A new history of Texas for schools : also for general reading and for teachers preparing themselves for examination Page: 94 of 412
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78
TEXAS AS A WHOLE.
[1828,
the growth of Texas. The empresario system was a
favorite method of colonization with the Spanish. The
plan was as follows: the empresario made a formal peti-
tion to the government for permission to settle at his
own expense a given number of families upon certain
unoccupied lands. If the petition were granted, the gov-
ernment gave to the empresario more land than would
be needed by the number of families his contract called
for, but after each settler had received his portion, and
after the empresario had received the lands given him
as reward (called premium lands), the surplus was re-
turned to the government. For each 100 families that
he settled in Texas, the empresario was given five
leagues (22,440 acres) of grazing land and five labores
(885 acres) of land suited for cultivation. If, within six
years from the date of his contract, the empresario had
not settled the promised number of families, he lost many
of his rights and privileges, while if he had not settled 100
families his contract, became null and void. The year
1825 has been called the year of immigration, for then
it was (March 24th) that the State legislature of Texas
and Coahuila passed a most liberal colonization law, and
declared to the world that the government was not only
willing but anxious to see Texas settled with intelligent,.
industrious, and liberty-loving citizens. Led by the gen-
erous offers of land, and the fair promises of the govern-
ment, hundreds of Americans not connected with the
colony of an empresario came to Texas, and received
grants of land directly from the State. In 1828 the
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Pennybacker, Anna J. Hardwicke. A new history of Texas for schools : also for general reading and for teachers preparing themselves for examination, book, 1895; Palestine, Tex.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2388/m1/94/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.