Spanish Texas

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Spanish Texas
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• What was so great about Spanish Tejas?
• The land was rich and desirable. It had forests,
  rich soil, and great grassy plains for animal
  grazing. It also had vast rivers leading to
  natural ports.

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• Why did the Spanish want more settlers to move to
  Texas?
• To help fight off Native Americans as well as
  Americans.
• How did they attempt to attract people to come to
  Texas?
• The Spanish government offered huge tracts of
  land to Empresarios.

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• Who was Moses Austin?
• Man who started a colony in Texas.
• What did Austin have to agree to in order to
  start his colony?
• He had to follow all Spanish laws.

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• What happened shortly after Austin arrived in
  Texas?
• Mexico gained its independence from Spain, and
  now Texas was part of Mexico.
• What would this change in government do to
  Austins land grant?
• It would make the grant worthless.

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• What did Austin do as a result of the change in
  government?
• He went to Mexico in hopes to persuade the new
  government to grant him his colony.
• How did Austin's colony begin to grow?
• The original members were model citizens who did
  not drink and had very good morals. The success
  of the colonys early settlers' attracted more
  and more settlers to Texas. Finally by 1830
  Americans outnumbered Tejanos six to one.

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Rising Tensions in Texas

• What happened as more and more Americans came to
  the area?
• Tensions between Tejanos and Americans began to
  rise.
• What was the cause of these rising tensions?
• Americans were used to governing themselves and
  they resented following Mexican laws. Also all
  government documents had to be in Spanish and
  Mexico outlawed slavery which infuriated the
  Americans.

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Texans revolt against Mexico.

• What were most Texans reactions to the new laws
  imposed on Texas?
• Most called for Rebellion and that Texas be
  independent from Mexico.
• What did Sam Austin do to try and calm the
  rebellion in Texas?
• He wrote a petition to General Lopez De Santa
  Ana.

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• How did Santa Ana respond to the petition?
• At first he agreed to most of the terms, but
  after hearing about a letter that Austin wrote he
  quickly changed his tune.
• Why did the letter anger Santa Ana?
• It said that if the demands in the petition were
  not met by Mexico, than Austin would be in
  support of a rebellion.

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• What did the General do to Austin as a result of
  the letter?
• He had Austin jailed for an entire year.
• What was the reaction of Texans to the jailing?
• They were outraged and began their rebellion.
  Texans captured the Alamo and the rebellion was
  on.

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The fight for the Alamo

• What did the Texans decide to do about Santa
  Anas troops?
• They decided that the only thing they could do
  was declare independence from Mexico.
• Who was placed in command of the Texas Army?
• Sam Houston
• Why?
• Because he was the only man at the meeting with
  military experience.

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Pair and Share

• What happened at the Battle of the Alamo?