Texas: History
Early inhabitants of Texas included the Caddo in the east and nomadic Coahuiltecans further south. The Comanche , who arrived from the Rockies in the 1600s, soon found themselves at war when the Spanish ventured in, looking for gold. In the 1700s, threatened by French hopes of westward expansion from Louisiana, the Spanish began to build missions and forts, although these had minimal impact on the indigenous population's nomadic way of life. When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, taking Texas with it was part of the deal. At first, the Mexicans were keen to open up their land, and offered generous incentives to settlers. Stephen Austin ("the father of Texas") established Anglo-American colonies in the Brazos and Colorado River valleys. However, the Mexican leader, Santa Anna, soon became alarmed by Anglo aspirations to autonomy, and his increasing restrictions led to the eight-month Texan Revolution of 1835-36. The romance of the Revolution draws legions of tourists to San Antonio , site of the legendary Battle of the Alamo , which, though a military disaster, presaged independence. Today's street names echo the conflict: Crockett, Travis and Bowie were all heroes at the Alamo, and Houston was the general who finally led the army to victory at San Jacinto.The short-lived Republic of Texas , which included territory now in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Wyoming, served to define the state's identity, and in 1845 Texas joined the Union on the understanding that it could secede whenever it so wished. This is still written into its constitution, as is the proviso that it can, at any time, divide itself into five separate states. Texans display an unmatched measure of state pride: Texas schoolchildren are as familiar with the heroes of the Alamo as the heroes of the Revolutionary War, and you'll see a ubiquitous state symbol - the Lone Star - emblazoned on everything from advertising to architecture.
The influence, especially in the north and east, of settlers from the Southern states and their attendant slave-centered cotton economy resulted in Texas joining the Confederacy . No major Civil War battles were fought on Texan soil, however, and it remained relatively unscathed. During Reconstruction, settlers from both the North and the South began to pour in, and the phrase "Gone to Texas" was familiarly applied to anyone fleeing the law, bad debts or unhappy love affairs. This was also the period of the great cattle drives, when the longhorns roaming free in the south and west of Texas were rounded up and taken to the railroads in Kansas. The Texan - and national - fascination with the romantic myth of the cowboy has its roots in this era, and still prevails; today his regalia - Stetson, boots and bandana - is virtually a state costume, especially in Fort Worth and the west.
Along with ranching and agriculture, oil has been crucial. After the first big gusher in 1901, at Spindletop on the Gulf Coast, the focus of the Texan economy - and culture - shifted almost overnight from agriculture toward rapid industrialization. Boom towns flew up as wildcatters chased the wells, and millions of dollars were made as ranchers, who had previously thought their land only fit for cattle, sold out at vast profit. Texas today produces one-third of all the oil in the United States, and the sight of nodding pump jacks is one of the state's most potent images.
Texas city guides
| Abilene and Sweetwater | Galveston |
| Amarillo | Houston |
| Austin | Laredo |
| Canyon | Lubbock |
| Corpus Christi | Nacogdoches |
| Dallas | Nuevo Laredo |
| El Paso | San Antonio |
| Fort Worth | Terlingua and Lajitas |
| Fredericksburg |
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