An empresario was a person who, in the early years of the settlement of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, had been granted the right to settle on Mexican land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for new settlers. The word is Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 for entrepreneur.

Background

In the late 18th century, Spain stopped allocating new lands in much of Spanish Texas

Spanish Texas

Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. Although Spain claimed ownership of the territory, which comprised part of modern-day Texas, including the land north of the Medina and Nueces Rivers, the Spanish did not attempt to colonize the area until after...

, stunting the growth of the province. The policy was reversed in 1820, when Spanish law allowed colonists of any religion to settle in Texas. Only one man, Moses Austin

Moses Austin

Moses Austin played a large part in the development of the American lead industry and is the father of Stephen F. Austin, a leading American settler of Texas. He was the first to be allowed to gather Anglo Americans for settlement in Spanish Texas...

, was granted an empresarial contract under Spanish law. But Moses Austin died before he could begin his colony, and Mexico achieved its independence

Mexican War of Independence

The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...

 from Spain in September 1821. At this time, about 3500 people lived in Texas, mostly congregated at San Antonio and La Bahia.

The Mexican government continued the immigration policies. Even as the government debated a new colonization law, Stephen F. Austin

Stephen F. Austin

Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...

, son of Moses Austin, was given permission to take over his father's colonization contract. The first group of colonists, known as the Old Three Hundred

Old Three Hundred

The Old Three Hundred is a term used to describe the 297 grantees, made up of families and some partnerships of unmarried men, who purchased 307 parcels of land from Stephen Fuller Austin and established a colony near present day Brenham in Washington County, Texas.Moses Austin was the original...

, arrived in 1822 and settled along the Brazos River

Brazos River

The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...

, ranging from the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 to near present-day Dallas. Immigration was approved on a wider basis in 1824 when the General Colonization Law

General Colonization Law

The Colonization Law of August 18, 1824 was a Mexican statute allowing foreigners to immigrate to the country.-Background:Under Spanish rule, New Spain was populated almost solely with native peoples or Spanish settlers. Foreign immigration was forbidden for much of the country...

 of 1824 was passed. This law enabled all heads of household who were citizens of or immigrants to Mexico to be eligible to claim land. After the law passed, the state government of Coahuila y Tejas

Coahuila y Tejas

Coahuila y Tejas was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution.It had two capitals: first Saltillo, and then Monclova...

 was inundated with requests to allow foreign speculators to establish colonies within the state. There was no shortage of people willing to come to Texas. The United States was still struggling with the aftermath of the Panic of 1819

Panic of 1819

The Panic of 1819 was the first major financial crisis in the United States, and had occurred during the political calm of the Era of Good Feelings. The new nation previously had faced a depression following the war of independence in the late 1780s and led directly to the establishment of the...

, and soaring land prices within the United States made the Mexican land policy seem very generous.

Most successful empresarios recruited primarily in the United States. Only two of the groups who attempted to recruit in Europe built lasting colonies, Refugio

Refugio, Texas

Refugio is a town in Refugio County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,941 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Refugio County. Although the town's name is derived from Spanish, a vast majority of the town's residents pronounce it re-fury-oh. The Spanish pronunciation is...

 and San Patricio

San Patricio, Texas

San Patricio is a city in Nueces and San Patricio Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 318 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, San Patricio, located at , has a total area of 3.9 square miles , of which, 3.8 square miles of it is...

. These colonies were successful in part because the empresarios spoke Spanish, were familiar with Mexican ways, and allowed local Mexican families to join their colonies.

Rules for settlers

Unlike its predecessor, the Mexican law required immigrants to practice Catholicism and stressed that foreigners needed to learn Spanish. 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 became squatters.

Under the new laws, people who did not already possess property in Texas could claim one square league (4438 acres) of irrigable land, with an additional league available to those who owned cattle. Empresarios and individuals with large families were exempt from the limit.

Notable empresarios

Empresario	Colony location	Capital	Notes
Stephen F. Austin Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...	between Brazos and Colorado rivers	San Felipe	(son of Moses Austin Moses Austin Moses Austin played a large part in the development of the American lead industry and is the father of Stephen F. Austin, a leading American settler of Texas. He was the first to be allowed to gather Anglo Americans for settlement in Spanish Texas... ) considered by many the "Father of Texas".
David G. Burnet David G. Burnet David Gouverneur Burnet was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas , second Vice President of the Republic of Texas , and Secretary of State for the new state of Texas after it was annexed to the United States of America.Burnet was born in Newark,...
Martín De León Martín De León Martín De León was a rancher and wealthy Mexican empresario descended from Spanish aristocracy. He was the patriarch of one of the prominent founding families of early Texas. De León and his wife Patricia de la Garza established De León's Colony, the only predominantly Mexican colony in Texas...		Victoria Victoria, Texas Victoria is a city in and the seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census,...	Only Mexican-born empresario
Green DeWitt Green DeWitt Green DeWitt was an empresario in Mexican Texas. He founded the DeWitt Colony, one of the most successful.-Early years:...	DeWitt Colony Dewitt Colony The Dewitt Colony was a settlement in Mexican Texas founded by Green DeWitt. From lands belonging to that colony, the present Texas counties of DeWitt, Guadalupe and Lavaca were created...	Gonzales
Haden Harrison Edwards Haden Harrison Edwards Haden Edwards was a Texas settler and land speculator. Edwards County, Texas on the Edwards Plateau is named for him. In 1825, Edwards received a land grant from the Mexican government, allowing him to settle families in East Texas...	East Texas East Texas East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...  – from the Navasota River Navasota River The Navasota River is a river in east Texas, USA. It is about 125 miles long, beginning near Mount Calm and flowing south into the Brazos River at a point where Brazos County, Grimes County, and Washington County meet.-Name:...  to 20 leagues League (unit) A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...  west of the Sabine River, and from 20 leagues north of the Gulf of Mexico to 15 leagues north of the town of Nacogdoches.	Nacogdoches	Expelled from Texas after launching the Fredonia Rebellion Fredonia (Texas) The Fredonian Rebellion, between December 21, 1826 – January 31, 1827, was the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the Republic of Fredonia near Nacogdoches...  in 1827
Benjamin Drake Lovell and John Purnell			Attempted to establish a socialist colony Socialism Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,... ; Purnell died and Lovell abandoned the colony in 1826; land later given to McMullen and McGloin.
John McMullen and James McGloin		San Patricio, TX	of Irish descent, these men recruited primarily European settlers
James Power James Power (empresario) James Power was an Irish-born Texan empresario, politician and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, known for the land grant he received with partner James Hewetson that included the coastal area between the mouths of the Guadalupe and Nueces Rivers, as well as his founding and service...  and James Hewetson	land between Guadalupe and Lavaca rivers	San Patricio	Half of settlers were to come from Ireland, the other half from Mexico.
Sterling C. Robertson Sterling C. Robertson Sterling Clack Robertson was an empresario from Tennessee, during Mexican Texas. He introduced 600 families into Robertson's Colony. Robertson was also an elected delegate to the Washington-on-the-Brazos convention, signing both the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the...	An area along the Brazos River Brazos River The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...  about 100 miles wide and 200 miles long, centered on Waco, comprising all or some of thirty present-day counties in Central Texas.		At various times also called Robertson's Colony Robertson's Colony Robertson's Colony was an empresario colonization effort during the Mexican Texas period. It is named after Sterling C. Robertson, but had previously been known by other names... , the Texas Association, Leftwich's Grant, the Nashville colony, or the upper colony.
Lorenzo de Zavala Lorenzo de Zavala Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Saenz was a 19th-century Mexican politician. He served as finance minister under President Vicente Guerrero. A colonizer and statesman, he was also the interim Vice President of the Republic of Texas, serving under interim President David G...
Henri Castro Henri Castro Henri Castro , a Jewish Texan, was one of the most important empresarios of the Republic of Texas.-Early life:...

After the Republic of Texas

Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

 won its independence from Mexico

Battle of San Jacinto

The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen...

, the young nation continued its own version of the empresario program, offering grants to French diplomat Henri Castro

Henri Castro

Henri Castro , a Jewish Texan, was one of the most important empresarios of the Republic of Texas.-Early life:...

 and abolitionist Charles Fenton Mercer, among others.

External links

Maps:

• Texas Land Grants and Political Divisions, 1821-1836, from the Atlas of Texas, 1976
• T. G. Bradford's Map of Texas, 1835