Was Spanish Exploration Of Texas A Failure Or A Success?

The exploration era, from 1519-1684, of Spanish rule in Texas was both a failure and a success. The early Spanish exploration of Texas was a failure because they went in expecting to find gold and silver anywhere they looked, but found little to none. Another failure during this era was their inability to uphold their other goal of following the will of God. On page 24, a conqueror said that the reasons they were going to Mexico were because “We came to Serve God and get rich”. However, they were not able to get rich because of the lack of fine substances like gold and silver, but they also were not very Godly when it came to dealing with the Indians. These Spanish explorers stormed into unknown land that was not theirs, threatened the Indians

However, the exploration was also a success because not only did the explorers during this time want to explore the new lands of Texas, but they were also qualified to do so along with being qualified to fight if need be, unlike the Spanish explorers and settlers in the Defense era. These settlers with soldier professions were held in equal standing of priests and lawyers in Spanish society because they were simply that good at fighting for their country. Another success that came from the Exploration era was the publishing of Cabeza de Vaca’s first Texas book, which paved the way of understanding many Indian tribes such as the Jumanos, Karankawas, and Coahuiltecans. This book allowed the settlers to better understand the cultural practices of the Indian tribes, and thus somewhat cooling the former distrust they brought in when threatening the tribes with guns and

The presidos left during this time were commanded by people who were not professional, unlike the soldiers during the exploration era, and nor were the presidos run by professionals either. Though the missions were trying to convert the Indians to Catholic faith and lifestyle, many of the missions ended in failure when they could not convert the Indian prisoners. However, the defense era was not a total failure because of the discovery of ranching. This proved to be the most profitable thing for the Spanish, which in turn allowed them to create gifts for the Indians and prisoners who converted to the Catholic faith. However, even though this proved to be a profitable venture, the missions were still being run by unprofessional soldiers. The Spanish bit off more than they could chew when making missions and staffing them with unqualified soldiers. This occurred so badly that upon seeing the conditions they were in, they were forced into abandonment by the Rubí report in 1769. However, another success for the Spanish, mentioned on page 91 was that in 1803, the Spanish speaking population peaked in 1803 at about 4,000 Spanish speakers. Unfortunately, much like the previous successes the Spanish held, it was followed by a failure in 1821 when the Spanish speaking population fell to less than