NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
The Mexican National Era
Lesson 2: The Colonies Grow
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How do governments change?
Terms to Know
Federalist someone who believes in sharing power between the states and the national
government
Centralist someone who believes power should be concentrated in the national government
partner a person who shares in a business
prime top quality; the best
dowry the money, property, and goods a bride’s family gives her groom upon marriage
What do you know?
In the first column, answer the questions based on what you know before you study. After the lesson,
fill in the last column.
Before
Questions
Now
What was Texas like under
Mexican rule?
How much land did early
settlers get?
Defining
1. Who were the
Federalists and the
Centralists?
108 Reading Essentials and Study Guide
Mexican Rule and Colonization
Guiding Question How did colonization laws change under the
independent government of Mexico?
In 1821 a period in Texas history called the Mexican National era
began. At this time, disagreements arose over how Mexico should
be governed. On May 19, 1822, Agustín de Iturbide declared
himself emperor of Mexico. He was overthrown 10 months later. A
new government was formed by the Federalists. They believed in
a weaker central government that shares power with the states.
The Centralists were against the new government. They believed
that the central government should be stronger than the states.
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Who were some empresarios,
other than Austin?
NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
The Mexican National Era
Lesson 2: The Colonies Grow, continued
The Federalists created the new Mexican federal Constitution of
1824. It declared that:
• Mexico would have 19 states and 4 territories.
• Coahuila (koh•ah•WEE•lah) and Texas were united as the
Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas (ee TAY•has).
• If Texas increased its population enough, it could become a
separate state.
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• There would be one Texan representative in a 12-member
state legislature. Baron de Bastrop would represent Texas.
Marking the
Text
2. Highlight the
information about the
organization of Texas
under Mexican rule.
Identifying
Stephen F. Austin had been in Mexico when Emperor Agustín
de Iturbide was overthrown. At that time, Austin negotiated a
colonization contract with the Mexican government. The next
year, the Congress of Mexico passed a new colonization law. It
would affect empresarios other than Austin. The new government
believed in sharing powers between the national government and
the states. Therefore, the 1824 colonization law let states decide
how to issue land grants. However, the federal government
imposed some restrictions for colonization:
3. What state was united
with Texas under the
Mexican Constitution
of 1824?
• Land grants could not exceed 48,708 acres (19,711 hectares)
per person.
4. Highlight the restrictions
on land grants other
than Austin’s.
• Colonies could not be within 10 leagues (about 30 miles or
48 kilometers) of the coast or within 20 leagues (about 60 miles
or 97 kilometers) of an international border without government
permission.
• Those who wanted land had to become Texas residents.
The legislature in the state capital, Saltillo, passed its own
colonization law in 1825. This law was designed to attract settlers.
Foreigners, such as settlers from the United States, were invited to
move to Texas. Settlers in Texas could gain land by themselves or
through empresarios.
According to the law, a family could obtain up to 4,428 acres
(1,792 hectares) of land for just $30. Colonists would not have to
pay general taxes for a time. Most single men would receive
1,107 acres (448 hectares) of land. Another 3,321 acres (1,345 hectares)
would go to them when they married. A man who married a Mexican
woman would receive another 1,107 acres (448 hectares).
Marking the
Text
Identifying
5. What was the purpose
of the colonization law
of 1825?
Explaining
6. Why did many settlers
want to get their land
through an empresario?
Most settlers chose to get Texas land through empresarios. Many
settlers did not speak Spanish, and the empresarios either knew the
language or had translators. They also knew how to go about getting
claims to the land. Most importantly, empresarios held the best lands.
Reading Essentials and Study Guide 109
NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
The Mexican National Era
Lesson 2: The Colonies Grow, continued
Reading
Progress Check
7. What was Coahuila
y Tejas?
Under the new law, each empresario would receive some
23,000 acres (9,308 hectares) of land for every 100 colonists he
settled in Texas. Each empresario had to settle at least 100
colonists within six years. Failure to do so would cancel the
empresario’s contract. The state granted 25 new contracts to
empresarios for settlements in Texas.
Austin’s Many Colonies
Defining
8. What is a partner?
Explaining
9. What resources were
plentiful on the land
Austin settled?
10. About how many
families did Stephen
F. Austin bring to Texas?
Describe how you
arrived at your answer.
In 1825 Austin agreed to bring 500 new families to settle in his
original colony. In 1827 the government granted him a contract
allowing 100 families to live east of the Colorado River and north
of the San Antonio Road. This “Little Colony” was centered on the
town of Bastrop. In 1828 Austin was given another contract for
300 families and special permission to begin a colony on the coast.
In 1831 Austin and his partner Samuel M. Williams received one
more contract. This was Austin’s last, and it allowed 800 families to
settle in Texas. However, there was a disagreement about who
owned this land, and eventually Austin had to give up his claim.
Good timing, good leadership, excellent land, and plenty of
wood and water contributed to Austin’s success. His father’s early
action in gaining a colony led Stephen F. Austin to become the
first Anglo American colonizer. Austin’s leadership helped his
colony grow and succeed. His ability to speak Spanish and to work
with governments made him very good at gaining contracts,
making claims, and solving problems.
Austin also chose prime land. This helped attract and keep
settlers. His settlers were mainly farmers from the southern United
States. Cheap, fertile land was very attractive to them. They
eagerly joined Austin’s colonies.
Austin’s colonies had enough trees to provide lumber for
building homes. Water allowed farmers to grow cotton and other
crops, while rivers and roads made transportation possible.
Although Native Americans were an early threat to his colonies,
conflicts with the groups eased over time.
110
Reading Essentials and Study Guide
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Reading
Progress Check
Guiding Question Why was Austin a successful empresario?
By the time the new colonization laws were passed, Austin had
almost met his original agreement to bring 300 families to Texas.
His first colony continued to do well. In 1824 the town of San
Felipe de Austin was founded as the colony’s unofficial capital.
Austin’s colony became the most successful Anglo American
colony in Texas.
NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
The Mexican National Era
Lesson 2: The Colonies Grow, continued
Other Empresarios
Guiding Question How did empresarios other than Austin help to
settle Texas?
By 1833, Texas had about 20,000 people. Land in Texas was cheap,
and many Americans believed that the United States would buy
eastern Texas. The idea of Texas becoming part of the United
States made the land even more attractive. Many people decided
to become empresarios.
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In April 1825, Green DeWitt and his partner James Kerr got
permission to settle 400 families next to Austin’s first colony.
DeWitt’s wife, Sara Seely DeWitt, sold property she owned to help
fund the colony. In 1826 the DeWitts moved to join others already
settled in their Texas colony in Gonzales. However, DeWitt was
unable to convince enough families to settle there. By the 1830s,
the Mexican government became concerned that too many outsiders
from the United States were entering Texas. The government passed
the Law of April 6, 1830, to limit immigrants to Texas. The law kept
DeWitt’s colony from growing.
In early 1831, the population of DeWitt’s colony was 531. This did
not meet the contract’s required 400 families. When the six-year
term of DeWitt’s contract expired in April 1831, it was not renewed.
DeWitt and his family did not make money from the colony. The
settlers also suffered because the colony did not prosper. Gonzales
was the colony’s only town, and it never became a commercial
center. DeWitt never built a church as his contract required, and
he did not build a school until 1831. Green DeWitt died in 1835.
Despite the difficulties, the DeWitt colony was one of the most
successful colonies in Texas.
In 1824 Mexican native Martín De León received a grant for a
colony of 41 Mexican families on the lower Guadalupe River.
De León’s colony was the only Texas colony settled mainly by
Mexican families. De León came from a wealthy family. His wife,
Patricia de la Garza De León, contributed her dowry to the family’s
fortune. In 1824 they founded the town of Victoria and built a
school and a church.
Identifying
Cause and Effect
11. Why did Mexico pass
the Law of April 6, 1830?
Marking the
Text
12. Highlight the reasons
why Green DeWitt did
not fulfill his contract.
Finding the Main
Idea
13. What was unique about
Martín De León’s colony?
Defining
14. What is a dowry?
De León was a cattle rancher. He gave beef to Native Americans
hoping to ease tensions. For this, they called him Capitán Vacas
Muchas, or “Captain Plenty of Cows.” De León’s success in raising
cattle helped found the cattle industry in Texas. De León brought
more than 100 families to his colony. He and Austin were the only
empresarios to fulfill their contracts.
Reading Essentials and Study Guide 111
NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
The Mexican National Era
Lesson 2: The Colonies Grow, continued
Reading
Progress Check
15. How did Green DeWitt
contribute to the
settlement of Texas?
Later, during Mexico’s war with Texas, Patricia De León contributed
to the Texas cause. Despite this, after the Texas Revolution she and
her family were forced to flee Texas because of anti-Mexican feelings.
However, in 1844 she returned to Victoria and lived there until her
death.
Irish empresarios James Power and James Hewetson brought
Irish immigrants to the Gulf Coast. Irish immigrants also came
under contracts with John McMullen and James McGloin. They
settled a colony at San Patricio. Empresario Lorenzo de Zavala
sold a land grant to Noah and Nancy Tevis. They had traveled
with their seven children to southeast Texas. The Tevis family later
gave land to establish the town of Beaumont. Other empresarios
included David G. Burnet, Haden Edwards, Joseph Vehlein, and
Arthur Wavell.
Check for Understanding
1. Expository Why was Stephen F. Austin a success as an empresario?
2. Expository Who was Martín de León and how did he contribute to the growth of Texas?
112
Reading Essentials and Study Guide
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Writing