Colonizing Texas, 1821–1830

Texas History The Spanish and Mexican Eras Colonizing Texas, 1821–1830
Students study the factors affecting colonization of Texas during the Mexican era. They learn about the various Mexican colonization laws. Then they learn about the motivations for Anglo-American settlers to come to Texas. Finally, they learn about the role of empresarios in the colonization of Texas.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

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Here are the teacher pack items for Colonizing Texas, 1821–1830:

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Overview

In this experience, students study the factors affecting colonization of Texas during the Mexican era. They learn about the various Mexican colonization laws. Then they learn about the motivations for Anglo-American settlers to come to Texas. Finally, they learn about the role of empresarios in the colonization of Texas.

Note that there are three interrelated experiences that deal with settlement of Texas in the period of 1821–1830:

  • Colonizing Texas, 1821–1830 (this experience): focuses on the legal side of settlement
  • Austin’s Texas Colony: focuses on Stephen F. Austin and recruitment of settlers
  • Life in the Texas Settlements: focuses on life in the settlements

There are two general resources provided to students in the pack of all three experiences: a timeline of events in Texas history from 1826–1842 and a video (30 minutes). You can refer students to these resources at any point during these experiences.

Objectives:

  • Discuss how Mexico’s independence from Spain affected the population in Texas.
  • Identify how colonization laws impacted Texas.
  • Analyze why people migrated to Texas.
  • Identify the contributions that empresarios, such as Martin De Leon and Green DeWitt, had on the Mexican settlement of Texas.


When the Spanish lost control of Texas, it had a population of about 7,000 colonists. By 1831, it had grown to about 20,000 settlers. In this experience, you will learn about the factors that affected this growth in population.

Objectives:

  • Discuss how Mexico’s independence from Spain affected the population in Texas.
  • Identify how colonization laws impacted Texas.
  • Analyze why people migrated to Texas.
  • Identify the contributions that empresarios, such as Martin De Leon and Green DeWitt, had on the Mexican settlement of Texas.


man with a dog and a rifle, outdoors

Stephen F. Austin, Father of Texas


The word empresario is Spanish for entrepreneur. If you are unfamiliar with the word entrepreneur, look it up in the dictionary. 


In a word or short phrase, post something that an entrepreneur might do.

Post your answer

An entrepreneur is a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and possible risk. Entrepreneurs are usually identified as founders of business, inventors of ideas who take them to market, and developers of new processes.

After students learn about empresarios, they will be asked to explain the connection between empresarios and modern entrepreneurs.


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The Complete List of Learning Experiences in Mexican National Era Unit.
Texas History The Spanish and Mexican Eras Life in the Texas Settlements
Life in the Texas Settlements
Texas History The Spanish and Mexican Eras Mexico-United States Relations in the 1820s
Mexico-United States Relations in the 1820s
Texas History The Spanish and Mexican Eras Texas During the Mexican War of Independence
Texas During the Mexican War of Independence
Texas History The Spanish and Mexican Eras Colonizing Texas, 1821–1830
Colonizing Texas, 1821–1830
Texas History The Spanish and Mexican Eras The Weakening of Spanish Rule
The Weakening of Spanish Rule
Texas History The Spanish and Mexican Eras Austin's Texas Colony
Austin’s Texas Colony
Texas History The Spanish and Mexican Eras Unit Review
The Spanish and Mexican Eras: Unit Review
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