Texas History Issues - Essay Example

Spain nominally claimed ownership of the territory but did not colonize the territory until after the discovery of evidence of the failed French colony of Fort Saint Louis in 1689.  They established the first mission in Texas in 1690 but the tribes resisted their presence. The missionaries returned to Mexico and abandoned Texas for two decades. The Spanish returned in 1716. From 1716 to 1821, the Spanish occupation was continuous. The first formal municipality in Texas is San Antonio which is considered one of the ten largest cities in the United States. The Spanish Texas government made peaceful conversions and reached a peace agreement with enemies such as the Apaches and Comanche. The Spanish continually made peace agreements and peaceful conversions of the tribes and by the end of the eighteenth century, there remained a small number of tribes that were not Christianized (Mexicanroots.com, History of Spanish Texas).

Though Texas became a Mexican nation in 1821, the Spanish legacies are considered strong and lasting. The names of the physiographical features of Texas such as the Guadalupe Mountains and Llano Estacado served as reminders of the Spanish explorers. It was the Spanish who introduced numerous European crops, live stocks, and livestock handling techniques. Christianity was very strong among the Texas Indians. The first European language spoken in Texas was not English, French, German, or Dutch, but Spanish. And most importantly, Spanish law has a very great and lasting impact on the Texas legal system. The rules of judicial procedure, land law, water law, and the law of family relations were derived from the Spanish (Chipman, n.d.).

When Mexico declared independence from Spain, a new flag flew over Texas bringing new opportunities to its American neighbors. The New Mexican government drew American and European settlers into the area to safeguard it from any foreign aggression. In 1824, there was a New Colonization Law in which the Federalist system granted the liberal degree to the settlers in exchange for promising to become a citizen, obey the laws, and worship as Catholic. Americans drove to Texas and brought new cultures which eventually made political changes, destroyed loyalty, and changed their intentions. This eventually led to the government restricting Americans and voiding much of the New Colonization Law of 1824. Relations between Texas and the American government quickly perished. Until now, Mexican and American cultures can be said to be linked with each other as the result of these events (Hard Times, Hard Feelings).

When San Antonio grew and became one of the most important and feasible communities in Texas, relations with the French remained peaceful. But the French were more proficient in establishing trade than the Spanish. In response to this, the Spanish established San Agustin de Ahumada Presidio and Nuestra Señora de la Luz Mission but were soon abandoned. The Spanish viewed the French as an external threat which eventually led to attacks. The events in Europe also affected Texas especially the French and Indian War broke out. The French surrendered to the Spanish their territories the West of the Mississippi River. Spanish was burdensome when the French made Louisiana a total financial disaster for France. Spain had a hard time defending this territory for a lack of manpower and resources. In the end, the Spanish took necessary adjustments to meet these issues.

The foreign threats made great impacts on how the Spanish government formulated and applied its policies to address evident external or foreign threats. Americans and the Spanish had good relations in the beginning. The Spanish even adopted policies such as the New Colonization Law of 1824 to cater to the Americans and their immigration. But the threats appeared as they started to influence and change politics and intentions and even destroyed loyalty to the Spanish government. The Spanish voided much of the law and restricted the Americans from coming to Texas. The French also had a peaceful relationship with the Spanish. But when they eventually develop into threats, especially in trade, the Spanish had a bitter relationship leading to attacks. French surrendered some of their territories to the Spanish and this gave a burden to the government. The new territories were short of manpower and resources and the Spanish had a hard time defending these towns. The government took necessary adjustments and reforms to address this issue. Thus, foreign threats can be said to impact and influence how Spanish policies are made.