Nuevo Santander

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Location of Nuevo Santander in Spanish Mexico from 1819

Nuevo Santander ( German  New Santander ) was from 1746 to 1822 a province in New Spain , the Spanish colonial empire in today's Mexico . It covered roughly the area of ​​today's Mexican state Tamaulipas and southern Texas , which is now part of the United States of America .

Emergence

Until the 18th century, the area between the Gulf of Mexico and the mountains inland was largely undisturbed by Europeans. It served as a retreat for the Indian peoples; the forests on the coast and the mountains in the hinterland also attracted escaped slaves and serfs or people who wanted to escape Spanish colonial rule for other reasons. Spanish merchants trading northward avoided the region widely for fear of raids. Overall, the Spaniards saw this uncontrolled area as a security risk.

On the coast to the north, there were also repeated attempts at settlement, primarily by French adventurers who came from Louisiana . The Spaniards saw it as an attempt to question the territory of the viceroyalty of New Spain. The Spaniards repeatedly undertook punitive expeditions to prevent permanent settlements.

It was clear that only permanent settlement by Spanish colonists would sustainably substantiate the claim to power. The province was administratively established by decree of the viceroy Juan Francisco de Güemes y Horcasitas in September 1746. The first settlement followed in 1748 by an expedition headed by José de Escandón to the north, which should form the vanguard of a Spanish colonization. Escandón acted as the first governor of the newly established province.

expansion

The colony was initially named Colonia de la Costa del Seno Mexicano (German: Colony on the Gulf Coast); In addition to other settlements, the settlement of Laredo was founded in 1755 , which was to become the most important city and the administrative center of the colony. Nuevo Santander grew to 30,000 residents by the end of the 18th century - more than Texas had at that time.

In 1777 José de Gálvez y Gallardo reformed the Spanish colonial empire from the ground up. New Spain was also reorganized: Nuevo Santander became part of the Comandancia General de las Provincias Internas (German: General Command of the Inner Provinces), which under Theodor de Croix was to remain largely autonomous from the rest of the viceroyalty.

In 1786, Governor Manuel de Escandón , the son of the founding governor , developed the idea of ​​elevating the part north of the Rio Grande to a province of its own. It was hoped that the sea and the river would bring new settlers and trade impulses into the country. The plans failed because of the death of the viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez . On an inspection trip in 1795 , Félix María Calleja del Rey found that the volume of trade was insignificant and proposed that the ports on the Gulf Coast be opened to trade.

War of Independence

During the Mexican War of Independence , the farrier Bernardo de Gutiérrez de Lara from Laredo, with the help of supporters from the USA, attempted to defeat the Spaniards with a force of around 300 filibusters . They were defeated by Spanish forces in the Battle of Medina in 1813 .

After Mexico gained independence, Nuevo Santander was one of the 24 provinces of the Mexican Empire . The name was soon changed to Tamaulipas ; In 1848 after the Mexican-American War , the area north of the Río Grande fell to Texas ; the area south of it formed the present-day borders of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

See also

swell