Galveston Pirates
and Filibusters
Americans Move West
• After the U.S.
gained
independence
from Great
Britain in 1783,
Anglo Americans
began expanding
to the West into
Spanish territory.
Spain Controls Immigration
• Spain tried to control the huge amount of
Anglo Americans moving West by allowing
them to settle in Missouri on 2 conditions:
1. Pledge loyalty to Spain
2. Become Catholic
Filibusters
• Filibusters, like
Philip Nolan,
disagreed with
Spain’s terms &
aimed to free Texas
from Spanish rule.
• Nolan moved to
Texas to steal
Spanish horses &
sell them to the U.S.
Gutierrez-Magee Expedition
• Jose Bernardo
Gutierrez (follower of
Father Hidalgo) and
Augustus Magee
(former US soldier)
organized the
Republic of the North
and proclaimed
Texas independent
of Spain.
Gutierrez-Magee Expedition
• Although their army of Tejanos, Natives &
Anglo Americans were defeated, others
were inspired to free Texas and Mexico
from Spanish rule.
Round Robin
• Who has inspired you to do
something you never
thought you could do?
• What did that person
inspire you to do?
Galveston Pirates
• Jean Lafitte and other pirates set up
headquarters on Galveston Island to
attack Spanish ships & steal their goods.
Adams-Onis Treaty
• In 1817, U.S. President
Andrew Jackson
chased Natives into
Spanish Florida, which
angered Spain.
• To resolve the issue,
Spain ceded Florida to
the U.S. in the AdamsOnis Treaty of 1819.
Adams-Onis Treaty
• The Sabine River
was set up as the
new boundary
between Spanish
Texas &
Louisiana.
• In return, the U.S.
would not expand
to the West of this
boundary.
Colonists Get Angry
• U.S. Colonists were
angry because they
could no longer
expand to the
West.
• Filibusters decided
to take parts of
Texas away from
Spain on their own.
Long Expedition
• Dr. James Long led a group from
Mississippi to Nacogdoches where he
declared Texas independent from Spain.
• He was captured & killed by the Spanish &
became the last Texas filibuster.