Our Cntlr.olic Heritage i11 Tl'xas
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Significance of tl,e cession. Thus by a series of unforeseen circum- stances Spain suddenly found herself in possession of the vast territory of Louisiana lying west of the Mississippi, including the all important City of New Orleans at the mouth of the great river which was the undis- puted key to its navigation. Texas had ceased to be a bulwark against foreign aggression and had automatically become an interior province. Heretofore the chief justification for its military occupation, its settlement, and the conversion of the Indians had been in a broad sense the defense and protection of Spain's colonial empire against the French. But this powerful urge was removed over night. The excitable French neighbors were now replaced by the implacable, grasping, and unscrupulous English. The long disputed frontier between France and Spain in Texas, with the struggling outpost of Los Adaes, the unsuccessful Presidio of San Agustin on the Trinity, and La Bahia on the Gulf coast had lost its purpose. A complete reorganization of the Province of Texas was a logical and inevitable sequence to the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Seven years were to elapse, however, before the transfer became an accomplished fact and the effects of the cession were fully felt in Texas. The problems of the reorganization that followed this transcendental transfer are to be the chief subject of the present chapter, with emphasis on the effect upon the missions and the control of the native tribes. Before taking up the proposed reorganization that followed, a brief summary of the steps that led up to the final occupation of the Province of Louisiana will not be amiss. The display of Spanish power in bringing the rebellious French subjects under control, and the administrative reor- ganization of her new colony are significant in connection with the subsequent development in Texas. Causes for deltZ'JI in the occ,vpation of Louisiana. The impression has been left on the public mind, largely through the greater and better acquaintance with French sources, that Spain was loath to occupy Louisiana and that, perhaps, she actually regretted the acceptance, and at heart wished to withdraw from the agreement. Documents in the Spanish archives, however, show no record of this state of mind. French officials were anxious to be rid of the burdensome expense of administration of the ·rejected colony, and Choiseul did urge upon the Spanish government the immediate occupation as early as May 23, 1763. But that this was only a public gesture is proved by the fact that when the Spanish repre- sentative in Paris informed the French on January 1 3, I 764, that Spain was ready to take over the proffered colony, Choiseul replied with some
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