The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 99, July 1995 - April, 1996 Page: 67
626 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Johann von Racknitz
brief period. By March 1836, he was in Stuttgart negotiating again with
the government authorities there for permission to publish notices in
the newspapers about his colony. On March 9, he submitted to the royal
municipal government of Stuttgart a notice he had drafted accompa-
nied by several documents substantiating his statements in the proposed
advertisement. Two days later the royal government of the Neckar dis-
trict was notified of Racknitz's new petition, and by March 22, the dis-
trict government had prepared its report to the Wiirttemberg ministry
of the interior. The district reported having examined Racknitz's con-
tract with its modifications, a copy of Hans Wilder's booklet about the
colony, two issues of Mexican newspapers containing notices about the
proposed colony, Racknitz's correspondence with the Mexican authori-
ties, and the notice that Racknitz wished to publish in the Schwdbischer
Merkur and other newspapers. While conceding that Racknitz's integrity
and motives seemed to be above question, the district authorities were
nevertheless concerned about the following issues: 1) So much of the
material Racknitz had presented was in Spanish and could not be com-
pletely understood. 2) Although it was clear in Wilder's booklet and in
the proposed newspaper advertisement that each emigrant would be re-
sponsible financially for his own transportation to the colony, and that
colonists must be able and willing to work in order to succeed there,
Racknitz's descriptions of the fertile soil, the favorable location, and the
wholesome, healthy climate were obviously exaggerated and might in-
duce many emigrants to hasty and rash decisions they would later regret.
Consequently, the district authorities recommended against authorizing
the publication of Racknitz's newspaper notices. On March 28, the
Wiirttemberg ministry of the interior issued its formal decision to the
district government denying Racknitz permission to advertise his colony
in the newspapers of Wiirttemberg. On April 8, the district government
in turn ordered the municipal government of Stuttgart to notify Rack-
nitz of the ministry's decision and to return to him the documents he
had submitted. In their desire to resolve the apparent discrepancy be-
tween Racknitz's reputation for honesty and truthfulness, and what was
perceived as his exaggerated claims for the Nueces River region, the au-
thorities of the Neckar district concluded in their report that the empre-
sario Racknitz must simply be self-deluded on that point.63
6S Three reports and one directive numbered 1o, 11, 12, and 13, and dated respectively, Mar.
9, Mar. 22, Apr. 5, and Apr. 8, 1836. Bestand Kreisregierung Ludwigsburg, E 173 I, fasc. 1572
(SL); one report and one directive numbered 63 and 64, and dated respectively Mar. 22 and
Mar. 28, 1836. Bestand K6nighches Mimsterium des Innern und Konigliche Regierung des
Neckarkreises, E 146, fasc. 1704 (HSA).1995
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 99, July 1995 - April, 1996, periodical, 1996; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101217/m1/95/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.