The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 39, July 1935 - April, 1936 Page: 67
346 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Letters of Antonio Martinez
was unable to control the Indians because they were uncontrollable
per se and, besides, were constantly being stirred to atrocities by
foreigners and revolutionists who were ceaselessly busy along the
entire unprotected frontier line. He could not, therefore, de-
velop the rich province as he had so fondly hoped, for he had
neither money nor men at his disposal, and a full treasury would
have been demanded for this purpose even if there had been no
complications offered by Indians, foreigners, and revolutionists.
To make matters worse, toward the end of his administration,
the revolutionists, under Agustin Iturbide, were sweeping every-
thing before them in the vicinity of Mexico City and at Vera
Cruz through which the "sinews of war" had to be shipped. By
the summer of 1821, the situation was so grave that, at the re-
quest of Baron de Bastrop, he approved Moses Austin's petition
for permission to introduce three hundred of his neighbors in
Louisiana into this border territory. I-Ie had hoped thereby to
control the Indians, to defend the country against attack both
within and without, and thus to develop the section as it deserved
to be developed. However, he only opened the door to the entry
of the Americans who had conquered the Indians of the Mis-
sissippi Valley and were ready to move westward to settle on the
choicest lands in Texas. His Excellency Don Joaquin Arredondo,
then Commandant General of the Eastern Interior Provinces of
New Spain, confirmed the grant to Austin after the approval of
Austin's application by the Provincial Deputation then assembled
at the City of Monterrey. The necessary papers were forwarded
on to San Antonio immediately and a new era opened for the
Southwest, for the Spaniards were to give way to their Mexican
successors and they, in turn, to the Anglo-American. In spite
of his hopes that this introduction of the Anglo-Americans might
check the downward progress of the Spanish cause, Martinez'
last year in Texas was a depressing one. By July 18, 1821, he
was compelled to issue orders for the administration of the oath
of allegiance to the new hero, Iturbide. This was a deeply
humiliating procedure to one who had sworn never to lower the
royal flag to a revolutionist. On August 2, 1821, following, he
wrote the Commandant General, reporting that he had not a sin-
gle penny nor any grain with which to supply the necessities of
his troops for even one day. On November 14, 1821, he an-
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 39, July 1935 - April, 1936, periodical, 1936; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101095/m1/75/?rotate=90: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.