381 Texas in the Spanish Empire

The vast and varied landscapes of Texas loom large in our American imaginations. As does Texas culture with its BBQ, cowboys, and larger-than-life personality. But before Texas was a place that embraced ranching, space flight, and country music, Texas was a place with rich and vibrant Indigenous cultures and traditions and with Spanish and Mexican cultures and traditions.

Martha Menchaca, a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Texas, Austin, is a scholar of Texas history and United States-Mexican culture. She joins us to explore the Spanish and Mexican origins of Texas with details from her book, The Mexican American Experience in Texas: Citizenship, Segregation, and the Struggle for Equality.

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/381



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Complementary Episodes

• Episode 037: Kathleen DuVal, Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution
• Episode 115: Andrew Torget, The Early American History of Texas
• Episode 178, Karoline Cook, Muslims & Moriscos in Colonial Spanish America
• Episode 241: Molly Warsh, Pearls & the Nature of the Spanish Empire
• Episode 334, Brandon Bayne, Missions and Mission Building in New Spain
• Episode 358: Charles Tingley, St Augustine and Early Florida
• Episode 371: Estevan Rael-Gálvez, An Archive of Indigenous Slavery

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Episode Transcript

Announcer (00:00):
You're listening to an AirWave Media Podcast.

Liz Covart (00:00):
Ben Franklin's World is a production of Colonial Williamsburg

Martha Menchaca (00:00):
The idea was that the frontier would be settled by people from

Liz Covart (00:00):
Hello and welcome to episode 381 of Ben Franklin's World, the podcast

Martha Menchaca (00:03):
Thank you.

Liz Covart (00:03):
So Martha's latest book, The Mexican American Experience in Texas,

Martha Menchaca (00:04):
Well, the settlement of Texas during the Spanish period was part

Liz Covart (00:06):
It sounds like the Spanish were going to undertake and actually settle

Martha Menchaca (00:07):
They began through a process called, I would say, stepping

Liz Covart (00:09):
Now that we have this overview of how and where the Spanish moved

Martha Menchaca (00:09):
The Spanish had been exploring what is Texas and North

Liz Covart (00:11):
As we've been talking, we have been referencing some very powerful

Martha Menchaca (00:12):
At the time that the Spanish arrived in Mexico, they arrived

Liz Covart (00:13):
In graduate school I graded both halves of the Mexican American

Martha Menchaca (00:14):
I do believe that it is the pivotal date because this is when the

Liz Covart (00:17):
Could we talk more about Indigenous resistance to Spanish settlement

Martha Menchaca (00:17):
Why they did that? It's an empire, they want more land. And

Liz Covart (00:19):
With our overview of Spanish settlement north of Mexico City and into

Martha Menchaca (00:20):
The first settlement, however, was what is called Los Adaes in

Liz Covart (00:22):
It's interesting that Father Olivares brought Xarame Indians from

Martha Menchaca (00:22):
There's various interpretations. The frontier settlements were

Liz Covart (00:25):
I don't know how we would like that, the inability to leave the colony

Martha Menchaca (00:25):
Yes. The first settlers that came with Governor Alarc—n and

Liz Covart (00:27):
I know we'd like to talk about the structure and governance of

Martha Menchaca (00:29):
Well, Spain had practiced what is called today la casta system, a

Liz Covart (00:32):
In the United States we often talk and think about citizenship and who

Martha Menchaca (00:32):
Yes. What people did, and what the archives and then the census

Liz Covart (00:34):
Yeah, there always does seem to be a difference between how the laws

Martha Menchaca (00:34):
Yes.

Liz Covart (00:34):
Martha, you mentioned the wars for independence, and before we get

Martha Menchaca (00:35):
Well, Latin America was divided into what is called five

Liz Covart (00:37):
This sounds like a familiar story for those of us who live in the United

Martha Menchaca (00:38):
Exactly, and then when the military was given more control

Liz Covart (00:39):
And yet Spain did lose Mexico. Three hundred years after the Spanish

Martha Menchaca (00:39):
The call for independence took place in 1810, issued by Father

Liz Covart (00:42):
When we zoom out and look at the Spanish Empire as a whole, Texas

Martha Menchaca (00:43):
Texas, one can say in terms of the general history of Mexico,

Liz Covart (00:44):
One of the curious things about Texas history, at least to me, is that

Martha Menchaca (00:45):
Yes, once independence took place Mexico needed the settlers

Liz Covart (00:48):
Texas did develop into this largely Anglo-American region of Mexico,

Martha Menchaca (00:49):
I would say what led to the Texas annexation to the United

Liz Covart (00:52):
The independent Republic of Texas was fairly short lived. Texas became

Martha Menchaca (00:53):
One of the reasons in my book that I started with the Spain is to

Liz Covart (00:55):
We should move into the "Time Warp." This is a fun segment of the

Martha Menchaca (00:56):
That would have been great for any people to accept that slavery

Liz Covart (00:57):
Martha, now that your book, The Mexican American Experience in

Martha Menchaca (00:57):
Right now I wanted to do some more detailed history on the

Liz Covart (00:58):
And where is a good place for us to reach out to you if we have more

Martha Menchaca (00:58):
I'm a professor of anthropology, and so the best place to contact

Liz Covart (00:58):
Martha Menchaca, thank you for taking us through the early history of

Martha Menchaca (00:58):
Well, thank you very much for inviting me.

Liz Covart (00:59):
Traditional histories of the United States often begin with Christopher