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N0KFQ > TODAY 03.10.11 03:38l 45 Lines 2013 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 12431_KB0WSA
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Subj: Today in History - Oct 2
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Sent: 111003/0221Z 12431@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
Oct 2, 1835:
First shots of the Texas Revolution fired in the Battle of
Gonzales
On this day in 1835, the growing tensions between Mexico and
Texas erupt into violence when Mexican soldiers attempt to disarm
the people of Gonzales, sparking the Texan war for independence.
Texas--or Tejas as the Mexicans called it--had technically been a
part of the Spanish empire since the 17th century. However, even
as late as the 1820s, there were only about 3,000 Spanish-Mexican
settlers in Texas, and Mexico City's hold on the territory was
tenuous at best. After winning its own independence from Spain in
1821, Mexico welcomed large numbers of Anglo-American immigrants
into Texas in the hopes they would become loyal Mexican citizens
and keep the territory from falling into the hands of the United
States. During the next decade men like Stephen Austin brought
more than 25,000 people to Texas, most of them Americans. But
while these emigrants legally became Mexican citizens, they
continued to speak English, formed their own schools, and had
closer trading ties to the United States than to Mexico.
In 1835, the president of Mexico, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna,
overthrew the constitution and appointed himself dictator.
Recognizing that the "American" Texans were likely to use his
rise to power as an excuse to secede, Santa Anna ordered the
Mexican military to begin disarming the Texans whenever possible.
This proved more difficult than expected, and on October 2, 1835,
Mexican soldiers attempting to take a small cannon from the
village of Gonzales encountered stiff resistance from a hastily
assembled militia of Texans. After a brief fight, the Mexicans
retreated and the Texans kept their cannon.
The determined Texans would continue to battle Santa Ana and his
army for another year and a half before winning their
independence and establishing the Republic of Texas.
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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