Texas History Highlights

Coronado explored the region; kept daily journals describing land and findings; English translations exist.
Had a trustworthy Native American guide; traveled far but found no city of gold; returned with his men.

France heard Spain’s departure and aimed to claim the land; sent ships from New Orleans.
Landed in the Gulf Coast area (Matagorda Bay); faced bad weather; shipwreck; attempts at colony were miserable and under-supplied.
Lasalle (La Salle) commanded; poor leadership, unwilling to heed advice; expedition failed; he was killed; Fort Saint Louis decimated; no lasting settlement.

Spain sent a large flotilla with supplies, people, and livestock to establish a colony.
Spanish control established; missions extended as far north as Nacogdoches; presidios (forts) and attached churches; Tejanos were settlers.
Spanish place names persist (e.g., San Antonio).

Mexico gained independence from Spain; Texas region became part of Mexico.
Mexico promoted settlements with requirements: convert to Catholicism and promise no slavery.
By 1835, Mexico tried to exert tighter control: limited property rights, etc.; Santa Anna centralized power and marched toward Texas.
Texas declared independence on $03/02/1836$ .

Gonzales cannon affair: Mexico lent a $6$ -pound cannon; Texans resisted and flew a flag with the slogan “Come and Take It.”
This symbol helped shape Texas identity and the Lone Star concept.

Texas fought for independence and operated as a republic for a time.
Santa Ana attacked and defeated Texas at several points, culminating in events around the Alamo and San Jacinto.
Texans captured Santa Ana and forced recognition that Texas would be its own country, with a treaty requiring him to withdraw and acknowledge Texas independence.

Texas aimed to join the United States; sought statehood once debt and governance stabilized.
Boundaries debated: western boundary via the $Rio Grande$ ; Red River and tributaries part of the discussion with Mexico.
The US fought the Mexican–American War from $1846$ to $1848$ ; victory led to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The Gadsden Purchase helped adjust the southern boundary later; Texas retained land and paid off some debt.
Texas entered the United States as a slave state in $1845$ , influenced by manifest destiny.

German settlers established towns like Fredericksburg and New Braunfels; Czechoslovakian settlers in West, Texas.
Other groups settled across the state; Pecos region opened as part of expansion; settlement patterns shaped by land quality and resources.

Texas seceded and joined the Confederacy; about $90{,}000$ Texans served in the Civil War.
The Battle of Galveston was a major Confederate victory for control of the Gulf port; Union retook it later.
After the war, Reconstruction began; borders and governance under the United States reestablished.

The Balcones Escarpment lies west of I-35; limestone indicating former ocean floor; fertility and raiding by native groups in some western areas limited settlement.
East Texas offered rich topsoil and rainfall; western regions remained sparsely populated due to geography and native resistance.

The phrase Come and Take It has been a rallying symbol in Texas history and is seen in various contexts (e.g., campus displays, flags).
Historical memory intersects with modern institutions and debates over symbols and heritage.

Major phases: Spanish colony → Mexican province → Republic of Texas → United States state.
Key figures/events: Coronado, La Salle, Gonzales cannon, San Jacinto, Galveston, Balcones Escarpment.
Boundaries and treaties: Rio Grande boundary, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( $1848$ ), Gadsden Purchase.
Demographic drivers: Latino Tejanos, German and Czech settlements, slave-based plantation economy pre-Civil War.