Professor Nicole Hemmer

And slavery. Yes, the slave system was a big question, whether slavery would be allowed in Texas or not.

Exactly. So the question with Texas was that it was very sparsely populated when independence happened in the United States and then subsequently in Mexico. The entire northern part of Mexico was not very populated. There were still a lot of lands under indigenous control and the Mexican government in Mexico City really wanted to populate.

Exactly. So the question with Texas was that it was very sparsely populated when independence happened in the United States and then subsequently in Mexico. The entire northern part of Mexico was not very populated. There were still a lot of lands under indigenous control and the Mexican government in Mexico City really wanted to populate.

Exactly. So the question with Texas was that it was very sparsely populated when independence happened in the United States and then subsequently in Mexico. The entire northern part of Mexico was not very populated. There were still a lot of lands under indigenous control and the Mexican government in Mexico City really wanted to populate.

And ideally they hoped that European, especially Spanish-descended peoples of Catholic faith would move to the northern parts of Mexico and modernize the indigenous population there and establish solid Mexican control over the territory. And that just wasn't happening. But the people who were willing to move to these territories were

And ideally they hoped that European, especially Spanish-descended peoples of Catholic faith would move to the northern parts of Mexico and modernize the indigenous population there and establish solid Mexican control over the territory. And that just wasn't happening. But the people who were willing to move to these territories were

And ideally they hoped that European, especially Spanish-descended peoples of Catholic faith would move to the northern parts of Mexico and modernize the indigenous population there and establish solid Mexican control over the territory. And that just wasn't happening. But the people who were willing to move to these territories were

were white southerners, white US southerners, who were interested in getting cheap land. And they signed these agreements with the Mexican government, promising to convert to Catholicism, promising to settle a certain distance away from the border to kind of hope that they would be more fully integrated into the Mexican nation.

were white southerners, white US southerners, who were interested in getting cheap land. And they signed these agreements with the Mexican government, promising to convert to Catholicism, promising to settle a certain distance away from the border to kind of hope that they would be more fully integrated into the Mexican nation.

were white southerners, white US southerners, who were interested in getting cheap land. And they signed these agreements with the Mexican government, promising to convert to Catholicism, promising to settle a certain distance away from the border to kind of hope that they would be more fully integrated into the Mexican nation.

But they didn't really honor those agreements and they still considered themselves more Americans than Mexican. And eventually they outnumbered Spanish-born or Mexican-born people in that territory by some measure of 10 to 1 or something. And so they were the ones who ended up populating Mexico.

But they didn't really honor those agreements and they still considered themselves more Americans than Mexican. And eventually they outnumbered Spanish-born or Mexican-born people in that territory by some measure of 10 to 1 or something. And so they were the ones who ended up populating Mexico.

But they didn't really honor those agreements and they still considered themselves more Americans than Mexican. And eventually they outnumbered Spanish-born or Mexican-born people in that territory by some measure of 10 to 1 or something. And so they were the ones who ended up populating Mexico.

Sure. So when Mexico becomes independent, it had just fought a relatively long independence war. And it was costly, it was bloody, and the new state that emerges from that independence war is very weak. And they have a lot of trouble establishing control over... Territories that are farther away from Mexico City, especially in the north, but also in the south.

Sure. So when Mexico becomes independent, it had just fought a relatively long independence war. And it was costly, it was bloody, and the new state that emerges from that independence war is very weak. And they have a lot of trouble establishing control over... Territories that are farther away from Mexico City, especially in the north, but also in the south.

Sure. So when Mexico becomes independent, it had just fought a relatively long independence war. And it was costly, it was bloody, and the new state that emerges from that independence war is very weak. And they have a lot of trouble establishing control over... Territories that are farther away from Mexico City, especially in the north, but also in the south.

And Texas is one of those places where they just can't establish control. And one of the biggest questions is this question of slavery. So the central Mexican government outlaws slavery much earlier than the United States. So slavery is no longer allowed in Mexico, but it is in the United States in the southern parts.

And Texas is one of those places where they just can't establish control. And one of the biggest questions is this question of slavery. So the central Mexican government outlaws slavery much earlier than the United States. So slavery is no longer allowed in Mexico, but it is in the United States in the southern parts.

And Texas is one of those places where they just can't establish control. And one of the biggest questions is this question of slavery. So the central Mexican government outlaws slavery much earlier than the United States. So slavery is no longer allowed in Mexico, but it is in the United States in the southern parts.

And these settlers who had colonized Texas, supposedly on behalf of the Mexican government, were from the South and they were interested in maintaining their slave system. And so that was one of the issues where they said, you know, this is too much central control. They're trying to dictate our lives. And so that was a big issue driving this push for colonization.