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Why Did Texas Almost Fail as a Spanish

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Why Did Texas Almost Fail as a Spanish
Why Did Texas Almost Fail as a Spanish Colony?

Why do the ventures of man fail? The ventures of men fail primarily due to a lack of planning. In the case of Spanish colonies in Texas this holds true. The Spanish first set eyes on the Texas coast in 1519 and in 1821 they lowered their flag for the final time in Texas. The Spanish had about 300 years to try and colonize Texas and the attempt to colonize and settle Texas was not very successful. The initial boats that came to Texas were shipwrecked and only four people survived of the approximately 270 men that made the trip. One of these four survivors was Cabeza De Vaca. These were the first Spaniards to live on Texas soil. Cabeza had a goal to settle Texas and befriend the Native Americans. In reality, Spain was more interested in gold than in colonizing Texas. Cabeza made his way back to Mexico City and because of the information he provided, Francisco Coronado, A Spanish conquistador, was sent back north to search for treasure. All he found were Indians living in relatively meager conditions. By 1607 the Spanish had a settlement in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the first Texas settlement was established in 1682 near El Paso. By 1690 the Spanish became nervous of the French that were coming from Louisiana in the east and encroaching into east Texas. Because of the concern of this encroachment by the French, the Spanish decided to set up a plan to colonize Texas. That plan consisted of establishing missions near Native Indians populations. Second, the plan was to establish presidios, or fortified bases, near the missions. Third, it was planned that the land around the presidio and mission could be safely settled and that the Indians would become Spanish citizens. This plan never really worked because the Spanish failed to plan for three things and these three things were the main causes of the near failure of the Spanish colonies in Texas. First, the Spanish failed to plan for the

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