Domingo Terán de los Ríos served as the first

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

from 1691 to 1692. He also governed Coahuila, in the modern-day Mexico.

Previous service

Terán served the Spanish crown in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

for two decades. He came to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 1681 as a deputy of the consulado of Sevilla. He was appointed governor of the province of Sonora y Sinaloa in 1686, and served in that position for approximately five years. As governor, he successfully developed a mining industry and pacified the Native Americans in that area.

Coahuila and Tejas

Terán was appointed governor on January 23, 1691, by

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

Gaspar de la Cerda, 8th Count of Galve Gaspar de la Cerda Silva Sandoval y Mendoza, 8th Count of Galve, Lord of Salcedón and Tortola (in full, ) (11 January 1653 – 12 March 1697) was viceroy of New Spain from November 20, 1688, to February 26, 1696. As viceroy of New Spain Cerd ...

. He was appointed to oversee the administration of Coahuila, Texas and adjacent regions. His role as governor was to set up seven missions among the Tejas Indians; to seek and remove any foreigners that may have settled in Spanish territory; and to catalog the land, the natural resources, and the peoples of the area. Terán and his company departed on their trek on May 16, 1691, from

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 ...

, crossed the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

on May 28, and had reached the Red River by December of that year. When they reached San Francisco de los Tejas, de los Ríos renamed the region Nuevo Reyno de la Montaña de Santander y Santillana. On June 13, 1691, Terán and his company camped at a rancheria on a stream called Yanaguana . They renamed the stream "San Antonio" because it was Saint Anthony's Day. Father Damian Massanet accompanied Terán on his trip. On his journey northward, Terán met with

Gregorio de Salinas Varona Gregorio de Salinas Varona (1647 or 1650 in Tormé, Burgos, Spain – 1720 in Mexico City, New Spain, Spanish Empire) was a noble and Spanish people, Spanish public administration, administrator who served as governor in Spanish Texas, Texas, C ...

at the site of the French Fort Saint Louis, which had been abandoned after colonists died from disease and a Karankawa Indian attack. He was given new orders to explore the Tejas settlements in eastern Tejas. When Terán was travelling southward, he met Juan Enríquez Barroto at

Matagorda Bay Matagorda Bay () is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, east-southeast of San Antonio, south-southwest of Houston, and south-southea ...

on March 5, 1692, who relayed orders from the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

to explore the lower

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

area. Terán followed orders, but was prevented from completing them by bad weather. He and his company returned to

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

on April 15. Terán's expedition failed to establish any missions among the Tejas. In his report, he defended his actions and explained the negative situation which he saw in East Texas.

References

External links

"Domingo Terán de los Ríos," ''Sons of DeWitt Colony, Texas''.

Texas State Historical Association
Governors of Coahuila Governors of Spanish Texas Governors of Sinaloa Governors of Sonora Year of birth missing Year of death missing 1680s in Mexico 1690s in Mexico 1690s in Texas {{explorer-stub