Monette, John W. History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Valley of the Mississippi, by the Three Great European Powers, Spain, France and Great Britain, and the Subsequent Occupation, Settlement, and Extension of Civil Government by the United States, Until the Year 1846, in two volumes, Volume II . New York: Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 1846. [format: book], [genre: history]. Permission: Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures, Aurora University
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for the support of the little colony, ⁶⁸⁰ while all beyond was but one remove from savage life. The principal articles cultivated by these colonies were corn, sugar-cane, beans, and other culinary vegetables, barely sufficient for home consumption.

The remainder of the country was left in its primitive condition, and such it remained, without any effort on the part of the government to reclaim it by emigration and settlement, until the final subversion of the regal power, and the emancipation of Mexico from the imbecile and improvident dominion of Spain.

[A.D. 1824.] On the 24th of October, 1824, the Mexican States adopted a Republican form of government, embracing "a confederation of independent states," known and designated as the "United States of Mexico." In this confederation the departments of Texas and Coahuila were admitted as one state, and were jointly represented in the Congress of Mexico.

Soon after the establishment of independence in the United States of Mexico, the colonization and settlement of Texas became a favorite subject of national policy with the new government. To attract population for the settlement of the country, colonization laws were enacted, to encourage enterprising individuals from foreign countries to establish large colonies of emigrants within the limits of Texas. Under the provisions of these laws enterprise was awakened in the United States and in some portions of Europe. Founders of colonies, or Empresarios, were induced to enter into engagements for the occupancy and settlement of large tracts of country, designated in their respective "grants;" the extent of the grant being proportionate to the number of colonists to be introduced. The first grant was made to Moses Austin, a native of Durham, Connecticut, in 1821, and under its provisions he was required by the Mexican authorities to introduce three hundred families from the United States. This enterprising man, having departed from Bexar for the introduction of his colony, died on his journey through the wilderness, leaving his plans of colonization to be prosecuted by his son, Colonel Stephen F. Austin, who possessed the talents, energy, and judgment requisite for the arduous undertaking. Having succeeded to his father's enterprise, he subsequently acquired more influence

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