Spanish Missions in Texas

Spain lost some interest in Texas

after the early explorers found no
gold.
Then they decided to use it as a
buffer against the French and
English in North America. They
colonized Texas with missions.

In East Texas, Spain built a
mission named San Francisco de
los Tejas in response to La Salle
entering Texas there.
They soon gave up on the mission
and focused on the missions along
the Rio Grande.

French traders began moving
into Texas from French
Louisiana to try to trade with the
Indians and Spanish and Spain
got worried again.
The Spanish returned to east
Texas to re-open their mission
and built 5 more new ones.

El Camino Real, or the Royal
Road, led from the East Texas
missions to the Rio Grande
missions.
San Antonio became a major
stop at the halfway point on the
El Camino Real, which helped
establish its growth.

In 1718, Father Martin de
Alarcn established a mission, a
presidio and a settlement along
the San Antonio River.

The name of the mission was San
Antonio de Valero. Now known as
the Alamo. The presidio was
called San Antonio de Bxar.