• Define Depression Survey Empresario Militia

Warm Up

The 1

st

Empresario of Texas Moses Austin

Moses Austin

• Born October 4, 1761 in Durham, Connecticut. • Was a very wealthy businessman/banker for the first part of his life until 1819 when he lost all of his fortune.

• In 1819, the United State’s Banking system failed and many people lost every penny.

Moses Austin

• In 1820, Moses Austin traveled to the Presido San Antonio de Bexar to meet with the Governor of the Spanish Texas area. • His plan was to bring and settle Texas with Anglo-American settlers. • Because of filibusters attacking, the Governor rejected his plan.

Moses Austin

• After being rejected, Austin met with an old friend of his, Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron of Bastrop (who also lived in San Antonio).

• Felipe helped convince the Spanish to grant Austin permission to settle with Anglo American settlers. • In 1821, Moses Austin got permission to bring 300 families to Texas.

Moses Austin

• On his trip back to the United States, Moses Austin becomes sick (with pneumonia) and eventually dies. • His son, Stephen F. Austin takes on his father’s work and begins to continue to carry out Moses’ plan to colonize Texas.

Stephen F. Austin and the Empresarios

Agenda

Warm Up Lecture/Questions Letter Reading Activity(if time allows)

Spain (until 1821) and Mexico United States

Mexico United States

Towns already in Texas when Moses Austin showed up

•

San Antonio

•

Goliad

•

Nacogdoches

•

Saltillo (captial of CyT) Why didn’t Mexico have the Mexicans move into Texas? Why did they bring in Americans?

•

They would have been too far from Mexico City and “civilization”

•

The Natives were hostile… it was safer to stay home

Nacogdoches San Antonio Goliad Saltillo

Empresarios – The Beginning The Spanish word for a land agent whose job it was to bring in new settlers to an area.

Ok Dad… I’ll carry out your plans for settling Texas.

• • • • •

Moses Austin (Stephen F. Austin’s Father) Stephen F. Austin The first Anglo American to get permission from Spain to bring American settlers to Texas Lived in Missouri until a depression hit the U.S. and he lost all his money Went to Texas to ask the Spanish government if he could have a contract to bring Americans to settle Texas The Spanish were suspicious that Austin was really there to grab land until Baron de Bastrop convinced the Spanish officials otherwise Then… Moses Austin died

How It Worked…

Stephen F. Austin was the first to get his contract approved by the Spanish (and then the Mexican) government… so he was the first EMPRESARIO ( he was also the most successful)

Each empresario would sign a contract with the government of Mexico whereby they promised to settle a certain number of families (in Austin’s first contract he was supposed to settle 300 families)

How It Worked…

REQUIREMENTS FOR SETTLING IN TEXAS:

•You had to become a citizen of your new country (Spain, and later Mexico) •You had to become Catholic •You had to be of good moral character

Each settler paid Austin $0.12 an acre

After securing his contract with Mexico, Austin traveled around Texas and found what he thought was the best land for settling

What are some things that make land good for settling?

The deal that Stephen F. Austin worked out with Spanish (and then Mexican) officials included the following:

•Every man who came to Austin for land would receive 640 acres for himself •320 acres for his wife •160 acres for each child •80 acres for each slave

Austin’s First Colony

Austin’s choice for his first colony was between the Colorado and the Brazos Rivers Austin’s colony included a port because he knew he would need it to get settlers and supplies to the colony

Austin’s First Colony

Austin got a ship, the Lively to take people and supplies to the new colony from New Orleans Everything went well until 1822:

• In 1822, the

Lively

shipwrecked and Austin lost a lot of supplies and colonists • Mexico won it’s independence from Spain in 1821… so now Austin had to get permission to colonize Texas from the new Mexican government

Major Empresario Grants

Empresario

Stephen F. Austin (Father of Texas) Green DeWitt Martin De Leon Power and Hewetson McMullen and McGloin

Location

Between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers West of Austin’s 1 st Colony

Capital

San Felipe de Austin Gonzales South of De Witt along the Guadalupe Near the coast South of De Leon along the Gulf Coast Along the Gulf Coast Victoria Refugio San Patricio

Problems

Drought Tonkawa & Kawakawa Lively shipwrecked Disputes over boundaries Mexican gov’t revoked right to settle Native American Raids Native American Raids Forced to leave TX because of anti Mexican sentiments Native American Raids Farming

Successes

Convinced Mexican gov’t to let him settle Father of TX – 1 st colonize Americans Settled nearly 300 families Settled 166 families 2 nd in number to Austin Did a lot to promote the cattle industry in Texas Victoria important center for trade between Mexico and Texas Irish Refugio was built on the site of an old Spanish Mission Irish

Population BEFORE Empresarios: 7,000 Population AFTER Empresarios: 22,000 Towns established after the Americans came

•

San Felipe

•

Gonzales

•

Victoria

•

Refugio

•

Galveston

•

Bastrop

•

San Patricio

•

And many more…

Nacogdoches San Felipe de Austin San Antonio Gonzales Goliad Saltillo