Stephen F. Austin is probably the most well-known empresario, both because of the size of his colony and his later role in the Texas Revolution. His colony, known as the Old Three Hundred, was the largest and most successful colony in the region. He worked tirelessly for the rights of the Texas colonists, even spending time in a Mexican prison for his efforts. I’m hoping to visit the historical site at San Felipe in the near future.
![]() |
click to enlarge |
We also chose to focus on Martin de Leon because his colony included the area where we live. He founded and lived in our city and is buried here. His colony was the only predominantly Mexican colony in Texas and his cattle brand was the first registered brand in the state. We really enjoyed reading about him in Martin De Leon: Tejano Empresario, a brief biography I found. It’s been fun to read about the history behind familiar landmarks and locations that we see on a daily basis.
Some of the resources we’ve used this week:
Globe
US map
Texas map
- Week One: Texas in Ancient Times
- Week Two: Earliest Explorers-Cabeza de Vaca
- Week Three: Earliest Explorers-La Salle
- Week Four: The Missions Era & Spanish Colonization
- Week Five: Presidio La Bahia & Mission Espiritu Santo