Jack of Harts

Though Spain claimed Texas as far back as the 1500s, they ignored it for most of the centuries that followed. It was a backwater, inhabited by people they considered to be uncivilized savages. They did have some settlements on the Rio Grande, El Paso being one of the more famous examples, but simply didn’t bother with the northern expanses. Until they heard rumors that France was trying to take over the area in the late 1600s. They planted Spanish colonies far beyond the Rio Grande in the 1700s to put their stamp on the area. They lived a mostly ranching life beyond the borders of normal civilization in western and eastern Texas. These Tejanos would become the primary source of power and civilization in the region for the next century, and built traditions and laws that continue to influence Texas to this day.

What would become the Republic of Texas traces her history back to the time of the Spanish Empire and Louisiana Purchase America. The United States was expanding west after purchasing much of North America from France, and the Spanish were having problems controlling New Spain. The locals wanted independence, the French thought they could conquer it, and the Americans thought they had bought much of it from France. And the Indians lived there and didn’t want anybody invading their lands. That made the frontier region that would become Texas a rather difficult area to settle and control for any single nation. And it helped to create the frontier culture that would define the region for centuries.