Tejanos Origins in Mexican Texas

Spanish colonial administrators had originally settled Texas as a "buffer province" for northern New Spain. The Spaniards had learned from the Iberian peninsula centuries earlier to use a buffer zone between their own settlements and those of the Moorish invaders. They had learned to control a depopulated zone, or despoblado, for defensive purposes as they steadily reconquered their lands from the Moors. The Spaniards had established armed municipalities, presidios or forts, and missions within the despoblado. These municipalities, presidios, and missions constituted the defensive borderland or frontera. A second factor unifying the Tejano frontera was the mixture of the racial groups peculiar to Tejano settlements. Soldiers stationed on the frontera integrated socially into the Tejano civilian communities, reinforcing the unity of the different regions. And finally, the racial heritage of the Tejanos reinforced the contrast between them and the Anglo-American settlers daily arriving from the United States. Indeed, in its very settlement, Texas had developed a defensive governmental structure which was described by historian Herbert E. Bolton as being "almost wholly military."¹ In 1718, the Presidio de San Antonio de Béxar and the Mission San Antonio de Valero were established in Béxar on the San Antonio. The founders later established the missions of San José, San Juan, Concepción, and San Francisco de Espada. The Béxar population fluctuated between roughly 1,500 and 2,000 throughout the years 1805 to 1833. Further down the San Antonio River from Béxar, near the Gulf coast was Goliad. The Goliad community was very similar to Béxar, particularly in the founding of the Presidio La Bahía del Espíritu Santo and its blending into the surrounding community. La Bahía appeared more dynamic than Béxar in many ways. Ironically, La Bahía had not become an official villa until 1820. Its population, which was in the villa surrounding the presidio and on neighboring ranches, had traditionally been about half that of Béxar. But within a few years, the population of the area began an upward trend. During this time, La Bahía changed its name to Goliad. Also at this time, Goliad was joined by the new settlement of Guadalupe de Jesús Victoria, which was founded nearby.