Our Catliolic Heritage in Texas
San Antonio to see the governor. Captain Ugarte was so favorably impressed by the applicant that he endorsed his petition. But Elguezabal and Salcedo. who were much more experienced than Ugarte and were with reason suspicious of Americans, had misgivings about permitting the exploration of the coastal region, particularly at that time. Since the Louisiana Purchase, relations between Spain and the United States had become strained over the boundary dispute. Minor was immediately informed, therefore, that he could not carry out the commission of Casa Calvo, and that the decision on his request to enter Texas as a settler was still pending. A few months later, on August 4, 1805, Governor Elguezabal, after making a thorough investigation, recommended to Salcedo that Minor be refused permission to settle in Spanish territory. He also made the observation that Ugarte had been hasty in judging Minor's character. Shortly thereafter he was informed of this decision, and asked to leave the province. 39 Casa Calvo's interest in tlie settlement of Texas. The Marques de Casa Calvo evinced an unusual interest in the settlement of the lower Trinity and the area between this river and the Sabine. A possible explanation for this interest may be found in his friendship with C. C. Robin, a French traveler, with whom he had become familiar in New Orleans. Robin made an interesting and detailed report to the French Government, in which he outlined the policy that France should adopt for North America. Some of the measures he advocated seem to be reflected in the actions of Casa Calvo. It was Robin's opinion that the country lying between Texas and the interior of Mexico was most valuable and enticing. He pointed out that, if Spain made no effort to occupy this territory by establishing settlements with immigrants from Europe and America, as had been done on the Wichita, the American frontiersmen would take it. He then suggested the settlement of this area with French immigrants, who, he declared, would prove more than a match for the unscrupulous Americans. 40 May not this explain in part the interest of Casa Calvo in the colonization of the lower Trinity? 39 Jose Joaquin Ugarte to Elguezabal, October I, I 804; Salcedo to Elguezabal, October 22, I 804; Elguezabal to Salcedo, November 2 I, 1804, Quaderno Borrador, January 4-December 19, 1804; Dionisio Valle to Elguezabal, April S, 1805. Bexar Arc/,ives. 4 0Memoire par C. C. Robin, Auteur du Voyage a la Louisiane et !es Colonies et Conduite que doit tenir la France Relativement au continent de L'Amerique Septen- trionale par C. C. Robin. Afjaires Etrangeres, £lats Vnis, Paris Archives, LX, pp. 337-341.
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