Provides biographical sketches of the men and women who discovered, explored, and settled Spanish Texas from 1528 to 1821, including profiles of religious figures, governors, pioneers, Indian agents, and army captains.

In Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas, Donald Chipman and Harriett Joseph combined dramatic, real-life incidents, biographical sketches, and historical background to reveal the real human beings behind the legendary figures who discovered, explored, and settled Spanish Texas from 1528 to 1821. Drawing from their earlier book and adapting the language and subject matter to the reading level and interests of middle and high school students, the authors here present the men and women of Spanish Texas for young adult readers and their teachers. These biographies demonstrate how much we have in common with our early forebears. Profiled in this book are: Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: Ragged Castaway Francisco Vázquez de Coronado: Golden Conquistador María de Agreda: Lady in Blue Alonso de León: Texas Pathfinder Domingo Terán de los Ríos / Francisco Hidalgo: Angry Governor and Man with a Mission Louis St. Denis / Manuela Sánchez: Cavalier and His Bride Antonio Margil de Jesús: God's Donkey Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo: Chicken War Redeemer Felipe de Rábago y Terán: Sinful Captain José de Escandón y Elguera: Father of South Texas Athanase de Mézières: Troubled Indian Agent Domingo Cabello: Comanche Peacemaker Marqués de Rubí / Antonio Gil Ibarvo: Harsh Inspector and Father of East Texas Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara / Joaquín de Arredondo: Rebel Captain and Vengeful Royalist Women in Colonial Texas: Pioneer Settlers Women and the Law: Rights and Responsibilities

In Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas, Donald Chipman and Harriett Joseph combined dramatic, real-life incidents, biographical sketches, and historical background to reveal the real human beings behind the legendary figures who discovered, explored, and settled Spanish Texas from 1528 to 1821. Drawing from their earlier book and adapting the language and subject matter to the reading level and interests of middle and high school students, the authors here present the men and women of Spanish Texas for young adult readers and their teachers. These biographies demonstrate how much we have in common with our early forebears. Profiled in this book are: -- Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca: Ragged Castaway -- Francisco Vazquez de Coronado: Golden Conquistador -- Maria de Agreda: Lady in Blue -- Alonso de Leon: Texas Pathfinder -- Domingo Teran de los Rios / Francisco Hidalgo: Angry Governor and Man with a Mission -- Louis St. Denis / Manuela Sanchez: Cavalier and His Bride -- Antonio Margil de Jesus: God's Donkey -- Marques de San Miguel de Aguayo: Chicken War Redeemer -- Felipe de Rabago y Teran: Sinful Captain -- Jose de Escandon y Elguera: Father of South Texas -- Athanase de Mezieres: Troubled Indian Agent -- Domingo Cabello: Comanche Peacemaker -- Marques de Rubi / Antonio Gil Ibarvo: Harsh Inspector and Father of East Texas -- Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara / Joaquin de Arredondo: Rebel Captain and Vengeful Royalist -- Women in Colonial Texas: Pioneer Settlers -- Women and the Law: Rights and Responsibilities

This revised and expanded edition of the authoritative history of Spanish Texas features significant new discoveries throughout. Modern Texas, like Mexico, traces its beginning to sixteenth-century encounters between Europeans and Indians. Unlike Mexico, however, Texas eventually received the stamp of Anglo-American culture, so that Spanish contributions to present-day Texas tend to be obscured or even unknown. Spanish Texas, 1519–1821 undercores the significance of the Spanish period in Texas history. Beginning with an overview of the land and its inhabitants before the arrival of Europeans, it covers major people and events from early exploration to the end of the colonial era. This new edition of Spanish Texas has been extensively revised and expanded to include a wealth of new discoveries. The opening chapter on Texas Indians reveals their high degree of independence from European influence. Other chapters incorporate new information on La Salle's Garcitas Creek colony and French influences in Texas, the destruction of the San Sabá mission and the Spanish punitive expedition to the Red River in the late 1750s, and eighteenth-century Bourbon reforms in the Americas. Drawing on new and original research, the authors shed new light on the experience of women in Spanish Texas across ethnic, racial, and class distinctions, including new revelations about their legal rights on the Texas frontier.

Author Harriett Denise Joseph relates biographies of eleven notable Mexicanos and Tejanos, beginning with Santa Anna and the impact his actions had on Texas. She discusses the myriad contributions of Erasmo and Juan Seguín to Texas history, as well as the factors that led a hero of the Texas Revolution (Juan) to be viewed later as a traitor by his fellow Texans. Admired by many but despised by others, folk hero Juan Nepomuceno Cortina is one of the most controversial figures in the history of nineteenth-century South Texas. Preservationist and historian Adina De Zavala fought to save part of the Alamo site and other significant structures. Labor activist Emma Tenayuca’s youth, passion, courage, and sacrifice merit attention for her efforts to help the working class. Joseph reveals the individual and collective accomplishments of a powerhouse couple, bilingual educator Edmundo Mireles and folklorist-author Jovita González. She recognizes the military and personal battles of Medal of Honor recipient Raul “Roy” Benavidez. Irma Rangel, the first Latina to serve in the Texas House of Representatives, is known for the many “firsts” she achieved during her lifetime. Finally, we read about Selena’s life and career, as well as her tragic death and her continuing marketability.

In the late seventeenth century, General Alonso de León led five military expeditions from northern New Spain into what is now Texas in search of French intruders who had settled on lands claimed by the Spanish crown. Lola Orellano Norris has identified sixteen manuscript copies of de León’s meticulously kept expedition diaries. These documents hold major importance for early Texas scholarship. Some of these early manuscripts have been known to historians, but never before have all sixteen manuscripts been studied. In this interdisciplinary study, Norris transcribes, translates, and analyzes the diaries from two different perspectives. The historical analysis reveals that frequent misinterpretations of the Spanish source documents have led to substantial factual errors that have persisted in historical interpretation for more than a century. General Alonso de León’s Expeditions into Texas is the first presentation of these important early documents and provides new vistas on Spanish Texas.

Modern Texas, like Mexico to the south, traces its beginning to sixteenth-century encounters between Spaniards, Native American peoples, and a vast land unexplored by Europeans. Unlike Mexico, however, Texas eventually received the stamp of Anglo-American culture, so that Spanish contributions to present-day Texas tend to be obscured or even unknown. In this pathfinding study, Donald E. Chipman draws on archival and secondary sources to write the story of Spain's three-hundred-year presence and continuing influence in the land that has become Texas. Chipman begins with the first European sighting of Texas shores in 1519. He goes on to chronicle the amazing eight-year (1528-1536) trek across much of southern Texas and northern Mexico that brought Cabeza de Vaca and three companions from a shipwreck near Galveston Island all the way to Mexico City. He records the exploits of Francisco Vazquez de Coronado and Luis Moscoso in the early 1540s and the subsequent 150-year hiatus in Spanish exploration in Texas. Chipman devotes much attention to the eighteenth century, a time of active Spanish colonization. He examines the role of missions, presidios, and civil settlements and discusses relations between the Spanish and other groups, including Native Americans, French explorers, and Anglo-Americans. Although Mexican independence ended the Spanish era in 1821, Chipman finds that Spain has left a substantial legacy in modern Texas. Ranching and its terminology sprang from Spanish vaqueros. Spanish precedents have shaped modern Texas law in the areas of judicial procedure, land and water law, and family law. Spanish influences abound in Texas art, architecture, music, and theater, not to mentionthe widely spoken Spanish language. And the Roman Catholic religion introduced by the Spaniards continues to have many adherents in Texas. In short, the rich history of Spain in Texas deserves to be widely known by "Texana buffs" and professional historians alike, and Spanish Texas, 1519-1821 is the one-volume source to consult.

Little has been written about the colonists sent by Spanish authorities to settle the northern frontier of New Spain, to stake Spain’s claim and serve as a buffer against encroaching French explorers. "Los Paisanos," they were called - simple country people who lived by their own labor, isolated, threatened by hostile Indians, and restricted by law from seeking opportunity elsewhere. They built their homes, worked their fields, and became permanent residents - the forebears of United States citizens - as they developed their own society and culture, much of which survives today.

In this book, readers take a look at Texas and the original explorers who first set eyes on this vast land hundreds of years ago. Featured adventurers include la Salle, Coronado, de Soto, and Cortés. Biographical sidebars give readers a more detailed understanding of Texas's most important explorers.