page_title: Hispanics and Latinos in Texas
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Hispanics and Latinos in Texas / History / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: The map drawn by Alonso Alvarez de Pineda of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in 1519. Русский: Карта Мексиканского залива, сделаннная Пинедой. Первая карта этого региона, сделанная европейцами
context_page_description: Hispanic and Latino Texans are residents of the state of Texas who are of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 38.2% of the state's population. Moreover, the U.S Census shows that the 2010 estimated Hispanic population in Texas was 9.7 million and increased to 11.1 million in 2017 with a calculated 18% change from the 2010 Hispanic population estimate.
  Tejano or Texano is a term used to identify a Texan of Criollo Spanish or Mexican heritage.
context_section_description: The first European to see Texas was Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, who led an expedition for the governor of Jamaica, Francisco de Garay, in 1520. While searching for a passage between the Gulf of Mexico and Asia, Álvarez de Pineda created the first map of the northern Gulf Coast. This map is the earliest recorded document of Texas history. Moreover, the area of present-day Texas was claimed by Spain at this time.
  Years later on June 1527, an expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez and Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca with the purpose of reaching Florida in order to build a city, resulted in a failed mission due to harsh weather and disease. Instead, the Spanish explorers were left shipwrecked off the coast of Texas where the Spanish lived for around six years.  After the years spent living in Texas among Indigenous civilization, Narvaez and Cabeza de Baca along with some of their men, found their way back to Mexico City in 1536 and told stories about the extravagancies witnessed in the north.  Learning about this, the Spanish set out due north in 1539 with the purpose of discovering riches in places yet to be explored. One of the primary motives for the excursions was for the discovery of gold.
  The excursion of the Spanish in 1539 into the north or what is today Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, was led by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado. On July 7, 1540, Coronado's army reached the outskirts of the rumored city of much gold, Cibola,  near upper Rio Grande where the Spanish encountered massive resistance from Puebloans. The violence between the Spanish and the Puebloans continued at Cibola until the Puebloan soldiers inhabiting Cibola were forced to leave to a village where their wives and children had moved to for shelter.
  When the fighting settled, Coronado decided to explore the land more extendedly, which was when one of the expeditions arrived at Texas in 1541 where they encountered groups of people from the Caddo tribe, leading to more events of violence.  After all, Coronado returned to New Spain on April 1542 an informed about the cruel reality of the cities in the north that were explored, describing them as not having any gold or silver. Soon after this, the Spanish decided to remain away from the north or the present day southwest region of the United States for approximately 150 years, though expeditions led by Spaniards and not authorized by Spain did take place within those years.  Until 1688, Spain essentially remained out of Texas.
  Around 1688, the Spanish learned about French interventions occurring in the area of Texas, land that had already been claimed by Spain. This led to the actions taken by Spaniard Alonso de León, the then governor of Coahuila, to march into Texas towards Fort St. Louis. Fort St. Louis was the location where the French were set up. On April 1689, Alonso de Leon arrived with his army ready to take down the French fort and looking for any remaining French in the area. During the time there, de Leon was informed by some of the located French that the Karankawa people had attacked them and left the fort in ruins, forcing the French to flee.  A year after going back to New Spain, de Leon returned to Texas because he was concerned about the French returning to Spanish territory. Spanish activity in Texas remained minimal and only returned when the French attempted to intervene.
  In 1690 when de Leon returned to Texas, he had with him an army of about 100 men made up of soldiers and priests and built the first church in Texas, named San Francisco de los Tejas. The construction of this church was a major stepping stone for Spain as Spanish Texas was headed to become an area of greater importance for Spain. After San Francisco de los Tejas was established, the construction of many more missions followed, such as Mision Nuestra Senora del Rosario and Nuestra Senora del Refugio. A year later in January 1691, Domingo Terán de los Ríos was appointed to be the governor of Spanish Texas. Throughout the construction of various churches, the Spanish had interactions with different Indigeno
caption: The first map of the Gulf of Mexico drawn during the expedition led by Alonso Alvarez de Pineda in 1519 that depicts the coast of Texas for the first time.[6]
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