Carte d’une partie de l’Amérique Séptentrionale, qui contient partie de la Nle. Espagne, et de la Louisiane
By: Texas General Land Office
Tags: Texas, History, Maps

In 1767, the French naval officer, author, and scientist de Pagès was temporarily expelled from the French Navy. This seemingly insignificant event lead to the writing of one of the earliest and most descriptive accounts of the area of New Spain, including parts of present-day Texas. De Pagès was born into nobility, a circumstance that would provide him with the funds necessary to indulge his adventurous nature. As a child, he often read accounts from explorers and grew up anticipating the day when he could also discover fresh territory.[2] After his expulsion from the French Navy while on the island of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic) in the Caribbean, he saw his newfound freedom as an opportune moment to set out on a global journey. Taking advantage of the cooling of New World hostilities between France and Spain with the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War, he traversed the bounds of Spanish Texas and into Mexico on horseback, muleback, and sometimes on foot.

De Pagès expressed concern about visiting Los Adaes [shown here as Adaisses] because of its importance as a Spanish outpost. As a Frenchman, he was unsure of the welcome he would receive.

At Saint-Domingue, de Pagès boarded a French ship headed to the colony of New Orleans, at the time under the control of the Spanish empire.[3] He stayed in the area for some time to acquire supplies and give an account of the Native American groups in the area. He then traveled west, receiving the beginnings of an education on living conditions in untamed country. Suffering from hunger, damp, and an abundance of mosquitoes, he arrived at Natchitoches, Louisiana. This was the last stop before his passage into “Tegas.”

De Pagès arrived at Los Adaes in the fall. Originally founded in 1717 as a mission to the local Native Americans and a defense against French Louisiana, by de Pagès visit in 1768 it had been designated the capital of the territory and sat near the border between Spanish Texas and Spanish Louisiana.[4] De Pagès was highly unimpressed by most of the settlement, calling the houses “miserable” and the landscape “cheerless.”[5] He had better opinions about the food, discovering tortillas for the first time, and the people, who, though “little addicted either to truth or honesty,” were nevertheless hospitable and generous with their meager supplies.[6]

De Pagès briefly visited the missions San Antonio de Valero [S. Antonio], Concepción [Conception], San Jose [S. Joseph], and Espada [Lasprada] during his time in San Antonio, but found the Spanish treatment of the Native Americans in the area too harsh.

From Los Adaes, de Pagès traveled west to Nacogdoches. His journey was more difficult than usual — he battled illness while attempting to stay on horseback on the way there, only to discover that the lack of food would force him to return to Los Adaes to resupply before continuing. He then passed through the San Antonio missions, noting that “the inhabitants of San Antonio are excellent horsemen, and particularly fond of hunting or lacing [lassoing] their wild animals.”[7] Here, again, he took an opportunity to complain about Spanish interactions with the indigenous inhabitants. Upon leaving San Antonio, he crossed over the Nueces River and visited the young settlement of Laredo, before continuing south through central Mexico to the port of Acapulco.

This portion of de Pagès’ journey concluded in the port of Acapulco, where he booked passage on a ship bound for Manila.

Though de Pagès was not always enthusiastic about what he saw and experienced, his account was an invaluable contribution to the creation of this map. As the territorial war between France and Spain concluded and cultural and political tears mended, he had the unique opportunity to explore what few Europeans had up to that point — the great expanse of what would eventually become Texas. The knowledge and familiarity he gained during his journeys helped better relate North America and, by extension, Texas, to Europeans. This connection helped inspire future generations of European immigration to Texas.