The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969 Page: 25
498 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Tadeo Ortiz and Texas
Ortiz' first assignment, after the establishment of Mexican independ-
ence, was as a commissioner to Guatemala to stimulate sentiment there
for annexation to Mexico. He arrived at his new post in February,
1822, but had been there but a month before he had incurred the
wrath of Iturbide for "exceeding his instructions, meddling in matters
of no concern to him, and usurping the authority of his superiors."20
Whether or not Ortiz was actually dismissed is not clear, though it
appears that his career in Guatemala came to an end about this time.
At any rate, by May he was back in Mexico and had become interested
in a project dealing with the northern frontier.
By the time Iturbide was proclaimed Emperor in May, 1822, a con-
siderable interest had developed in colonizing Texas. Stephen F. Austin
already was in Mexico City to obtain the government's sanction of a
grant which Spanish authorities had given his father, Moses Austin,
early in 1821. Moreover, in May, 1822, Tadeo Ortiz, in association
with Diego Barry and Felipe O'Reilly, submitted a petition for 6,ooo
leagues of Texas land to settle persons from Ireland and the Canary
Islands. A committee on colonization reported favorably on the re-
quest, though reducing the amount of land and increasing the number
of settlers; in the Mexican Congress the proposal became the target of
a lively debate and was tabled for later consideration." A disappointed
Tadeo Ortiz, not one to give up easily, turned his attention in another
direction-the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Ortiz was active in the Isthmus for a period of five years, from
1823 to 1828, but the results of his efforts failed to match his bound-
less optimism and enthusiasm about its possibilities. Although he
founded five towns on the banks of the Coatzacoalcos river, only one
ever flourished as he hoped. He joined two French promoters in a
project to settle French and Swiss families in the Isthmus, but the
first enterprise ended in disaster, largely because of gross mismanage-
ment by his French associates. Ortiz then persuaded the Mexican gov-
ernment to assign him as consul to Bordeaux so he could instruct
French empresarios about their responsibilities and supervise prep-
20lturbide to Don Gabino Gainza and Don Vicente Filisola, March 28, 1822, in Rafael
Heliodoro Valle (ed.), "La anexi6n de Centro America A Mexico," Archivo Hist6rico
Diplomdtico Mexicano (Mexico, 1936), No. 40, pp. 243-244.
21Plan of Diego Barry, Tadeo Ortiz, and Felipe O'Reilly, May, 1822, in Kelly and
Hatcher (eds.), "Tadeo Ortiz de Ayala and the Colonization of Texas, 1822-1833," 78-83;
Barker, The Life of Stephen F. Austin, 58-59.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969, periodical, 1969; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117146/m1/41/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.