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American interest in ‘Norte’ (North) Mexico, what would become the nation and later American state of Texas, dated back to the Mexican struggle for independence from Spain, which stalled Moses Austin plans for colonization of the fertile Texas river valley. Known as the first empresario (a settler bound by contract to lead other settlers and homesteader parties to the territory), Austin was unable to complete his vision of a new settlement in what would become Texas , dieing in 1821 before he could see the territory himself. Stephen F. Austin It was his son second son Stephen F. Austin (b.1793-1836), who received his fathers’ grant for colonization in Southeastern Texas, though it is long handed down that the younger Austin was reluctant to travel to Texas . The first settlers, the “Old Three Hundred” remain an enduring symbol of the founding of Texas and in a sense represent the spirit of those who still reside there today. Though it is now believed that the beloved ‘Ole Three Hundre...

On this night in 1520, famous explorer, general, and conqueror Fernando Hernan Cortes (b.1485-1547) and his conquistadors fought their way out of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan , on Lake Texcoco in modern day Mexico . La Noche Triste became one of the major events in Spain ’s conquering of Mexico and the New World . Today in history on July 30 th a riot ensued during the day which became a massacre against the Europeans and their native levies whom Hernan Cortes had employed in his army during the campaign to conquer Mexico from 1518-1522. The Night of Sadness would become both the defining moment of the early exploration of the New World as well as one of its most tragic consequences. Hernan Cortes, the Conquistador This massacre came to be known as The Night of Sadness (La Noche Triste) and it had a very important impact in regards to the Spain , the Aztec culture, and the end of the greater Aztec dynasty in Mexico . Today it is arguably the defining moment of Corte...