The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911 Page: 279
348 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Southwestern Boundary of Texas, 1821-1840
ing year; he was murdered two years later, and the settlement was
broken up.1
In 1712 Antoine Crozat was given by letters patent the right
to trade "in all the Lands possessed by Us, and bounded by New
Mexico"2 . .. In 1714 M. Louis de Saint Denis reached the
presidio of San Juan Bantista on the Rio Grande and informed
the Spanish that the French claimed to that river. In 1721 La
Harpe, who had concessions on Red river and who had been carry-
ing on a clandestine trade with the Spanish, made an unsuccess-
ful attempt to found a colony at Matagorda bay.3 The map of
Du Pratz in 1738 gave the Rio Grande as the boundary.4 During
the administration of Barrios in Texas, which ended in 1756, there
were French trading posts west of the Sabine. When the Spanish
established a presidio on the Trinity in 1756 the French protested,
basing their claim on the settlement of La Salle. The cession of
Louisiana at the end of the Seven Years War ended the difficulty
until 1800.6
The treaty of San Ildefonso reopened the question. Louisiana
was ceded "with the same extent . . . that it had while in
the possession of France . . ." Victor's instructions in 1802
gave the boundary as the Rio Grande. When the country was sold
to the United States the boundary was left indefinite, following
the wording of the treaty of San Ildefonso. This ended the French
claims to Texas.6
1I. DURING MEXICAN RULE
During the period from 1821 to 1836 no action appears to have
been taken concerning the boundary line, although there are evi-
dences that Texans were already looking toward the Rio Grande.
In 1824 Texas and Coahuila were united as a single province,
Texas being known as the Department of B6xar. The court
1Joutel, Journal of La Salle's last voyage, 54, 116, 134; Le Clercq, in
Journeys of . . . La Salle (Cox, ed.), I, 216-217; Clark, in THE
QUARTERLY, V, 178-181.
2Joutel, Journal, 213.
$Cox, in THE QUARTERLY, X, 9-13; Phelps, Louisiana, 66-67.
4Ibid., X, 17.
5Ibid., X, 21-24, 69.
6Henry Adams, History of the United States, II, 4-6, 16-17, 43.279
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911, periodical, 1911; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101054/m1/309/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.