Cultural Patterns and Landscapes of Texas

During the three centuries that Spain ruled Mexico, few Mexican settlers moved to the large area that is now Texas.

Although Texas’s climate and abundant natural resources make it ideal for farming, problems such as tension with Native Americans kept many settlers away. 

The earliest Spanish settlements in the Southwest were Roman Catholic missions.

After Mexico gained its independence, the government took over the missions, giving the land to Mexican officials and farmers.

Some of these settlers captured Native Americans and treated them like slaves. 

Native Americans fought back by raiding settlements and stealing livestock. In an attempt to protect their land and citizens, the Mexican government worked to bring more settlers to their northern provinces.

They gave land grants to empresarios, who attracted English speaking American and European settlers, or Anglos.

In exchange for cheap land, the new settlers agreed to become naturalized Mexican citizens. Anglos soon outnumbered Mexican settlers, also called Tejanos. 

The new Anglo population grew tired of Mexican rule. Rebellions cropped up around the state, and the Texas Revolution began. In 1836, the Republic of Texas declared independence, naming Sam Houston as its president.

In 1845, Texas joined the Union as the 28th state, leading to the Mexican-American war. After the war, Mexico gave up its claim to Texas. 

Texas is the second largest state, and the landscape is quite varied.

There are four natural regions: the Gulf coastal plains, the Great Plains, the interior plains, and the basin and range region.

Covering the southeast, the coastal plains have the lowest elevation.

The Great Plains are in Central Texas and extend up to the Panhandle.

Between those two regions fall the interior plains, which are home to most of Texas’s agriculture.

The basin and range region, located in the western part of the state, is dry and rocky. 

Historically, the three main Texas industries have been cotton, cattle, and crude (oil).

Cheap land attracted cotton farmers, and the open plains were ideal for raising cattle. When oil was found in Texas in 1901, America became the world’s largest producer of crude oil.

More oil deposits were found later, attracting prospectors, oil field workers, and a variety of business people who saw an opportunity to make money in the boomtowns that sprang up near oil discoveries. When oil prices skyrocketed, the economy of Texas quickly grew even larger.

Oil and cattle production are still important, but the economy has changed and diversified in the 21st century.

Jobs in technology, health care, and other service industries are now major contributors to Texas’s economy. 

The population of Texas is equally diverse. With 25 million inhabitants, Texas is the second most populous state.

While Anglos are the largest ethnic group, Latinos are a close second. 

Texas is known for its distinctive culture, which has been shaped in part by its close relationship with Mexico.

Through diffusion, the spread of people, goods, and ideas from one place to another, Mexico has heavily influenced the cultural patterns of Texas. 

The cowboy was another major influence on Texas’s culture. Ranchers used open land in Texas to raise huge herds of longhorn cattle. They needed to hire cowboys to drive their cattle up the Chisholm Trail, the major cattle route that stretched from Texas to Kansas. During the heyday of the cowboy— between 1866 and 1885—around 55,000 cowboys worked in Texas.

Although the cowboy may seem like an American institution, many of the cowboy’s tools, traditions, and vocabulary were influenced by Mexican cowboys, or vaqueros. 

Also important in Texas culture is the Alamo, a battle site of the Texas Revolution. After Texans began to fight for independence, the Mexican president, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, led an army of 4,000 men toward Texas.  

Texans began to prepare, and a small group of Texan fighters took over the Alamo, an abandoned mission and fort in San Antonio. Santa Anna’s army marched into San Antonio and attacked the small fort. Although the 187 Texans at the Alamo defended it for 13 days, they were all killed during the battle. 

When the Texas military defeated the Mexican army six weeks later, their battle cry was “Remember the Alamo!” They captured Santa Anna and forced him to sign a treaty that gave Texas its independence. Soon, a new flag with a single star flew over Texas, which would later give Texas the nickname “the Lone Star State.” The battle of the Alamo became an important symbol of Texas’s fight for freedom and independence. 

Because of Texas’s history and the state’s geographical proximity to Mexico, Tejano and Anglo cultures have continued to intermingle and influence each other.

The results of this cultural diffusion include Tejano music and Tex-Mex food, which have become popular throughout the United States.