THE FAILURE OF SPAIN IN EAST TEXAS: THE OCCUPATION AND ABANDONMENT OF NACOGDOCHES, 1779-1821

JAMES CHRISTOPHER HARRISON, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Abstract

In 1812, the East Texas border settlement of Nacogdoches was abandoned by Spanish officials who were unable to rally local residents against an invasion of American filibusters from Louisiana led by Jose Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara and Augustus Magee. For many historians the perfidy of the inhabitants was a consequence of the lawless and corrupt society which was perceived as characterizing the settlement. Close examination of the people and their society, however, indicates that the conduct of the residents was the climax of more than three decades of failure by the Spanish government to adjust adequately frontier policy to conditions found in East Texas. A principal factor in the erosion of loyalty and obedience by the residents of Nacogdoches was the unwillingness of high ranking government officials to establish a viable economic policy for East Texas. Although the closest Spanish settlement with which the inhabitants of Nacogdoches could trade was the provincial capital, San Antonio, more than 150 leagues distant over a rough and unprotected highway, the government consistently refused or restricted permission to trade across the Louisiana border with Natchitoches, approximately fifty leagues to the east. Thus, with no legal outlet for the products of the settlement, the economy stagnated and the resulting poverty permeated all areas of Nacogdoches society. Because there was no market for crops, most of the residents turned to smuggling, exporting to Natchitoches horses which were exchanged for necessities--food, clothing, and household items. Rather than seek a solution to the problem of illegal commerce by attacking its cause, the government sought to restrict its flow by increased surveillance through the assignment of a military commandant and garrison of soldiers to Nacogdoches in 1795. Continued disobedience to the laws forbidding trade with Louisiana confirmed the suspicion by some officials that the residents of Nacogdoches were not to be trusted. Unfortunately, these bureaucrats were unable to distinguish between disloyalty and action keyed to survival. Frustrated and angered by the failure of the Spanish government to grasp the peculiar problems of East Texas, the residents joined the rebels of the king in both 1811 and 1812. In each instance, the prospect of legal trade with Louisiana was pivotal. In addition to the government's failure to provide a sound economic policy for Nacogdoches, it also failed politically to create in East Texas a buffer zone of loyal Indians and foreigners who could be counted upon to fight for the Spanish crown should Texas be threatened by an invader. Not only was this plan unsuccessful, but it undermined even further Spain's ability to defend East Texas. The Indians permitted to immigrate to Texas proved to be non-committal in their loyalty and, more importantly they offended the old, established tribes who now doubted the friendship of the Spanish government. Similarly, the failure to screen adequately settlers migrating from Louisiana resulted in the presence of a number of "undesirable" foreigners, usually American Protestants, in East Texas. These conditions further brought into question the loyalty of the eastern frontier residents. The failure of Spain in East Texas was a consequence of inflexibility and misjudgment. The result was years of stagnation and ill-conceived policy which was culminated in the Spanish abandonment of Nacogdoches.

Subject Area

Latin American history

Recommended Citation

HARRISON, JAMES CHRISTOPHER, "THE FAILURE OF SPAIN IN EAST TEXAS: THE OCCUPATION AND ABANDONMENT OF NACOGDOCHES, 1779-1821" (1980). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8100429.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8100429

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