Anempresario (Spanish pronunciation:[em.pɾe.ˈsaɾ.jo]) was a person who had been granted the right to settle on land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for settling the eastern areas ofCoahuila y Tejas in the early nineteenth century.
Sinceempresarios attracted immigrants mostly from theSouthern United States, they encouraged the spread ofslavery into Texas. AlthoughMexico bannedslavery in 1829, the settlers in Texas revolted in 1835 and continued to develop the economy, dominated by slavery, in the eastern part of the territory. However, slavery is not mentioned once in theTexas Declaration of Independence
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In the late 18th century, Spain stopped allocating new lands in much ofSpanish Texas, stunting the growth of the province.[1] It changed this policy in 1820, and made it more flexible, allowing colonists of any religion to settle in Texas (formerly settlers were required to be Catholic, the established religion of the Spanish Empire).[2]Moses Austin, an American colonist, was the only man granted anempresarial contract in Texas under Spanish law. But Moses Austin died before he could begin his colony, and Mexicoachieved its independence from Spain in September 1821. At this time, about 3500 colonists lived in Texas, mostly congregated atSan Antonio andLa Bahia.[3]
The Mexican government continued the generous immigration policies in order to develop east Texas.[4] Even as the government debated a new colonization law,Stephen F. Austin, son of Moses Austin, was given permission to take over his father's colonization contract. Stephen F. Austin is probably the best known and most successful empresario in Texas. The first group of colonists, known as theOld Three Hundred, arrived in 1822 and settled along theBrazos River, ranging from theGulf of Mexico to near present-dayDallas.[5]
In 1823, Mexico’s authoritarian rulerAgustín de Iturbide enacted a colonization law authorizing the national government to enter into a contract granting land to an “empresario,” or promoter, who was required to recruit a minimum of two hundred families to settle the grant.[6]
Mexico approved immigration on a wider basis in 1824 with passage of theGeneral Colonization Law. This law authorized all heads of household who were citizens of or immigrants to Mexico as eligible to claim land.[4] After the law passed, the state government ofCoahuila y Tejas was inundated with requests by foreign speculators to establish colonies within the state.[7] There was no shortage of people willing to come to Texas. The United States was still struggling with the aftermath of thePanic of 1819, and soaring land prices within the United States made the Mexican land policy seem very generous.[7]
Most successful empresarios recruited colonists primarily in the United States. Only two of the groups that attempted to recruit in Europe built lasting colonies,Refugio andSan Patricio.[8][9] These colonies were successful in part because the empresarios spoke Spanish, were Catholic and generally familiar with Mexican ways, and allowed local Mexican families to join their colonies.[9]
In 1829, Mexico abolished slavery, which affected the Anglo-American settlers’ quest for wealth in building colonizations worked by enslaved Africans. They lobbied the Mexican government for a reversal of the ban and gained only a one-year extension to settle their affairs and free their bonded workers - the government refused to legalize slavery.
Unlike its predecessor, the Mexican law required immigrants to practice Catholicism and stressed that foreigners needed to learn Spanish.[10] Settlers were supposed to own property or have a craft or useful profession, and all people wishing to live in Texas were expected to report to the nearest Mexican authority for permission to settle. The rules were widely disregarded and many families becamesquatters.[11]
Under the new laws, people who did not already possess property in Texas couldclaim 4438 acres of irrigable land, with an additional 4438 available to those who owned cattle. Empresarios and individuals with large families were exempt from the limit.[12]
| Empresario | Colony location | Capital | Notes Empresido of Mexico inNew Madrid,Spanish Louisiana Territory, |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philip Alston (counterfeiter) | New Madrid,Spanish Louisiana Territory | New Orleans | sold land grants |
| Stephen F. Austin | Austin's Colony between Brazos and Colorado rivers | San Felipe De Austin | took over his fatherMoses Austin's empresario contract |
| David G. Burnet | East Texas, northwest of Nacogdoches | sold his land grant to the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company | |
| Martín De León | De León's Colony | Victoria | The only colony that was primarily Mexican and not Anglo-American[13] |
| Green DeWitt | DeWitt Colony | Gonzales | |
| Haden Harrison Edwards | East Texas – from theNavasota River to 20leagues west of the Sabine River, and from 20 leagues north of the Gulf of Mexico to 15 leagues north of the town of Nacogdoches.[14] | Nacogdoches | Expelled from Texas after launching theFredonia Rebellion in 1827 |
| Benjamin Drake Lovell and John Purnell | Attempted to establish asocialist colony; Purnell died and Lovell abandoned the colony in 1826; land was later given to McMullen and McGloin.[15] | ||
| John McMullen and James McGloin | San Patricio | of Irish descent, these men recruited primarily European settlers[9][16] | |
| James Power andJames Hewetson | Land between Guadalupe and Lavaca rivers.[17] | San Patricio andRefugio | Half of settlers were to come from Ireland, the other half from Mexico.[18] |
| Sterling C. Robertson | An area along theBrazos River about 100 miles wide and 200 miles long, centered on Waco, comprising all or some of thirty present-day counties in Central Texas.[19] | Sarahville | At various times also calledRobertson's Colony, the Texas Association, Leftwich's Grant, the Nashville colony, or the upper colony.[19] |
| Lorenzo de Zavala | southeastern Texas in theGalveston Bay Area | transferred ownership to the Galveston Bay and Texas Land Company | |
| Henri Castro | southwestern Texas on theMedina River | Castroville |
After theRepublic of Texas won itsindependence from Mexico, the young nation continued its own version of the empresario program, offering grants to French diplomatHenri Castro and abolitionistCharles Fenton Mercer, among others.
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