Reflection On Texas Government

Over the course of this class, I have enjoyed, and have been more interested in Texas Government more that American Government, which honestly doesn't surprise me. I was born and raised in Texas and just like any other proud Texan, I think that Texas is the best state in the Nation. However, I did enjoy learning about the different types of government. It’s interesting to me to read about them and learn how they work in other countries. I also found it fascinating to learn about how many different flags Texas has had flown over it. There has ever been towns and cities in Texas that have had more flags flown over them than Texas itself. I also loved hearing some of the stories behind the flags, like the "Come and Take It!" flag that was flown
However, it wasn't until 1685 when La Salle of France, claimed a piece of Texas in what is now Matagorda Bay. Another French explorer in the early 1700s, St. Denis, traveled and explored along the Red River. Soon after St. Denis, in 1718, La Harpe explored today's Red River County and actually created a trading post between himself and the Caddo Indians. After reading that La Harpe established a trading post with the Native Americans native to his area of exploration I was surprised. As I continued to read, I noticed that there are a lot more battles and fights between the Indians and colonists than there are treaties or alliances.
Soon after the French started exploring and colonizing Texas, the Spanish thought that it was time for them to take some pieces for themselves. The very first Spanish settlement in Texas was established in 1716. This colony was located in present-day Nacogdoches. Soon after in 1718, a settlement in present-day San Antonio was established and in 1721, La Bahia was established in present-day Goliad. "Colonization by Spanish explorers and missionaries continued throughout the 1740s and 1750s to include both banks of the Rio Grande in the areas surrounding present-day Laredo." (Davis, Nelson
Native Americans lived all throughout this beautiful state but, in the north-central part of the Texas Panhandle was where some of the first battles between the colonists and Indians took place. In present-day Hutchinson County, there are a couple of trading posts built by Anglo settlers in 1843 called the Adobe Walls. Angry with the new settlers on their land, Native Americans from the Kiowa and Comanche tribes began raiding the settlers along the Santa Fe Trail. The general from the Department of New Mexico sent a "military team led by Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson to "punish" the Native American tribes Davis, Nelson 7). Christopher and his military team attacked the Native American village and soon after, they fought back. This was the First Battle of Adobe Walls and the Indians were no match for the armed militia. The Second Battle of Adobe Walls went much like the first one and the Native Americans fell once again. "The Red River War (1874-75) marked the final chapter in the centuries-long history of Native American sovereignty in Texas." (Davis, Nelson 8). The Native Americans did everything they could possibly do to take back and secure the sacred homelands that they had lived on for thousands of years but fell short and were forced to move. Native American tribes were forced to relocate and live on reservations in Texas and