The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 24, July 1920 - April, 1921 Page: 183
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Louisiana Background of Colonization of Texas
the instinct of self-preservation taught the Spanish ministry, that
admitting American laws even on a small scale, would by and by
have opened and subjected the entire colony to the American
pioneers, as has been subsequently shown in the instance of Texas.
It is, nevertheless, interesting to examine the motives of Steu-
ben's plan. They show us the statesman and soldier who antici-
pates the future and tries to found a building on materials loose
in themselves, but grand in the hands of a political talent, the
execution of which was only delayed and reserved to the succeed-
ing generation. It is at the same time gratifying to observe that
Steuben understood perfectly well the secret of the growth of this
rising American empire in the self-government of the common-
wealth; a principle more antagonistic to the prerogative of the
Spanish autocrat could not be found.
As in the following year Steuben's prospects cleared up and the
favorable settlement of his claims became certain, he gave up the
idea of removing to. the far West, and devoted his whole attention
to the cultivation of his own lands in Oneida County.29
After the failure of this plan, several years passed before other
colonizers appeared.
French Colonizers, Tardiveau, Maison Rouge, Delassus, Dublanc,
1792-1795.-In 1792, Bartholomew Tardiveau, who for fifteen
years had lived in the United States, laid before the Spanish gov-
ernment his plans for establishing a numerous population on the
west bank of the Mississippi as a means of developing the coun-
try, opposing the rapid expansion of the Americans in the West,
and of erecting "a barrier between this bold people and the Span-
ish possessions," especially in Missouri and New Mexico. He sug-
gested that a large part of the necessary men could be secured in
the United States. However, he advised that only a limited num-
ber of this class of immigrants be received as it was essential to
the preservation of the Spanish Dominions of America to keep
them in the minority because of their inventive genius and their
tendency to assume the reins of government. He drew attention
to the fact that conditions in France and in the Low Countries
presented the most favorable opportunity for procuring a sufficient
number of settlers from that region to erect an effective barrier
against the United States. He declared that certain French emi-
grants who had left their native country because of political condi-
tions there, who had later settled on the Ohio, and who were con-
2'Kapp, Life of William Frederick von Steuben, 687-689.183
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 24, July 1920 - April, 1921, periodical, 1921; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101078/m1/189/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.