"Stephen Fuller Austin (1793-1836) has been known, since shortly after his death, as the "Father of Texas," as he was not only the first to lead Anglo-American settlers to the region and establish colonies but also endured the hardships of organizing these settlements and their laws, mandating socially acceptable behavior, and serving as liaison between colonists and the Mexican government."
"Austin shouldered all these responsibilities himself, often at great personal cost, but, initially, he had no intention of engaging in any of them or anything having to do with settlements in the region of Coahuila y Tejas (Texas), the northern district of New Spain (Mexico) until 1821. Austin's father, Moses Austin, had been granted permission by the Spanish government to bring Anglo-American settlers to Texas when the region was still under Spanish control."
"Moses died in 1821, the same year Mexico won its independence from Spain, and his dying wish was that his son would complete his work. Stephen F. Austin planned on becoming a lawyer and had already been a popular politician when his father died. That event changed the course of his life, and so he may rightly be called the "Reluctant Father of Texas.""
Stephen F. Austin led the first major Anglo-American colonization of Texas and earned the title Father of Texas by organizing settlements, creating laws, enforcing social norms, and acting as liaison with Mexican authorities. He assumed these duties after his father Moses secured Spanish permission to bring settlers and then died in 1821, the year Mexico attained independence; Moses's dying wish was for his son to complete the enterprise. Stephen had planned a legal and political career but accepted the colonization role. The family moved to the Potosi, Missouri region in 1798, and Moses became a Spanish citizen to obtain settlement rights; the Panic of 1819 later damaged the family fortunes.
Read at World History Encyclopedia
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]