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Stephen F. Austin and the Empresarios
© 2013 Tara Fountain
Spain (until 1821) and
Mexico
United States
United States
Mexico
Nacogdoches
San Antoni
oGoliad
Saltillo
• San Antonio
• Goliad
• Nacogdoches
• Saltillo (capital)
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
Towns already in Texas when Moses Austin arrived:
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
Empresarios – The Beginning
Dad… I’ll will now carry out your plans for settling Texas!
A person who was in charge of dividing up Mexican land and selling it to American settlers for the Mexican government.
REQUIREMENTS FOR SETTLING IN TEXAS:
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.
• You had to become Catholic
• You had to become a citizen of your new country (Spain, and later Mexico.
• You had to be of good moral character
Austin interviewed the settlers and chose the people he thought would be the best for a settlement. If you had an especially useful job (merchant, doctor, mill and ferry operators) they would get extra land
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
Everything went well until 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
• Austin got a ship, the Lively to take people and supplies to the new colony from New Orleans
SuccessesProblemsEmpresario CapitalLocation
Major Empresario Grants
Stephen F. Austin (Father
of Texas)
Between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers
San Felipe
(de Austin)
DroughtTonkawa & KarankawaLively shipwreckedDisputes over boundariesMexican gov’t revoked right to settle
Convinced Mexican gov’t to let him settleFather of TX – 1st colonize Americans in Texas
Settled nearly 300 families
SuccessesProblemsEmpresario CapitalLocation
Major Empresario Grants
Green DeWitt
West of Austin’s 1
st Colony
Gonzales
Native American
Raids
Settled 166 families2nd in number to
Austin
Stephen F. Austin (Father
of Texas)
Between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers
San Felipe
(de Austin)
DroughtTonkawa & KarankawaLively shipwreckedDisputes over boundariesMexican gov’t revoked right to settle
Convinced Mexican gov’t to let him settleFather of TX – 1st colonize Americans in Texas
Settled nearly 300 families
SuccessesProblemsEmpresario CapitalLocation
Major Empresario Grants
Martin De Leon
South of DeWitt along the Guadalupe-Near the coast
Victoria
Native American RaidsForced to leave TX because of anti-Mexican sentiments
Did a lot to promote the cattle industry in TexasVictoria important center for trade between Mexico and Texas
Green DeWitt
West of Austin’s 1
st Colony
Gonzales
Native American
Raids
Settled 166 families2nd in number to
Austin
Stephen F. Austin (Father
of Texas)
Between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers
San Felipe
(de Austin)
DroughtTonkawa & KarankawaLively shipwreckedDisputes over boundariesMexican gov’t revoked right to settle
Convinced Mexican gov’t to let him settleFather of TX – 1st colonize Americans in Texas
Settled nearly 300 families
SuccessesProblemsEmpresario CapitalLocation
Major Empresario Grants
Power and
Hewetson
South of De Leon along the Gulf Coast
Refugio
IrishNative American Raids
IrishRefugio was built on the site of an old Spanish Mission
Martin De Leon
South of DeWitt along the Guadalupe-Near the coast
Victoria
Native American RaidsForced to leave TX because of anti-Mexican sentiments
Did a lot to promote the cattle industry in TexasVictoria important center for trade between Mexico and Texas
Green DeWitt
West of Austin’s 1
st Colony
Gonzales
Native American
Raids
Settled 166 families2nd in number to
Austin
Stephen F. Austin (Father
of Texas)
Between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers
San Felipe
(de Austin)
DroughtTonkawa & KarankawaLively shipwreckedDisputes over boundariesMexican gov’t revoked right to settle
Convinced Mexican gov’t to let him settleFather of TX – 1st colonize Americans in Texas
Settled nearly 300 families
SuccessesProblemsEmpresario CapitalLocation
Major Empresario Grants
McMullen and
McGloin
Along the Gulf Coast
San Patrici
o
IrishNative
American raids
Irish
Power and
Hewetson
South of De Leon along the Gulf Coast
Refugio
IrishNative American Raids
IrishRefugio was built on the site of an old Spanish Mission
Martin De Leon
South of DeWitt along the Guadalupe-Near the coast
Victoria
Native American RaidsForced to leave TX because of anti-Mexican sentiments
Did a lot to promote the cattle industry in TexasVictoria important center for trade between Mexico and Texas
Green DeWitt
West of Austin’s 1
st Colony
Gonzales
Native American
Raids
Settled 166 families2nd in number to
Austin
Stephen F. Austin (Father
of Texas)
Between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers
San Felipe
(de Austin)
DroughtTonkawa & KarankawaLively shipwreckedDisputes over boundariesMexican gov’t revoked right to settle
Convinced Mexican gov’t to let him settleFather of TX – 1st colonize Americans in Texas
Settled nearly 300 families
Nacogdoches
San Felipe de Austin
San Antonio
Gonzales
Goliad
Saltillo
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…
While you could come to Texas without the help of an empresario, most families didn’t. Why not?
1. Most settlers could not speak Spanish and needed the empresarios help getting the title to their land
2. Most of the desirable land was held by the empresarios
After Austin opened the door… many more men came to Texas to make money as an empresario… these men brought hundreds of American families to Texas…
Population of Texas in 1821 (When SFA started): 7,000
Population of Texas in 1833 (around the end of empresarios) 22,000
HOW DO YOU THINK THIS CHANGE IN POPULATION AFFECTED THE HISTORY OF TEXAS?
• The change in population affected the history of Texas by bringing more Americans into Texas which created conflict with the Mexican government. This led to the Texas Revolution.