History Resources

Stephen Austin's contract to bring settlers to Texas, 1825

A Spotlight on a Primary Source by Stephen Austin

Stephen Austin’s contract to bring settlers to Texas, June 4, 1825 (Gilder LIn order to settle Texas in the 1820s, the Mexican government allowed speculators, called empresarios, to acquire large tracts of land if they promised to bring in settlers to populate the region and make it profitable. Moses and Stephen Austin contracted to bring "500 families on the vacant lands remaining within the limits of the colony already established." The contract stipulates that "The families which are to compose this Colony besides being industrious as he offers in his petition must be Cat[ho]lics, and of good morals." Stephen Austin established dozens of communities and brought thousands of settlers into the Mexican province of Texas. While Austin was loyal and committed to the Mexican Republic, by the early 1840s he was leery of the unstable Mexican government and advocated for the independence of Texas.

A full transcript is available.

Excerpt

8th   Official Communications with the Govt. or with the authorities of the State, instruments of writing and other public acts, must be written in Spanish, and when new Towns are formed it shall be his duty to establish Spanish Schools in them.

9      It shall also be his duty to promote the erection of churches in said Towns and that they are provided with ornaments, holy vases and other things necessary for divine worship and in the proper time to solicit the necessary numbers of Pastors for the Adminstration of Spiritual affairs.

Questions for Discussion

Read the document introduction, examine the excerpt and if possible the entire transcript, and apply your knowledge of American history in order to answer the questions that follow.

  1. List and explain the requirements the Mexican government made of Stephen Austin and the new settlers.
  2. What motive existed for the Mexican government to allow settlers from the United States? Why did Americans seek to settle in Mexico?
  3. How does the excerpt help explain the eventual tensions and disagreements that would harm relations between the settlers and the Mexican government?
  4. How is Stephen Austin depicted in your textbook? How do you think he is depicted in textbooks used in high school classes in Mexico?

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