Empresarios guided notes

Empresarios
in Texas

United States

Mexico

Despite the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 in which the U.S. renounced any claim to
Texas, Mexico worried about its northern neighbor’s territorial ambitions, especially

since the treaty was made with Spain and not Mexico.

Early colonization of Texas

●Mexico now owned Texas, but only about 2,500 Mexicans actually
lived there.

●Most Mexicans did not want to move to Texas because of hostile
Indians like the Comanche and Apache.

●Mexico still worried that the United States was interested in
annexing Texas (adding it to its own territory).

●The Mexican government tried to encourage more Mexicans to
move to Texas:

●The Colonization Law of 1823 allowed settlers to buy large
amounts of land at very low cost. They also didn’t have to pay taxes
for 6 years.

Constitution of 1824

●In 1824, Mexico passed a new constitution establishing a federal system like the
U.S. Texas was merged with the Mexican state of Coahuila to form a new state,
Coahuila y Tejas.

●The Colonization Law of 1824 gave the state governor the right to set the rules for
colonization.

●The Mexican government, under this constitution, encouraged foreign colonization
in order to develop and populate the northern regions of Texas and Coahuila. To
attract settlers, the government offered generous land grants and other incentives
to individuals and empresarios (land agents) willing to bring in settlers.

●Many Americans, primarily from the southern states, migrated to Texas and
Coahuila. This influx of Anglo-American settlers, along with their differing cultures
and beliefs, eventually led to conflicts with the Mexican authorities and the
indigenous population, over issues such as slavery, cultural differences, and the
growing desire for local autonomy.

The state flag of Coahuila y Tejas, formed in 1824.

What were Empresarios?

●Empresarios were individuals who were granted contracts by the
Mexican government in the early 19th century to colonize the northern
territories of Coahuila y Texas.

●These contracts allowed empresarios to bring settlers (also known as
colonists or families) from the United States and other countries to
populate the region.

●The concept of empresarios was introduced by the Spanish
government, but it gained more prominence during Mexico's
independence.

●The Mexican government wanted to encourage the development and
settlement of these sparsely populated territories to strengthen its
control over the region and to promote economic growth.

State Colonization Law of 1825

●

also known as the Law of April 6, 1830, was enacted by the
Mexican government to regulate and control the colonization of its
northern regions, including Texas. This law was a response to
concerns over the growing number of Anglo-American settlers, their
cultural differences, and their increasing desire for autonomy.

●

it prohibited further immigration of foreign settlers into Texas,
particularly from the United States. This was a direct response to
the Mexican government's growing fears about the political and
cultural influence of the American colonists.

●

the law sought to strengthen the Mexican government's control
over Texas by establishing new military outposts and increasing
the presence of Mexican troops in the region.

State Colonization Law of 1825

●

the law restricted trade between Texas and the United States, aiming
to limit economic ties and encourage local markets to develop within
Mexico. This measure was intended to reduce the settlers' reliance on
American goods and promote economic independence.

●

address some of the concerns raised by the Mexican government
regarding the settlers' adherence to Mexican laws and customs. It
required settlers to become Mexican citizens, adopt the Catholic
faith, and learn the Spanish language.

●

However, these measures imposed by the law were met with
significant resistance from the Anglo-American settlers in Texas. They
felt that their rights and freedoms were being restricted, leading to
increased tensions

Moses Austin (1761–1821)

Moses Austin, a businessman from Connecticut, played a
significant role in the founding of Texas. He is known as the
founder of the American lead industry and the first person to
receive permission to bring Anglo-American settlers into Spanish
Texas.

Austin initially established himself in the dry-goods business in
Middletown, Connecticut.
Austin moved to the lead mines in Virginia and established
Austinville, a settlement that thrived due to his expertise in lead
mining and smelting. He eventually gained control of the lead
industry in the region.

Seeking to expand his business ventures, Austin explored the lead
deposits in Spanish Upper Louisiana (present-day Missouri) and
established the first Anglo-American settlement west of the
Mississippi River in 1798. He introduced efficient mining and
smelting techniques, increasing his wealth and influence.

In 1819, Austin, burdened by debt, developed a plan to settle an American colony in
Spanish Texas. He seized an opportunity when the Adams-Onís Treaty clarified Spanish title
to Texas. He traveled to San Antonio and, after a chance encounter with the Baron de
Bastrop, managed to obtain permission from the governor to establish the colony.

Tragically, Austin fell ill with pneumonia during his return journey to Missouri and died
shortly after reaching home. Two days before his death, he expressed his dying wish to his
wife for their son, Stephen, to carry on the colonization plan. Moses Austin died on June 10,
1821, and was buried in the Bryan family cemetery. Later, in 1831, his remains were moved
to a public cemetery in Potosi, Missouri.

Moses Austin's efforts and his son Stephen's subsequent work as an empresario were
instrumental in laying the foundation for the Anglo-American colonization of Texas and the
eventual establishment of the Republic of Texas.

Moses Austin, continued

Erasmo Seguin (1782-1857)

●San Antonio political figure, postmaster, and businessman

●Father of Juan Nepomuceno Seguín, a prominent figure in the
Texas Revolution and republic periods

●Served as San Antonio postmaster from 1807 to October 1835

●Opposed the Casas Revolt in 1811 and helped lead the
counterrevolt

●Suspected of collaborating with revolutionaries during the
Gutiérrez-Magee expedition in 1812-13

●Regained postmastership in 1822 and held various local offices
during Mexican and early Republic of Texas periods

Seguin, continued

●Appointed by Governor Antonio Martínez to inform Moses Austin of colony
approval in 1821

●Served as Texas representative to the congress that wrote the Constitution of
1824. While in Mexico City he worked to promote the interests of San
Antonio and Anglo-American settlers

●Advocated for a provision allowing Texas to petition for separate statehood
despite not wanting to agree to the merger of Cohuila and Texas. And he was
against complete abolition of slavery

●Recovered confiscated property and acquired a large ranch near present-day
Floresville

●Supplied beef cattle, horses, mules, and corn to the Texas army during the
rebellion

●Died on October 30, 1857, dedicating himself to his ranch in the 1840s and
1850s.

Stephen F. Austin (1793–1836)

●

1810 - Austin returns from college and joins his father in the lead
business and takes over management

●

After failure of the Austin business in Missouri, he investigated
opportunities for a new start in Arkansas and engaged in land
speculation and mercantile activities.

●

December 1820 - he is in New Orleans, where he had made
arrangements to live in the home of Joseph H. Hawkins and study
law. At this time Moses Austin was on his way to San Antonio to
apply for land and permission to settle 300 families in Texas.

●

not enthusiastic about the Texas venture, Austin decided to
cooperate with his father. He arranged to obtain a loan from his
friend Hawkins to float the enterprise

Stephen F. Austin (1793–1836)

●

was at Natchitoches expecting to accompany
his father to San Antonio when he learned of
Moses Austin's death. He proceeded to San
Antonio, where he arrived in August 1821

●

Authorized by Governor Martínez to carry on
the colonization enterprise under his father's
grant

●

Austin came to an understanding about
administrative procedures and was permitted
to explore the coastal plain between the San
Antonio and Brazos rivers for a colony.

he arranged to offer land to settlers in quantities of 640 acres to the head of a
family, 320 acres for his wife, 160 acres for each child, and 80 acres for each
slave.

Austin might collect about 12½ cents an acre in compensation for his
services.

Martínez warned Austin that the government was unprepared to handle the
colonists and that Austin must be responsible for their good conduct.

the first colonists began to arrive in Texas by land and sea in December 1821.

Austin was informed by Governor Martínez that the provisional government
set up after Mexican independence refused to approve the Spanish grant to
Moses Austin, preferring to regulate colonization by a general immigration
law.

●

Austin rushed to Mexico City to petition Congress to pass a law that
offered heads of families a league and a labor of land (4,605 acres) and
provided for the employment of agents, called empresarios, to
promote immigration. Empresarios received some 67,000 acres of
land for each 200 families he introduced.

●

in April 1823 Austin induced congress to grant him a contract to
introduce 300 families in accordance with its terms.

●

August 1824 a new congress passed an immigration law that vested
the administration of public land in the states, with certain
restrictions, and authorized them to make laws for settlement.

●

March 1825 the legislature of Coahuila and Texas passed a law that
continued the empresario system and offered to each married man a
league of land (4,428 acres), for which he was obligated to pay the
state thirty dollars within six years

contract to settle the first 300 families. Under this state law, he obtained three contracts (in
1825, 1827, and 1828) to settle a total of 900 additional families in the area of his first colony

Austin had complete civil and military authority over his colonists until 1828

As lieutenant colonel of militia, he planned and sometimes led campaigns against American
Indians

To meet current costs, Austin's only resource was to assess fees against the colonists

Austin charged a fee bill, which among other details allowed him to charge $127 a league for
signing titles

the state law of 1825 allowed empresarios to reimburse themselves for costs and services,
and under this law Austin required colonists to pay, or promise to pay, first sixty dollars and
later fifty dollars a league.

He thwarted the efforts of Haden Edwards to drag his colonists into the Fredonian Rebellion
and led the militia from the Brazos and Colorado to assist Mexican troops in putting it down.

●Convention of 1832: Austin served as president of the convention, which aimed to
address the needs of the Texans, including repealing the prohibition against
immigration from the United States, extending tariff exemption, achieving separation
from Coahuila, and establishing state government in Texas.

●Austin's Arrest and Imprisonment: In 1834, Austin was arrested in Saltillo under
suspicion of inciting insurrection in Texas. He remained a prisoner in various locations
until his release on bond in December 1834. He was limited to the area of the Federal
District until his eventual release in July 1835 through a general amnesty law.

●Return to Texas and the Consultation: Upon his return to Texas, Austin learned of the
unofficial call for a convention, known as the Consultation, in October. He supported
the call and was elected as a delegate. The Consultation organized on November 3.

●Leadership during the Texas Revolution: Austin became the civil head of
Anglo-American Texas, leading volunteers and participating in the Battle of Gonzales
in October 1835. He was elected as a commissioner to the United States for the
provisional government.

Green DeWitt

●Green DeWitt was born on February 12, 1787, in Lincoln
County, Kentucky.

●DeWitt enlisted in the Missouri state militia in the War of 1812
and became a captain.

●In 1821, DeWitt was inspired by Moses Austin's success in
obtaining a grant from the Spanish government to establish a
colony in Texas.

●He petitioned the Mexican authorities for his own empresario
contract as early as 1822, but was initially unsuccessful.

●DeWitt journeyed to Saltillo, the capital of the Mexican state of
Coahuila and Texas, in March 1825 to petition the state
government for a land grant.

●With the help of Stephen F. Austin and the Baron de Bastrop, DeWitt was awarded
an empresario grant on April 15, 1825, to settle 400 Anglo-Americans on the
Guadalupe River.

●He was accused of misappropriating public funds in Missouri, but was exonerated
on October 16, 1825, after an investigation by Stephen F. Austin.

●DeWitt's wife, Sarah Seely DeWitt, contributed to the venture with profits from
the sale of her property in Missouri.

●By October 1825, DeWitt was inspecting the work already done in his colony by his
surveyor, James Kerr.

●He returned to Missouri to promote the colony and brought his wife, two sons,
three or four daughters, and three other families to Texas by April 1826.

●The boundary dispute between DeWitt's grant and Martín De León's grant further
south on the Guadalupe River resulted in conflicts and damaged their relationship.

●DeWitt did not hold an elected office in the colony's government, but
represented the District of Gonzales in the Convention of 1833.

●Despite his apparent success in establishing the colony, DeWitt was
unable to fulfill his contract by the time it expired on April 15, 1831, and
he failed to get it renewed.

●DeWitt's struggling colony caused financial difficulties, and his wife
petitioned for a special land grant in her maiden name to protect their
family from poverty.

●DeWitt died on May 18, 1835, in Monclova, likely due to cholera.

●Although he did not witness the battle of Gonzales, his wife and
daughter, Naomi, made the "Come and Take It" banner from Naomi's
wedding dress, which became the colonists' battle flag.

Martin De Leon

●Martín De León was born in 1765 in Burgos, Nuevo Santander
(now Tamaulipas), and came from an aristocratic family.

●Instead of pursuing further education, De León became a
merchant and supplier of provisions to miners in Real de San
Nicolás.

●De León joined the Fieles de Burgos regiment in 1790 and was
promoted to captain, the highest rank available to a criollo.

●In 1795, De León married Patricia de la Garza and they settled
in Cruillas, Nuevo Santander, where they began ranching.

●De León established a ranch in Texas between Chiltipin Creek
and the Aransas River, stocked it with livestock from Mexico,
and enclosed several leagues of land with a brush fence.

●De León made multiple unsuccessful attempts to establish a colony in
Texas, facing denial from the Spanish government due to political troubles
and rumors of disloyalty.

●De León then established a ranch on the east bank of the Nueces River
near present-day San Patricio and became one of the earliest traildrivers
in Texas.

●In 1824, De León successfully petitioned to settle forty-one Mexican
families on the lower Guadalupe River, founding the town of Nuestra
Señora Guadalupe de Jesús Victoria.

●De León's colony was predominantly Mexican and he received legal
preference in border disputes with American settlements. He was known
as a skilled horseman and Indian fighter, and his ranch provided a
foundation for the cattle industry in Texas.