Comprehensive Study Guide for Texas History: Pre-Contact to the Revolution
Pre-European Contact and the First Inhabitants of the Americas
DNA Studies and Migration Theories
Modern genetic research conducted by Ugo Prego suggests that approximately of all Native Americans in the Americas share the same lineage.
Current theories posit that these populations are all descendants of the original six mothers who crossed the Ice/Land Bridge from Asia.
Midland Minnie: Archaeological evidence found in Lewisville, Texas, suggests that Native Americans may have inhabited the region as long as years ago, a significant increase from the previously estimated years.
Alternative Contact Theories: Speculation exists regarding other influences or arrivals, including the Malakoff Man and the possibilities suggested by the Con-Tiki, Ra-I, and Ra-II voyages.
Structural Similarities: There are noted similarities between the pyramids of Mesoamerica and the Caddo mounds, raising questions about whether this was a result of cultural exchange or a natural human tendency to build upward.
Paleo-Indian Culture ( to Years Ago)
The term "Paleo" means old, referring to the first culture to inhabit North America.
Migration began as early as years ago and continued for approximately years.
Social Structure: They were nomadic hunter-gatherers organized into roughly small nations. These numbers were kept low to survive famine, though groups provided mutual aid in times of need.
Subsistence: They hunted herd animals such as giant bison and mammoths using long spears. Their diet also included berries, fruits, nuts, and other natural resources.
Culture and Labor: These people were highly clannish with nomadic lifestyles and defined divisions of labor. While they observed nature closely, there is no evidence of a formalized religion.
Technological Evolution: A warming trend allowed for more leisure time, leading to the development of the Clovis point, Folsom point, and the Atlatl (spear thrower).
Separation: Over thousands of years, these groups became more separated and branched into distinct language groups.
The Archaic Age (Beginning )
The era was marked by significant advances, including cave drawings located along the Rio Grande and the Pecos River.
Spirituality: Inhabitants began to believe that supernatural beings controlled the universe and human destiny.
Environmental Shift: As the Ice Age ended, water sources dried up, and Texas became an increasingly arid environment. Large mammals either died off or adapted by becoming smaller.
Adaptation: Humans shifted to a greater reliance on small game and fish.
Innovation and Tools: They developed the bow and arrow, stone tools, choppers, drills, snares, mortars, and clay pipes. They also wove sandals, mats, nets, and baskets.
Domestic Life: The dog was domesticated during this period. Groups became sedentary, living in caves and brush shelters.
Political Structure: Society was family-centered, revolving around extended kinship groups and governed by an elder system.
The Woodland Era and the Agricultural Revolution
The American Triad: Women began farming and became dependent on the "three sisters": corn, squash, and beans.
Maize Revolution: The cultivation of Teosinte and its evolution into maize allowed women to breastfeed longer, leading to population shifts.
Agricultural Practices: Techniques included inter-planting of crops and the use of natural fertilizers.
Economy: A trade system emerged for dried beans, corn, and winter squash. Evidence for these networks is found in the widespread distribution of Alabates flint.
Social Hierarchy: Specialized labor emerged, and despite the lack of a written language, a unique and hierarchical culture developed.
Major Historic Era Native American Tribes of Texas
Geographic Context (By CE)
The 16th century () marks the transition from pre-history to the historic era.
Geographic Regions: Great Plains, Cap Rock Escarpment, North Central Texas, Cross Timbers, Grand Prairie, Blackland Prairie, Piney Woods, Gulf Coastal Plain, Rio Grande Plain, Mountain and Basins, Hill Country, and the Edwards Plateau.
Major Rivers: The Canadian, Red, Sabine, Angelina, Neches, Trinity, Brazos, Colorado, Guadalupe, San Antonio, Nueces, Pecos, and the Rio Grande (also known as Rio Bravo). All of these rivers empty into the Gulf of Mexico.
Dominant Tribal Groups
Caddo and Wichita (Northeast): Inhabitants of the eastern woodlands along the Sabine and Red Rivers. They were known for mound building, complex social mores, and flourishing agriculture.
Caddo Tribes: Included the Hasiani (most significant), Neche, Nacogdoche, Nocono, Kichai, and Caddo proper.
Governance: Led by tribal elders, the Caddi (local chief), and the Xinesi (high chief).
Religion: Believed in a trinity: God-Caddi-Ayo, Devil-Caddaja, and an earth/man god similar to Christ named Cacao-Ado.
Creation Myth: Matrilineal origin involving one woman with two daughters. A man-child born from a daughter killed by Caddaja eventually slew the devil.
Decline: perished due to European diseases; the expedition of De Soto nearly decimated the Hasiani. They were eventually overtaken by the Comanche.
Atakapas and Bidais (Texas/Louisiana Border): The name Atakapa was given by the Choctaw, meaning "man eaters."
Lifestyle: Hunter-gatherers and fishers who never adopted farming. They used mobile grass huts and relied on alligators for skin, food, and waterproofing materials.
Physiology: Characterized as short and muscular with sloping foreheads, a physical trait created by using birch planks on infants' heads.
Beliefs: Believed they originated from oysters and survived a great flood. They practiced ritualistic cannibalism, believing those eaten or those killed by snake bites could not enter the afterlife.
Karankawa and Coahuiltecan (Coastal and South Texas): These two groups were united by a common language.
Karankawa: Lived in coastal areas; their name means "Dog Lovers" or "Raisers." They were noted for being tall, using long bows, and being heavily tattooed.
Coahuiltecan: Lived south of San Antonio to Saltillo, Mexico. Sub-tribes included the Papayas (San Antonio), Orejones (Southeast of San Antonio), and Aranamas (Laredo).
Survival: Lived in egalitarian communal clans. Their diet was varied and included grubs, berries, mesquite beans, and agave bulbs (often pounded into flour). In severe famine, they mixed flour with dirt, ant eggs, and rotting wood for bulk.
Jumanos (Far West Texas/El Paso): Lived along the Rio Grande in flat-roofed mud adobe houses.
Agriculture: Produced bounties of corn, squash, pumpkins, and beans.
Appearance: Used face tattoos or paint; women wore long hair while men wore buns decorated with feathers.
Decline: Decimated by Lipan Apache attacks and Spanish contact in the s; they eventually blended into the Mexican peasant population and ceased to exist as a distinct group by .
Plains Indians (Comanche, Kiowa, Apache, Tonkawa): These tribes did not exist in their classic form until the introduction of the horse.
Pre-Horse Life: Docile, small nomadic tribes using dogs and travois.
Kiowa Culture: Believed they were born from a hollow tree and practiced the Sun Dance involving the Tai me (small green stone). They had the Rabbit Society for boys, who later became "dog soldiers."
Governance: The chief, or Koitsenko, was elected by the top ten warriors of the tribe.
The Spanish Invasion and Colonial Era
Spain's Mediterranean Origins
The Romans named the region "Hispania" and established its foundations in law, language, and religion.
In , Muslims invaded the peninsula. The -year struggle to regain control (the Re-conquista) gave rise to the warrior class known as Conquistadors.
In , the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile united Spain under the Catholic Kings. By , Spain was united and Christopher Columbus reached the New World.
Early Explorers and the Discovery of Texas
Hernán Cortés: Conquered the Aztec Empire. Bernal Díaz del Castillo documented the subsequent mistreatment of indigenous peoples.
Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: Part of the failed Pámfilo de Narváez expedition along with Esteván. Their survival stories fueled myths of wealth.
The Seven Cities of Cíbola: Fray Marcos de Niza searched for these mythical cities of gold. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado later explored the region, finding no gold but discovering the Grand Canyon and naming Colorado and Arizona while searching for Gran Quivira.
Hernando de Soto: Led a disastrous expedition through the American Southeast and East Texas.
French Competition and Spanish Response
Robert Cavalier Sieur de La Salle: Claimed the Mississippi River for France. He established a failed colony in Texas after losing his supply ship L’Amiable. His last ship, La Belle, was also lost, and La Salle was eventually murdered by his own men.
Missions and Presidios: Alonso De Leon and Father Daminan Massanet attempted to establish missions to counter French influence. This led to the destruction of Caddo and Karankawa cultures through forced Catholicism.
San Antonio de Valero: Established in by Louis de St-Denis after he was arrested by Spanish authorities and later convinced the viceroy to allow him to trade.
Nuevo Santander: Jose de Escandon established a system of missions and towns (including Laredo and Zapata) south of San Antonio.
Marques de Rubi: Inspected the frontier in the late s and recommended a new Indian policy, including alliances with the Comanche and Wichita against the Apache.
Social Hierarchy and Economic Shifts
Caste System: Society was divided between Peninsulares (Spanish-born), Criollios (Spanish descent born in Americas), and Mestizos (mixed Spanish and Indian descent).
The Ranching Elite: As the mission system declined, small ranches grew into large estates, and the cattle industry began to emerge, bringing conflicts over branding and boundaries.
The Path to Mexican Independence and Filibustering
The Mexican War for Independence
Began with Miguel Hidalgo’s "El Grito de Dolores." The war lasted eleven years and resulted in over million deaths.
Agustin de Iturbide united factions long enough to gain independence in . The territory of La Nueva España became Mexico, and the region was renamed Coahuila y Tejas.
American Filibusters
Philip Nolan (--): A horse rustler who at one point stole horses; he was killed after attempting to conquer Texas.
Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition (): An alliance between Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara and Lt. Augustus W. Magee. They were defeated by Spanish forces at the Battle of Medina.
James Long: Captured East Texas near Galveston. His wife, Jane Long, gave birth to the first recorded Anglo child in Texas. James was eventually shot in Mexico while allegedly trying to escape jail.
Mexican Texas (--)
Political Factionalism
Federalists (Liberals): Advocated for state autonomy and a weak central government.
Centralists (Conservatives): Represented the landed aristocracy and military; they wanted a strong central government and the preservation of the old colonial social and religious order.
The Austin Colonization
Moses Austin secured a land grant in to bring Catholic families to the Brazos River to escape the Panic of . After his death in June , his son Stephen F. Austin took over.
Despite changes in Mexican law (The Colonization Law of ), Austin successfully established settlements.
Empresarios: Aside from Austin, land grants were given to Green De Witt, Martin De Leon, Lorenzo de Zavala, and David G. Burnett.
The Republic of Fredonia
Haden Edwards, a Virginian planter, attempted to force established settlers to show proof of land title. After political chicanery in a local election for alcalde (where Edwards' son-in-law Chester Chaplin was briefly declared the winner over Samuel Norris), the Mexican government intervened.
Edwards declared the "Republic of Fredonia" in an act of rebellion. The settlers fled when the Mexican Army, supported by Stephen F. Austin, approached.
Increasing Tensions
Manuel Mier y Teran: Sent to inspect Texas after the Fredonia incident. He reported that Anglos were ignoring Mexican laws, particularly anti-slavery laws.
Law of April 6, : Nullified unfulfilled empresario contracts and banned further U.S. immigration to land bordering the United States.
Anahuac and Velasco: Tensions between Colonel John Davis Bradburn and William B. Travis over runaway slaves led to armed skirmishes. The "Turtle Bayou Resolutions" were issued, stating the settlers supported the Federalist cause and Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
The Texas Revolution (--)
La Siete Leyes (The Seven Laws)
Santa Anna abolished the Constitution of , ushering in heavy-handed Centralism.
Causes for the revolt included Anglo refusal to assimilate, taxation, geographic distance, and conflicting views on slavery and Catholicism.
Early Battles
Battle of Gonzales (October , ): Mexican Lieutenant Castañeda was sent by Ugartechea to retrieve a brass cannon. The settlers refused, flying a "Come and Take It" flag. This battle officially started the revolution.
Siege of Bexar: In December , Texian forces under James Bowie (replacing Stephen F. Austin) forced General Martín Perfecto de Cos to surrender San Antonio.
The Fall of the Alamo
Command: Joint command was held by William B. Travis and James Bowie. They were joined by David Crockett.
The Siege: Santa Anna arrived on February , . Travis wrote a famous plea for help "To the People of Texas and all Americans in the World."
The Fall: On March , , the Alamo fell after a dawn attack. All defenders were killed.
The Goliad Massacre
Battle of Coleto Creek: James Fannin surrendered to General Urrea on March .
Execution: Despite Urrea's request for clemency, Santa Anna ordered the execution of the prisoners. On March , (Palm Sunday), men were killed.
Angel of Goliad: Francita Alavéz saved roughly men by pleading for their lives.
San Jacinto and Victory
The Runaway Scrape: As Houston's army retreated toward the Louisiana border, they burned everything in their path to deny resources to Santa Anna's army.
Battle of San Jacinto (April , ): Houston launched a surprise attack on Santa Anna’s exhausted troops at Buffalo Bayou. The battle lasted only minutes.
Outcome: Santa Anna was captured on April and forced to sign the Treaty of Velasco on May , , ending the revolution. Juan Seguin later retook San Antonio in June without firing a shot.