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HISTORY |
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Early inhabitants of Texas included the Caddo in the east and
nomadic Coahuiltecans further south. The Comanche , who arrived from the
Rockies in the 1600s, soon found themselves at war when the Spanish
ventured in, looking for gold. In the 1700s, threatened by French hopes
of westward expansion from Louisiana, the Spanish began to build
missions and forts, although these had minimal impact on the indigenous
population's nomadic way of life. When Mexico won its independence from
Spain in 1821, taking Texas with it was part of the deal. At first, the
Mexicans were keen to open up their land, and offered generous
incentives to settlers. Stephen Austin ("the father of Texas")
established Anglo-American colonies in the Brazos and Colorado River
valleys. However, the Mexican leader, Santa Anna, soon became alarmed by
Anglo aspirations to autonomy, and his increasing restrictions led to
the eight-month Texan Revolution of 1835-36. The romance of the
Revolution draws legions of tourists to San Antonio , site of the
legendary Battle of the Alamo , which, though a military disaster,
presaged independence. Today's street names echo the conflict: Crockett,
Travis and Bowie were all heroes at the Alamo, and Houston was the
general who finally led the army to victory at San Jacinto.
The short-lived Republic of Texas , which included territory now in
Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming, served to define the
state's identity, and in 1845 Texas joined the Union on the
understanding that it could secede whenever it so wished. This is still
written into its constitution, as is the proviso that it can, at any
time, divide itself into five separate states. Texans display an
unmatched measure of state pride: Texas schoolchildren are as familiar
with the heroes of the Alamo as the heroes of the Revolutionary War, and
you'll see a ubiquitous state symbol - the Lone Star - emblazoned on
everything from advertising to architecture.
The influence, especially in the north and east, of settlers from the
Southern states and their attendant slave-centered cotton economy
resulted in Texas joining the Confederacy . No major Civil War battles
were fought on Texan soil, however, and it remained relatively unscathed.
During Reconstruction, settlers from both the North and the South began
to pour in, and the phrase "Gone to Texas" was familiarly applied to
anyone fleeing the law, bad debts or unhappy love affairs. This was also
the period of the great cattle drives, when the longhorns roaming free
in the south and west of Texas were rounded up and taken to the
railroads in Kansas. The Texan - and national - fascination with the
romantic myth of the cowboy has its roots in this era, and still
prevails; today his regalia - Stetson, boots and bandana - is virtually
a state costume, especially in Fort Worth and the west.
Along with ranching and agriculture, oil has been crucial. After the
first big gusher in 1901, at Spindletop on the Gulf Coast, the focus of
the Texan economy - and culture - shifted almost overnight from
agriculture toward rapid industrialization. Boom towns flew up as
wildcatters chased the wells, and millions of dollars were made as
ranchers, who had previously thought their land only fit for cattle,
sold out at vast profit. Texas today produces one-third of all the oil
in the United States, and the sight of nodding pump jacks is one of the
state's most potent images.
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