Six Flags Over Texas: The Battle Of The Alamo

There were six flags flown over Texas, and each flag has affected Texas history and the future for the people that live here one way or another. The first of the six flags were Spain, then it was France, Spain again, Mexico, Republic of Texas, United States of America, and finally Confederate States of America. This research paper will also include how each flag has impacted Texas today.

Spain was the first modern European nation to claim the land of Texas in 1519.

Explorer Cortez established Spanish presence in Mexico, and Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda was the first explorer to map out the coastline of Texas. In 1528 explorer Cabeza de Vaca’s ship wrecked on Galveston island and he then observed the interior of Texas, with that being said it still took more than a hundred years for Spain to plant their first settlement in 1681; Ysleta Mission was established in El Paso, Texas. In 1685, Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay was established by Robert Cavelier, Sieur de a Salle when France took over claim of Texas.

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Two years later La Salle was killed by his own men and Spain abandoned Texas for nearly a century and a half.

April 22nd, 1689 Mexican explorer Alonso de Leon found Fort St, Louis abandoned and planned for Spain to take over Texas. Once Texas was under Spain’s influence again, they settled along the Rio Grande valley, and catholic missions were established along with the towns of San Antonio, Goliad, and Nacogdoches.

The Spanish colony began with missions and presidios that were made to spread Christianity and gain control over the Texas region.

The missions were built on lands that were homes to natives so when there was a run in with the native people the Spanish people gave them two options, convert to Catholicism or die. The missions built by Spain helped them secure their power over Texas and Spain was the longest nation to remain sovereign over the land until 1821, when Mexico became independent.

France was the second flag to fly over Texas, planting their flag near the Gulf Coast, France made a bold move in 1685. France laid claim to the Mississippi river. French explorer La Salle was a dysfunctional man, who was sent by the French king Louis XIV to strengthen France’s claim over Texas. LA Salle and his colonists missed their target and ended up in Matagorda Bay, Texas. Some of the colonist went back to France and the rest of the people helped establish settlement Fort St. Louis. Several expeditions were searching for the Mississippi. On his last expedition, La Salle was murdered by one of his own men. There was disaster throughout La Salle’s journey, shipwrecks, disease, and massacre of the French settlers by the Karankawa Indians.

In 1803, when the United States purchased Louisiana territory from France, it created new types of immigration in eastern part of Texas, it created a relationship between Mexican and Spanish people. When Mexico won their independence from Spain in 1821, the leaders of both Mexico and the United States met and talked about the American settlers coming to Texas. The agreement was that Americans would be forced to obey the Mexican laws and be forced to learn Spanish.

The American settlers faced a new culture, and disliked the Indians just as much as the Mexicans, they were ignorant, and conniving. The Mexican policy brought settlers to Texas to stabilize the border, but resulted in American province. Even though anti-slavery was hardly enforced in Mexico, anyone who brought African slaves were at risk of losing them, which decreased southern immigration.

In East Texas, settlers showed little to no interest in Catholicism and other features of the culture. The Spanish Catholics and Protestant Anglos were a part of Texas Independence. The Anglos were non-Catholic and favored Texas Independence. Meanwhile, the Spanish Catholics were loyal to Mexico. The Anglos decided to promote their own independence from Mexico and brought slaves to Texas, there were a lot of Americans, and Mexicans that lived in Texas and wanted to break away from Mexico because they disliked the laws made by Santa Anna. The Texans then decided they wanted to fight and declare their independence from Mexico in 1835, right after President Santa Anna declared he was dictator.

After Texas declared independence, the Gonzales flag sparked a revolt with Mexico, Santa Anna and his troops outnumbered the Texan volunteer soldiers that were at the Alamo by thousands began to battle. For two weeks, led by James Bowie, William Travis, and Davy Crockett the soldiers fought and resisted giving up Texas Independence until, it finally ended with the deaths of all 187 members on March 6th, 1836. After hearing about the fall of the Alamo Sam Houston led soldiers eastward from Gonzalez, followed were scared civilians. First General of Texas, Sam Houston planned a surprise attack at San Jacinto, where him and his troops fortify Texas independence by demolishing Mexican army and capturing Mexican President Santa Anna and forced him to sign two treaties of Velasco, one that was public and the other secret, these treaties ended the Texas revolution. However, both sides violated the treaties because Texas independence was not respected by Mexico and the Boundary of Texas was not determined until 1848 when the Mexican war ended once the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. Texas was officially free from Mexico and also stood as its own nation separate from the United States for a decade.

Texans elected Sam Houston for president, and voted to join the United States, then made slavery legal. Mexico still wanted to keep Texas and President Van Buren feared war. President Van Buren disliked the idea of adding a new state to the Union that allowed slavery. President Buren was against annexation, but people who were for annex of Texas said it was the manifest Destiny; the philosophy that the new world in compass sea to shining sea. Congress finally agreed to annex Texas, when James Polk became President in 1845. In 1846 congress declared war because Mexico and the United States did not agree on the border between Texas and Mexico. Mexico City was captured by American soldiers in 1847, Mexico then agreed to Rio Grande as the Border, and then gave a large portion of land to the United States, that included the present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The United States flag was the fifth flag flown over Texas, and the present one used, there was a short period when Texas abandoned the United States flag for the Sixth from 1861 till 1865.

The sixth flag came from a time when Texas and eleven other slave states from the south withdrew from the United States and established the Confederate States of America. In 1861 a war over slavery, state rights, and westward expansion known as the civil war. The Emancipation Proclamation was part of the civil war, it helped declare slaves in rebellious states free, and changed the mindset to fight for human freedom. The war between the Union and confederacy was the deadliest war fought on American soil, and ended with Confederates surrender in 1865 and gave millions of slaves their freedom. After the Union victory, there were still challenges to reconstruct the south, and President Andrew Johnson made black codes to have control over the labor of former slaves. In 1867 African Americans were allowed to have a voice in the government for the first time in history, less than ten years later the Ku Klux Klan reversed the change that the radical reconstruction made through violence. After the backlash with supremacy was reinstated in the south.

Texas is truly unique because of the fact it had Six different flags, and used to be its own nation. Spain brought their religious beliefs and ideas, and because of that people now celebrate and believe in certain religious holidays. When France took over the people saw coming to Texas as an opportunity to get away from the French Revolution and the chance of Texas joining the United States. Mexico impacted Texas and the United states in a way because it opened up borders to immigrants, that led to battle and a new government. One of those battles being the Alamo, which Texans will forever remember the resistance of Texas to give up its independence, and after the Battle of the Alamo Texas later captured Santa Anna and he was forced to recognize Texas as its own nation, separate from Mexico and the United States. The Fifth flag was when Texas agreed to join the United States, this changed impacted Texas in a way that Mexico was forced to recognize the Rio Grande as the border, and then gave the United States land. The Confederate States of America, this was a fight for human freedom and the reconstruction of the south.

In conclusion, all very unique six flags created great history to look back on that still affect Texas and its citizens today. The History behind all the six flag has had some influence to Texas independent elections and public policy. From the first of the six flags that was Spain to a vicious France and then Spain once more, then the independence of Mexico, to the lonesome Republic of Texas, and then the great nation of the United States of America, and finally the unfortunate Confederate States of America, Texas will always be a colorful state no matter what flag is flown above its people.

References

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