Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established
United Mexican States under its
1824 Constitution
The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 ( es, Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1824) was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide. In the new Fr ...
.
It had two capitals: first
Saltillo
Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...
(1822–1825) for petition of Miguel Ramos Arizpe, that changing the capital for dispute of political groups, but
Monclova
Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and ...
recovered primacy because it was the colonial capital since 1689; this action provoked a struggle between the residents of Saltillo and Monclova in 1838–1840, but the political actions of Santa Anna convinced the monclovitas to accept the final change of political powers to Saltillo. In the case of Tejas its territory was organized for administrative purposes, with the state being divided into three districts: Béxar, comprising the area covered by
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
; Monclova, comprising northern
Coahuila
Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico.
Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...
; and Río Grande Saltillo, comprising southern Coahuila.
The state remained in existence until the adoption of the
1835 "Constitutional Bases", whereby the
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
republic was converted into a
unitary
Unitary may refer to:
Mathematics
* Unitary divisor
* Unitary element
* Unitary group
* Unitary matrix
* Unitary morphism
* Unitary operator
* Unitary transformation
* Unitary representation
* Unitarity (physics)
* ''E''-unitary inverse semigroup ...
one, and the nation's states (''estados'') were turned into departments (''departamentos''). The State of Coahuila and Texas was split in two and became the Department of Coahuila and the Department of Texas.
Both Coahuila and Texas seceded from Mexico because of
Antonio López de Santa Anna's attempts to collect federal taxes, free the slaves, and centralize the government. Texas eventually became the independent
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...
, which in 1845 became
a state of the
United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
. Coahuila joined with
Nuevo León
Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
and
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
, to form the short-lived
Republic of the Rio Grande.
History
Formation
![Political divisions of Mexico 1824 (location map scheme)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Political_divisions_of_Mexico_1824_%28location_map_scheme%29.svg)
In 1821, the
Mexican War for Independence
The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
severed the control that
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
had exercised on its North American territories, and the new country of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
was formed from much of the lands that had comprised
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
. In the early days of the country, there was much disagreement over whether Mexico should be a
federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...
or a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
.
[Edmondson (2000), p. 71.] In 1824,
a new constitution restructured the country as a federal republic with nineteen states and four territories.
[ One of the new states was Coahuila y Tejas, which combined the sparsely populated Spanish provinces of ]Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and Coahuila
Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico.
Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...
.[Vazquez (1997), p. 51.] The poorest state in the Mexican federation, Coahuila y Tejas covered the boundaries of Spanish Texas but did not include the area around El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
, which belonged to the state of Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
and the area of Laredo, Texas
Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...
, which became part of Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
.[Manchaca (2001), p. 162.]
Erasmo Seguin, Texas's representative to Congress during the constitutional deliberations, originally advocated for Texas to become a federal territory. He knew that Texas's small population and insufficient resources made the region ill-prepared to be an independent state, and that the federal government had an obligation to assist territories. Because Coahuila was more populous than Texas, he feared that in a combined state Coahuila would wield greater power in decision making. The representative from Coahuila, Miguel Ramos Arizpe
Don Miguel Ramos Arizpe (February 15, 1775 in Valle de San Nicolás, (near Saltillo) Coahuila – April 28, 1843 in Mexico City) was a Mexican priest and politician, and known as "the father of Mexican federalism."
Life and career
Ramos Ar ...
, was likewise concerned that his region was ill-equipped to become an independent state. Ramos Arizpe was unwilling to join with other nearby states, as Coahuila compared unfavorably to those states in either population or economy and would thus be a weaker partner. To convince the Texans to join forces with Coahuila, Ramos Arizpe wrote to the ''ayuntamiento'' in Bexar to warn the political leaders that a territory would lose its ownership of public lands to the federal government. State governments retained ownership of public land. This was enough to persuade the Texans to drop their opposition to the merger.[Weber (1982), p. 24.]
Immigration and slavery
The federal government had little money to spare for the military, so settlers were empowered to create their own militias to help control hostile native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
tribes. The border region of Texas faced frequent raids by Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
and Comanche
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
tribes. In the hopes that an influx of settlers could control the raids, the government liberalized its immigration policies, and settlers from the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
were permitted to move to Mexico.[Manchaca (2001), p. 164.]
States were responsible for implementing the General Colonization Law. Officials in Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila y Tejas, were soon besieged by foreign land speculators who wanted to claim land in Texas.[Vazquez (1997), p. 53.] The state passed its own colonization law in 1825.[Manchaca (2001), p. 195.] Approximately 3,420 land grant applications were submitted by immigrants and naturalized citizens, many of them Anglo-Americans.[Manchaca (2001), p. 198.] Only one of the twenty-four '' empresarios'', Martín De León settled citizens from within Mexico; the others came primarily from the United States.[de la Teja (1997), p. 88.][Manchaca (2001), p. 199.]
From the time Mexico became independent from Spain, there was public support for abolishing slavery. Fears of an economic crisis if all of the slaves were simultaneously freed led to a gradual emancipation policy.[Manchaca (2001), p. 163.] In 1823, Mexico forbade the sale or purchase of slaves, and required that the children of slaves be freed when they reached fourteen.[ Any slave introduced into Mexico by purchase or trade would also be freed.][ Many of the colonists in Texas, however, had already owned slaves and brought them to the new territory when they immigrated from the United States.][Barr (1990), p. 14.]
In 1827, the legislature of Coahuila y Tejas banned the admission of additional slaves into the state and granted freedom at birth to all children born to a slave.[ The new laws also stated that any slave brought into Texas should be freed within six months.][Manchaca (2001), p. 165.] Two years later, slavery was officially prohibited in Mexico.[ American settlers in Texas began to discuss revolt. The governor of Coahuila y Tejas, ]Jose Maria Viesca
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galile ...
, wrote to the president to explain the importance of slavery to the east Texas economy, and the importance of the Texas economy to the development of the state. Texas was temporarily exempted from the slavery prohibition rule.[Edmondson (2000), p. 80.] By 1830, the state was ordered to comply in full with the emancipation law. Many colonists converted their slaves to indentured servant
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...
s with 99-year terms, a practice which the state also banned in 1832.[Vazquez (1997), pp. 57, 63.]
Tensions
As the number of Americans living in Texas blossomed, Mexican authorities became apprehensive that the United States might wish to annex the area, possibly using force.[Henson (1982), pp. 47–8.][Morton (1947), p. 33.] On April 6, 1830, the Mexican government passed a series of laws restricting immigration from the United States into Texas. The laws also cancelled all unfilled ''empresario'' contracts and called for the first enforcement of customs duties.[ Implementation of the new laws angered colonists in Texas, and in June 1832 a group of armed settlers marched on the military base at Anahuac, and deposed the commander, ]Juan Davis Bradburn
Juan Davis Bradburn (born John Davis Bradburn; 1787 – April 20, 1842) was a brigadier general in the Mexican Army. His actions as commandant of the garrison at Anahuac in Mexican Texas in 1831 and 1832 led to the events known as the Anahuac Di ...
. A second group forced the surrender of another Mexican military commander at the Battle of Velasco
The Battle of Velasco, fought June 25-26, 1832, was the first true military conflict between Mexico and Texians
Texians were Anglo-American residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas.
Today, the term is used to identify ea ...
.[Henson (1982), p. 107–8.][Vazquez (1997), p. 65.] The small rebellion coincided with a revolt led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna against the centralist policies of Mexican president Anastasio Bustamante
Anastasio Bustamante y Oseguera (; 27 July 1780 – 6 February 1853) was a Mexican physician, general, and politician who served as president of Mexico three times. He participated in the Mexican War of Independence initially as a royalist befo ...
. Texans aligned themselves with Santa Anna's federalist policies.[Vazquez (1997), p. 66.]
Settlers in Texas continued to press for changes in Mexican law.[Vazquez (1997), p. 67.] In 1833, they requested separate statehood, going so far as to draft a proposed state constitution.[
In March 1833, the capital of the state was transferred from Saltillo to ]Monclova
Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and ...
, which was closer to Tejas.[Vazquez (1997), p. 70.] Shortly thereafter, civil war erupted as the federal government moved away from federalism and towards a more centralized government. As fighting erupted, residents in Saltillo declared that Monclova had been illegally made the state capital and selected a new governor. Texans in Saltillo recommended establishing a provisional government in Bexar during the unrest to strengthen the autonomy of Texas. Juan Seguin
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
, political chief of Bexar, called for a town meeting to create a government but was forced to postpone it when Mexican troops advanced in the direction of Texas.[Vazquez (1997), p. 71.]
Disestablishment
In 1835, President Santa Anna revoked the Constitution of 1824 and began consolidating his power. In various parts of the country federalists revolted, and in May 1835 Santa Anna brutally crushed a revolt in Zacatecas.[Hardin (1994), p. 6.] The federalists, including Agustín Viesca
Agustín Viesca (1790–1845) was a governor of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas in 1835. He was the brother of José María Viesca, also a governor of Coahuila y Tejas during 1827-1831.
Administration in Texas
As Mexican President Antoni ...
, the governor of Coahuila y Tejas, were afraid that Santa Anna would march against Coahuila after subduing the rebels in Zacatecas, so they disbanded the state legislature on May 21, 1835, and authorized the governor to set up an office in a different part of the state. Viesca was arrested as he traveled to San Antonio. When Viesca escaped and reached Texas, no one recognized him as governor.[ In October 1835, Santa Anna abolished all state governments, replacing them with administrative divisions from Mexico City.][Nugent (2009), p. 151.] Settlers in Texas revolted the same month, and, at the conclusion of the Texas Revolution in April 1836, Texas had become self-established as the independent Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...
.
Government
Coahuila y Tejas was divided into several departments, each of which was governed by a political chief. Departments were further subdivided into municipalities, which were governed by ''alcalde
Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...
s'', similar to a modern-day mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
. Each municipality also had an elected '' ayuntamiento'', similar to a city council. Originally, all of Texas was included in the Department of Béxar, while Coahuila comprised several departments.[Ericson (2000), p. 33.] After many protests from residents of Texas, in early 1834 the region was divided into three departments, Béxar, Brazos, and Nacogdoches. At the same time, Texas was granted three representatives to the state legislature from the original two.[Vazquez (1997), p. 69.]
Laws were set by a state legislature. Ten of the 12 members were elected from Coahuila, with two coming from Texas.[Nugent (2009), p. 144.] Legislators met at the state capital, originally Saltillo, Coahuila
Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and hig ...
, later Monclova, Coahuila. The choice of capital city was controversial; Saltillo was located in the extreme south of the state, more than 300 league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
s from the northernmost part of Texas.[Weber (1982), p. 26.]
Defense
The federal government recognized that border states required a different military model than other states. In 1826, Coahuila y Tejas and the nearby states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo León were placed under a single military commandant general, who was stationed near Laredo.[Weber (1982), p. 108.] According to the regulations, each of the garrisons in Texas (at the Alamo Mission
The Alamo is a historic Spanish mission and fortress compound founded in the 18th century by Roman Catholic missionaries in what is now San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, a pivotal event of t ...
in Bexar and at Presidio La Bahia
A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cent ...
in Goliad) should have 107 soldiers, not including officers.[ By 1832 there were a combined 70 soldiers with guns (with an additional 70 who had no weapons).][Weber (1982), p. 109.] The federal government occasionally established other garrisons within Texas, but when the immediate threat was considered to be gone the garrisons were usually disbanded.[Weber (1982), p. 111.] The bulk of the rest of the army remained in Mexico City, in large part so its leaders could curry political favor.[Weber (1982), p. 110.]
The government had little money, and troops were often unpaid, with ammunition, guns, and food in short supply. In many cases townspeople were forced to provide food and other supplies to the soldiers.[Weber (1982), pp. 111–112.] Few men volunteered for military service in the frontier, so many garrisons were composed of convicts or others forcibly recruited.[Weber (1982), p. 114.]
In 1828, Coahuila y Tejas passed legislation authorizing an official state militia. Texas had at least three militia units – at Bexar, Goliad, and in Stephen F. Austin's colony along the Brazos River
The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Dr ...
.[Weber (1982), p. 116.]
Demographics
Despite the influx of settlers from the United States after the colonization laws were passed, the majority of settlers within Coahuila y Tejas were either Mexican citizens or Tejanos. Within Texas, however, by 1830 approximately 80% of the population was from the United States or Europe.[Mintz (2009), p. 10.]
In the frontier areas of the state, similar to the rest of the Mexican frontier, there was more ethnic intermarriage than in the interior regions.[Mintz (2009), p. 9.] Although both the federal and state constitutions established the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as the official religion, the frontier areas often disobeyed the rule.[
]
Economy
For the most part, only enough food was grown for use in the area; little was exported. This was partially due to labor shortages and partly due to raids from native tribes. Wild game was abundant, and many families survived by hunting, keeping a few head of livestock, and subsistence farming.[Weber (1982), p. 140.]
Within Texas, the economy depended heavily on the cultivation of cotton. In 1834, Texas exported over 7,000 bales of cotton. Ranching was also lucrative, and Texas exported over 5,000 head of cattle in 1834.[de la Teja (1997), pp. 91–92.] Lumber was exported in small quantities, primarily to Matamoros.[Weber (1982), p. 142.] In the mid-1830s, Texas imported approximately $630,000 worth of goods. Exports amounted to only about $500,000. The trade deficit resulted in a lack of currency in Texas; in a report to his superiors Juan Almonte estimated that only about 10% of transactions within Texas were conducted with specie.[Weber (1982), p. 141.]
Much of the trade was run by recent immigrants; few ''Tejano
Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...
s'' were involved in exporting or industry. The newcomers may have had increased access to capital markets and to transportation, and may have had closer ties with, or at least a better understanding of, foreign markets.[Weber (1982), p. 143.]
Many inhabitants of the Mexican frontier chafed at rules that limited trade with the United States. As these areas, including Texas, were far from federal – and often state – control, smuggling was rampant.[ Coahuila did not have a coastline, and thus could not import goods from other countries. From 1823 through 1830, Texas settlers had an exemption on tariffs for some goods. Tariffs could not be collected on other goods because there was no customs house to collect the duties. A customs house was established in Anahuac in 1830, but the soldiers were expelled by settlers in 1832. A similar incident occurred in 1835, again resulting in the closure of the customs house. Texas continued to serve as a smuggling haven, with some of the goods being sent into the Mexican interior and into the territory of New Mexico.][Weber (1982), p. 155.]
Map gallery
File:Hooker Map of the State of Coahuila and Texas 1833 UTA.jpg, 1833 map of Coahuila y Tejas
File:Hooker Map of the State of Coahuila and Texas 1834 UTA.jpg, 1834 map
File:Hooker Map of the State of Coahuila and Texas 1836 UTA.jpg, 1836 map
See also
* Mexican Texas
* Fredonian Rebellion
* Law of April 6, 1830
* Territorial evolution of Mexico
* States of Mexico
The states of Mexico are first-level administrative territorial entities of the country of Mexico, which is officially named United Mexican States. There are 32 federal entities in Mexico (31 states and the capital, Mexico City, as a separate ent ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
"Coahuila and Texas"
in the ''Handbook of Texas
The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA).
History
The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...
Online''
Coahuila y Tejas: From liberal federalism to centralista dictatorship
Compendium of Mexican Constitutions
(in Spanish)
"Map of the state of Coahuila and Texas / W. Hooker, sculpt."
Portal to Texas History
"Laws and Decrees of Coahuila and Texas"
''Gammel's Laws of Texas, Vol. I''. Hathi Trust.
{{coord, 28, 50, N, 99, 30, W, source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title
Independent Mexico
Former states of Mexico
*Tejas
*
Colonial United States (Mexican)
*
1830s in Texas
1824 establishments in Mexico
1835 disestablishments in Mexico
States and territories established in 1824
States and territories disestablished in 1835