Revolutionary Tensions Boiling in Texas: Rumblings at SOSEBEE
The growing tension between Anglos living in Texas and Mexican authorities, and how these Anglos were reluctant to openly rebel.
When the Mexican Congress enacted the Act of April 6, 1830, the objectives of the conservative centralists became clear to both the English speakers of Texas and the liberal Federalist faction of Mexico.
Their goal was to consolidate control over the entire country, with Texas being a prime example.
The new centralist government took steps to strengthen the presidios of San Antonio, Goliad, and Nacogdoches, and announced plans to build six additional presidios in Texas.
The national government was the initial construction of the first three presidios: Tenoxtitlan, located about halfway along the Camino Real between San Antonio and Nacogdoches, served as a sentinel to regulate traffic between Mexico and the Anglo-Texan colonies; Located at the mouth of the Brazos River, Velasco is primarily responsible for enforcing newly imposed rates; and Anahuac, located at the head of Galveston Bay near the mouth of the Trinity River, and performs similar customs enforcement functions.
This segment explores the escalating tensions between Anglo-Saxons living in Texas and Mexican authorities, as well as the reluctance of Anglo-Saxons to openly rebel.
When the state government of Coahuila and Tejas strongly opposed certain measures, the Anglos in Texas found themselves more closely aligned with the Mexican faction that shared their sentiments.
This affiliation apparently gave them a political position alongside the Federalists, entangling them in the broader conflict within the nation.
Particularly in the early 1830s, leaders of the Anglo-Texan colonies, such as Stephen F. Austin, Green DeWitt, and José Antonio Navarro, who represented Texas in the Coahuila and Tejas legislatures, did not advocate or consider nor did they consider rebellion against Mexican authority.
Their resistance was mainly directed against the centralist regime.
While proponents of “work within the Mexican system” formed what would later be called the “Peace Party” in the early 1830s, the opposing party in Texas was a more radical group, soon known as the “Peace Party.” from the war’.
Although this faction eventually evolved into supporters of Mexico‘s secession, in its early days it expressed the most dissatisfaction with the April 6 law.
Its members, largely newly arrived Anglos, took into account elements of Mexican law such as immigration restrictions and customs duties and land policy changes as obstacles to their goals in Texas.
Friction between this faction and the new Mexican initiatives would lead to the first major confrontation between the Anglo-Saxons and the Mexican government.
The Mexican Customs and Anahuac Garrison were the first of the proposed entities to become operational. In the summer of 1832 it became a place of hostility.
William Barret Travis, a lawyer but also known for his cunning tendencies, visited the Mexican garrison in May 1832 on the pretext of retrieving a runaway slave.
When his request was denied, Travis was arrested by Commander Juan Bradburn for sedition. Anglos from the Liberty and Brazoria area marched on Anahuac to demand Travis’ release, resulting in a brief skirmish. Ultimately, Mexican commander José de las Piedras relieved Bradburn of command and freed Travis.
The Anglos then issued the Turtle Bayou Resolutions, affirming their support for Santa Anna’s struggle against the centralist government, rather than questioning Mexican sovereignty.
At the same time, General José Antonio de Santa Anna’s attempt to overthrow the centralist regime in Mexico provided an opportunity for English speakers in Texas to distance themselves from the rebellion.
They presented their actions in Anahuac and Velasco as support for Santa Anna’s cause, rather than as a challenge to Mexican sovereignty.
In Nacogdoches, Mexican commander José de las Piedras tried to avoid conflict by ordering residents to surrender their weapons to the Mexican garrison, causing further tensions.
