Author Texas

on the Texas State Seal today.[9] Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both the American Southeast and the Southwest.[10] Although Texas is popularly associated with the Southwestern deserts, less than 10% of the land area is desert.[11] Most of the population centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests, and the coastline. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend. Due to its long history as a center of the American cattle industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The term "six flags over Texas" came from the several nations that had rule over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short-lived colony in Texas. Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state. The state's annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. Texas declared its secession from the United States in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. After the war and its restoration to the Union, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. In the early 1900s, oil discoveries initiated an economic boom in the state. Texas has since economically diversified. Today it has more Fortune 500 companies than any other U.S. state.[12][13] With a growing base of industry, the state is a leader in many, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace, and biomedical sciences. It leads the nation in export revenue and has the second-highest gross state product. Texas lies between two major cultural spheres of Pre-Columbian North America: the Southwestern and the Plains areas. Archaeologists have found that three major indigenous cultures lived in this territory, and reached their developmental peak before the first European contact. These were:[14] No culture was dominant in the present-day Texas region, and many peoples inhabited the area.[14] Native American tribes that lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include the Alabama, Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Coahuiltecan, Comanche, Cherokee, Choctaw, Coushatta, Hasinai, Jumano, Karankawa, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Tonkawa, and Wichita.[15][16] The name Texas derives from táysha?, a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai, which means "friends" or "allies".[2][17][18][19][20] Whether a Native American tribe was friendly or warlike was critical to the fates of European explorers and settlers in that land.[21] Friendly tribes taught newcomers how to grow indigenous crops, prepare foods, and hunt wild game. Warlike tribes made life difficult and dangerous for Europeans through their attacks and resistance to the newcomers.[22] The first historical document related to Texas was a map of the Gulf Coast, created in 1519 by Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda.[23][24] Nine years later, shipwrecked Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his cohort became the first Europeans in Texas.[25][26] European powers ignored Texas until accidentally settling there in 1685. Miscalculations by René Robert Cavelier de La Salle resulted in his establishing the colony of Fort Saint Louis at Matagorda Bay rather than along the Mississippi River.[27] The colony lasted only four years before succumbing to harsh conditions and hostile natives.[28] In 1690 Spanish authorities, concerned that France posed competitive threat, constructed several missions in East Texas.[29] After Native American resistance, the Spanish missionaries returned to Mexico.[30] When France began settling Louisiana, mostly in the southern part of the state, in 1716 Spanish authorities responded by founding a new series of missions in East Texas.[31][32] Two years later, they created San Antonio as the first Spanish civilian settlement in Texas.[33] Hostile native tribes and distance from nearby Spanish colonies discouraged settlers from moving to Texas. It was one of New Spain's least populated provinces.[34] In 1749, the Spanish peace treaty with the Lipan Apache[35] angered many tribes, including the Comanche, Tonkawa, and Hasinai.[36] The Comanche signed a treaty with Spain in 1785[37] and later helped to defeat the Lipan Apache and Karankawa tribes.[38][39] With more numerous missions being established, priests led a peaceful conversion of most tribes. By the end of the 1700s only a few nomadic tribes had not converted to Christianity.[40] When the United States purchased Louisiana from France in 1801, American authorities insisted that the agreement also included Texas. The boundary between New Spain and the United States was finally set at the Sabine River in 1819.[41] Eager for new land, many United States settlers refused to recognize the agreement. Several filibusters raised armies to invade Texas.[42] In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence included the Texas territory, which became part of Mexico.[43] Due to its low population, Mexico made the area part of the state of Coahuila y Tejas.[44] Hoping that more settlers would reduce the near-constant Comanche raids, Mexican Texas liberalized its immigration policies to permit immigrants from outside Mexico and Spain.[45] Under the Mexican immigration system, large swathes of land were allotted to empresarios, who recruited settlers from the United States, Europe, and the Mexican interior. The first grant, to Moses Austin, was passed to his son Stephen F. Austin after his death. Austin's settlers, the Old Three Hundred, made places along the Brazos River in 1822.[46] Twenty-three other empresarios brought settlers to the state, the majority of whom were from the United States.[46][47] The population of Texas grew rapidly. In 1825, Texas had a population of approximately 3,500, with most of Mexican descent.[48] By 1834, Texas had grown to approximately 37,800 people, with only 7,800 of Mexican descent.[49] Many immigrants openly flouted Mexican law, especially the prohibition against slavery. Combined with United States' attempts to purchase Texas, Mexican authorities decided in 1830 to prohibit continued immigration from the United States.[50] New laws also called for the enforcement of customs duties angering both native Mexican citizens (Tejanos) and recent immigrants.[51] The Anahuac Disturbances in 1832 were the first open revolt against Mexican rule and they coincided with a revolt in Mexico against the nation's president.[52] Texians sided with the federalists against the current government and drove all Mexican soldiers out of East Texas.[53] They took advantage of the lack of oversight to agitate for more political freedom. Texians met at the Convention of 1832 to discuss requesting independent statehood, among other issues.[54] The following year, Texians reiterated their demands at the Convention of 1833. Within Mexico, tensions continued between federalists and centralists. In early 1835, wary Texians formed Committees of Correspondence and Safety.[55] The unrest erupted into armed conflict in late 1835 at the Battle of Gonzales.[56] This launched the Texas Revolution, and over the next two months, the Texians successfully defeated all Mexican troops in the region.[57] Texians elected delegates to the Consultation, which created a provisional government.[58] The provisional government soon collapsed from infighting, and Texas was without clear governance for the first two months of 1836.[59][60] During this time of political turmoil, Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna personally led an army to end the revolt.[61] The Mexican expedition was initially successful. General Jose de Urrea defeated all the Texian resistance along the coast culminating in the Goliad Massacre.[62] Santa Anna's forces, after a thirteen-day siege, overwhelmed Texian defenders at the Battle of the Alamo. News of the defeats sparked panic amongst Texas settlers.[63] The newly-elected Texian delegates to the Convention of 1836 quickly signed a Declaration of Independence on March 2, forming the Republic of Texas. After electing interim officers, the Convention disbanded.[64] The new government joined the other settlers in Texas in the Runaway Scrape, fleeing from the approaching Mexican army.[63] After several weeks of retreat, the Texian Army commanded by Sam Houston attacked and defeated Santa Anna's forces at the Battle of San Jacinto.[65] Santa Anna was captured and forced to sign the Treaties of Velasco, ending the war.[66] While Texas had won their independence, political battles raged between two factions of the new Republic. The nationalist faction, led by Mirabeau B. Lamar, advocated the continued independence of Texas, the expulsion of the Native Americans, and the expansion of the Republic to the Pacific Ocean. Their opponents, led by Sam Houston, advocated the annexation of Texas to the United States and peaceful co-existence with Native Americans. The conflict between the factions was typified by an incident known as the Texas Archive War.[67]