CHAPTER V
PLANS FOR THE REORGANIZATION OF THE FRONTIER
It was the fear of foreign encroachment, particularly on the part of France, that had impelled Spanish officials to accede to the many petitions of the missionaries for the occupation of the remote Province of Texas. The news of La Salle's t1nfortunate venture in the Spanish domain had aroused New Spain and caused the mobilization of the land and sea forces of the mother country to expel intruders and to undertake the formal occupation of the territory threatened by foreign aggression. Ever since the establishment of the first missions in East Texas this apprehension of attack by enemies created the desire to make Texas secure against the advance of France in America. It had been the all powerful force which had animated the Spanish officials in their policy of defence. It was that determination to safeguard the interests of Spain at all costs in this remote province that also furnished the stirring motiva- tion for the support of missionary efforts, which attempted to bring about the complete evangelization and civilization among the natives of these extensive borderlands. Here may be found the chief reasons for the maintenance of a guard, the needs of the missions. For a few years prior to the destruction of San Saba and immediately following it, a new menace appeared in the horizon, faintly at first but significantly ominous. The aggressive English settlers of the Atlantic coast had begun to pour over the mountains into the fertile valleys of the Mississippi and its tributaries. The more daring pioneers and traders had begun to penetrate into both the French Province of Louisiana and those of New Spain. Spanish officials, however, had felt a certain measure of security behind the French outposts along the Mississippi, which acted as a buffer to the Spanish dominions beyond the great river. But this satisfaction and complacency were soon to be disturbed by an unforeseen circumstance which eliminated France from North America and brought the Spanish and English frontiers suddenly face to face. The Seven Years' War. Kindled in America, where it is better known as the French and Indian War, this struggle for colonial supremacy soon spread from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, across the seas, and on to distant India. On the widest battle front the world had known up to that [ 200]
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