Why texas seceded from mexico

There are other similarities, too, starting with the fact that Texas was not the only state in Mexico to try and secede from Mexico City. Unlike the 13 North American states attempting to secede from the British Empire, the Mexican provinces did not band together to form a united front against a common enemy. Texas itself was the northern part of a larger state called Coahuila y Tejas.

When Mexico originally seceded from Spain, Coahuila y Tejas joined the new republic as its poorest, most sparsely populated member state. In addition to economic and demographic problems, Coahuila y Tejas shared a border with the Comanche and Apache Indians, who in the s were still powerful players in regional geopolitics.

Life in Coahuila y Tejas was nasty, brutal, and short. The new republic of Mexico was preoccupied elsewhere and gave Coahuila y Tejas a free hand when it came to governance, a policy that would come back to bite Mexico City in the rear. Mexico City also liberalized its immigration laws so that English-speaking settlers from the United States could establish themselves in Coahuila y Tejas.

Austin, took over the project. In , Mexico gained independence from Spain, and Austin negotiated a contract with the new Mexican government that allowed him to lead some families to the Brazos River.

Under the terms of the agreement, the settlers were to be Catholics, but Austin mainly brought Protestants from the southern United States. Other U. In , a conflict between Mexican and American settlers led to the Fredonian Rebellion, and in the Mexican government took measures to stop the influx of Americans.

In , Austin, who sought statehood for Texas in the Mexican federation, was imprisoned after calling on settlers to declare it without the consent of the Mexican congress. He was released in In , Santa Anna, a soldier and politician, became dictator of Mexico and sought to crush rebellions in Texas and other areas.

The Mexicans were routed in what is regarded as the first battle of the Texas Revolution. The American settlers set up a provisional state government, and a Texan army under Sam Houston won a series of minor battles in the fall of In December, Texas volunteers commanded by Ben Milam drove Mexican troops out of San Antonio and settled in around the Alamo, a mission compound adapted to military purposes around On February 2, Bowie and his 30 or so men were joined by a small cavalry company under Colonel William Travis, bringing the total number of Alamo defenders to about One week later, the frontiersman Davy Crockett arrived in command of 14 Tennessee Mounted Volunteers.

House of Representatives and as governor of Tennessee when he moved to Texas in At the time he arrived, Texas was part of Mexico and the site of rising tensions and violent disturbances between Mexican authorities and Anglo settlers from the United States. Voicing his support for a separate state of Texas, Houston emerged as a leader among the settlers.

On October 2, , the first shots were fired in the town of Gonzales. They overran the defenders at the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, The Texas legislature had officially declared independence a few days before. Santa Anna was captured, essentially sealing Texas' independence. Although Mexico would try several times in the next few years to reclaim Texas, the territory joined the U.

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Professor of History and Literature. Christopher Minster, Ph. Updated April 08, Featured Video.