported that foreign powers could easily build a small settlement on the barrier islands, which were difficult to access from the mainland, and then ascend the Trinity or San Jacinto Rivers into

15587-416: The nearest Spanish settlement, San Juan Bautista . It was difficult to reprovision the missions, and by 1718 the missionaries were in dire straits. Martín de Alarcón , who had been appointed governor of Texas in late 1716, wished to establish a way station between the settlements along the Rio Grande and the new missions in East Texas. The Coahuiltecans had built a thriving community near the headwaters of

15730-594: The northern frontier of New Spain. By 1760, almost 1,200 Hispanic people lived in Texas, with half in San Antonio, 350 at Los Adaes , and 260 at La Bahía. Other Spaniards lived in what is now the El Paso area, but that was considered part of New Mexico and not part of Texas. On November 3, 1762, as part of the Treaty of Fontainebleau , France ceded the portion of Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain. Spain had assisted France against Britain in

15873-558: The number of soldiers at the other presidios. His suggestions were approved in 1729, and 125 troops were removed from Texas, leaving only 144 soldiers divided among Los Adaes, La Bahía, and San Antonio. The three East Texas missions which had depended on Presidio de los Tejas were relocated along the San Antonio River in May 1731, increasing the number of missions in the San Antonio area to five. The San Antonio missions usually contained fewer than 300 Indians. Many of those who lived at

16016-558: The other tribes of Rancheria Grande natives, such as the Yojuanes and the Mayeye to guide him to East Texas to reopen the missions there; in return, Aguayo promised to open a mission along the San Antonio River for the chief's tribe. The new mission was established 3 miles (5 km) south of San Antonio de Valero and was initially populated by fifty families under the leadership of El Cuilón. The families did not stay long, and by 1726

16159-467: The plaza at San Antonio . The Spanish also promised to provide military assistance to the Apache. The Lipan Apache had asked for missions several times, and in 1757 all property of the former San Gabriel missions, as well as the military garrison which briefly protected them, was transferred to new Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá along the San Saba River northwest of San Antonio. A log stockade

16302-500: The potential converts at San Ildefonso had left. By 1755, the missions were transferred to a new location on the San Marcos River . The Apache were coming under increased pressure from the Comanche advancing from the north and sought peace with the Spanish. A peace was declared in August 1749, when a group of Apache chiefs and Spanish officials "symbolically [buried] the trouble between the two parties" by burying weapons in

16445-486: The presidio and the mission were closed in 1770. The Presidio La Bahía was moved from the Guadalupe River to Goliad on the San Antonio River in 1749. Within five years, a new mission for the Karankawa tribes, Nuestra Señora del Rosario de los Cuhanes , was built upstream of the presidio. This mission survived for many years. Despite the new missions and presidios, Texas was one of the least populated provinces on

16588-466: The priest in charge of the mission, left on June 2 to meet the tribes north of the mission before returning to Mexico to request an additional 14 priests and 7 lay brothers. On January 23, 1691, Spain appointed the first governor of Texas, General Domingo Terán de los Ríos . Terán was ordered to help establish seven new missions, including two more among the Tejas Indians, four amongst

16731-405: The province had grown to consist of 4 presidios, over 250 soldiers, 10 missions, and the small civilian town of San Antonio. Shortly after Aguayo returned to Mexico, the new viceroy of New Spain, Juan de Acuña, marqués de Casafuerte , was ordered to cut costs accrued for the defense of the northern part of the territory. Acuña appointed Colonel Pedro de Rivera y Villalón to inspect

16874-402: The remaining Spanish missionaries and colonists had little to offer the Indians, who remained loyal to the French traders. Indians confirmed in 1746 that French traders periodically arrived by sea to trade with tribes in the lower Trinity River region. Eight years later, the Spanish learned of rumors that the French had opened a trading post at the mouth of the Trinity River. In September 1754,

17017-448: The remnants of a French settlement, Fort Saint Louis . During their expedition, the Spanish met representatives of the Caddo people, who lived between the Trinity and the Red Rivers. The Caddo expressed interest in learning about Christianity , and the following year Alonso De León led an expedition to establish a mission in East Texas . It was completed near the Hasinai village of Nabedaches in late May, and its first mass

17160-774: The settlers founded the town of Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Bucareli "where the trail from San Antonio to Los Adaes crossed the Trinity." The settlers helped smuggle contraband goods from Louisiana to San Antonio, and also helped the soldiers with coastal reconnaissance. In May 1776, King Carlos III created a new position, the Commandancy General of the Internal Provinces of the North ( Provincias Internas ), to control frontier areas across northern New Spain , including Spanish Texas. The first appointee, Teodoro de Croix , served as governor and commander-in-chief of

17303-401: The terrain, rivers, and coastline of Texas and convinced the government that "even the most tractable of Indians" could only be converted "by a combination of coercion and persuasion". For the next 20 years, Spain again ignored Texas. During the early eighteenth century, France again provided the impetus for Spain's interest in Texas. In 1699, French forts were established at Biloxi Bay and on

17446-410: The valley. Forty-one Spanish troops and their small cannon ambushed the northern tribes as they returned to East Texas. Before the Spanish were forced to retreat, over 200 Indians and 12 Spanish soldiers died. After the battle, the Apache refused to return to the mission and returned to raiding near San Antonio. Raids by the northern tribes decreased, however. The first recorded contact between

17589-468: The walls to house the 200 resident Native American peoples. The mission was secularized in 1794, with the property divided among the remaining mission Indians. A priest continued to hold church services there, but other mission activities ended. The church has been restored and is still an active parish. The name was changed because the mission no longer served the Ainais tribe, and its new name honored

17732-430: The western Florida Panhandle , while the western portions of the Gulf Coast are made up of many barrier islands and peninsulas , including the 130-mile (210 km) Padre Island along the Texas coast. These landforms protect numerous bays and inlets providing as a barrier to oncoming waves. The central part of the Gulf Coast, from eastern Texas through Louisiana, consists primarily of marshland. The eastern part of

17875-570: Was a colonial province within the northeastern mainland region of the Viceroyalty of New Spain . On its southern edge, Tejas was bordered by the provinces of Coahuila and Nuevo Santander . The boundary between the provinces was set at the line formed by the Medina River and the Nueces River , 100 miles (161 km) northeast of the Rio Grande . On the east, Texas bordered La Louisiane ( French Louisiana ). Although Spain claimed that

18018-453: Was also established 40 miles (64 km) southeast of San Antonio to protect farmers and ranchers from attacks. As a result of Rubí's recommendations, Presidio de San Agustín de Ahumada was closed in 1771, leaving the Texas coast unoccupied except for La Bahía. In July 1772, however, the governor of Texas heard rumors that English traders were building a settlement in the area of the Texas coast that had been abandoned. The commander of La Bahía

18161-468: Was attacked by French soldiers in 1719 and was closed. Three years later, the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo reopened the mission, but at a site closer to the Presidio of Los Adaes . The mission remained open until 1773. Mission San Antonio de Valero was established on May 1, 1718, as the first Spanish mission along the San Antonio River . It was named for Saint Anthony of Padua , the patron saint of

18304-464: Was begging the government for help in negotiating a peace with the tribes. The threat of Apache raids led to a constant state of unease in San Antonio, and some families left the area, while others refused to leave the safety of the town to tend their livestock. The problems culminated with a late-night raid on San Antonio by 350 Apache on June 30, 1745, retaliation for a Spanish military campaign several months before. The attackers were repelled with

18447-495: Was built to convert the local Ais Native Americans. Following the Chicken War in 1719, Spanish officials closed the East Texas missions and Father Margil and others were relocated to San Antonio. During the next year, Father Margil founded Mission San José (Texas) . Mission Dolores was reestablished in 1721. Missionaries continued their work until 1773 when the East Texas missions were once again closed. Archeologists confirmed

18590-501: Was called "secularization." In this official transaction, the mission's communal properties were privatized, the direction of civil life became a purely secular affair, and the direction of church life was transferred from the missionary religious orders to the Catholic diocesan church. Although colonial law specified no precise time for this transition to take effect, increasing pressure for the secularization of most missions developed in

18733-401: Was completed in 1755 and is the oldest unrestored stone church in the United States. It is built in the shape of a cross, with walls that are 45 inches (1.1 m) thick. The mission was closed in 1794, with the property divided among the resident Native Americans, all of whom has left by 1800. For a time, the buildings were used as a cattle barn, but in 1855 the land and church were given to

18876-438: Was conducted on June 1, 1690. In its first two years of existence, the mission faced much hardship, as floodwaters and then drought destroyed their crops. After an epidemic killed half of the local population, the Hasinai became convinced that the missionaries had caused the deaths. Fearing an attack, on October 25, 1693, the missionaries buried the mission bell, set the building ablaze, and retreated to Mexico. The mission

19019-504: Was constructed three miles (4.8 km) from the mission, on the other side of the river, so that the soldiers would not corrupt the Indians. The stockade could hold up to 400 including the 237 women and children who accompanied the soldiers. Apaches shunned the mission, and on March 16, 1758, a band of Comanche , Tonkawa , and Hasinai warriors, angry that the Spaniards were assisting their Apache enemies, pillaged and burned

19162-410: Was not politically strong enough to protect the Native Americans against the growing power of ranchers and other business interests that sought control over mission lands and the manpower represented by the Native Americans. In the first few years of the new Republic of Mexico —between 1824 and 1830—all the missions still operating in Texas were officially secularized, with the sole exception of those in

19305-456: Was on the far frontier of Spanish colonial ambitions. Despite the meager nature of Spanish colonization, Hispanic influence in Texas is extensive. Spanish architectural concepts still flourish. Many cities and rivers in Texas were named by the Spanish and many counties in southern and western Texas have majority Hispanic populations. The inadvertent introduction of European diseases by the Spanish caused Native American populations to plummet, leaving

19448-415: Was only about 300 and all of Texas about 500 and the Apache killed an average of 3 Spaniards each year and stole approximately 100 animals from the beleaguered colony. In retaliation, the Spanish launched multiple attacks on the Apaches, capturing horses and mules, hides and other plunder, and taking Apache captives, whom the Spanish used as household slaves. By 1731, however, the San Antonio garrison

19591-593: Was reestablished as Mission Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas for the Neche Indians . Several days later, Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción was established at the main village of the Hainai, the head tribe of the Hasinai Confederacy, along the Angelina River . A third mission, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe , was established 15 miles (24 km) east of Purísima Concepción, at

19734-506: Was reestablished on July 3, 1716, as Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas. In 1721, it was renamed Mission San Francisco de los Neches. It was moved in 1731 to San Antonio where it was named Mission San Francisco de la Espada. The surviving structure is now part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park operated by the National Park Service . A commemorative representation of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas,

19877-572: Was restored in the 1930s and is now a state and national historic site. Mission San Francisco Xavier de Nájera was established in 1722 in San Antonio , as a result of a promise made by the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo, the governor of Spanish Texas. The previous year, Aguayo had asked the El Cuilón (also known as Juan Rodriguez) the chief of the Ervipiame and influential among many of

20020-503: Was sent to find the settlement, but saw no sign of other Europeans. His expedition did, however, trace the San Jacinto River to its mouth where it emptied into Galveston Bay . The 500 Hispanic settlers who had lived near Los Adaes had to resettle in San Antonio in 1773. In the six years between the inspection and the removal of the settlers, the immigrant population of East Texas had increased from 200 Europeans to 500,

20163-439: Was the third most damaging storm in the history of the United States, causing more than $ 25 billion in damage along the coast, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless, and sparking the largest search-and-rescue operation in U.S. history. Other than the hurricanes, the Gulf Coast has redeveloped dramatically over the course of the 20th century. The gulf coast is highly populated. The petrochemical industry, launched with

20306-530: Was the fifth mission established in East Texas in 1716–1717. The mission was to serve the Native American village of Adaes just 20 miles (32 km) west of the French fort at Natchitoches, Louisiana . At that time, the Spanish claimed the Red River as the eastern boundary of Texas, so the mission was considered part of Spanish Texas , despite being in what is now considered Louisiana. The mission

20449-439: Was under orders to turn Louisiana into a profitable colony and believed that Spanish settlers closer to Louisiana could provide new trading opportunities. He sent Louis Juchereau de St. Denis , along with brothers Pierre and Robert Talon , who, as children, had been spared at the massacre of Fort Saint Louis , to find Hidalgo and offer assistance. In July 1714, the French delegation reached the Spanish frontier, at that time around

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