Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821-1861

314 Pages·2008·3.22 MB·English

by  Raul A. Ramos

Beyond the Alamo
This page intentionally left blank
Raúl A. Ramos
Beyond the Alamo
forging mexican ethnicity
in san antonio, 1821–1861
Published in Association
with The William P. Clements
Center for Southwest Studies,
Southern Methodist University,
by The University of
North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill
© 2008 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by Michelle Coppedge
Set in Arnhem Blond and Esprit Black
by Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence
and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for
Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ramos, Raúl A.
Beyond the Alamo : forging Mexican ethnicity in San Antonio,
1821–1861 / Raúl A. Ramos.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isBn 978-0-8078-3207-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Mexican Americans—Ethnic identity—Texas—San Antonio.
2. Mexican Americans—Texas—San Antonio—History—19th
century. 3. Mexican Americans—Cultural assimilation—Texas
—San Antonio. 4. San Antonio (Tex.)—Ethnic relations—
History—19th century. 5. Ethnicity—Texas—San Antonio—
History—19th century. 6. San Antonio (Tex.)—History—19th
century. I. Title.
f394.s2119m5163 2008
305.868'72076435109034—dc22 2007044845
12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicado a la memoria de mi abuelito,
Raúl Ramos González,
y a la vida nueva con mi hijo,
Joaquín Enrique Ramos Chiao
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
acknowledgments xi
introduction
Forging Identity in the Borderlands: Situating San Antonio de Béxar 1
Prologue
Life in a Norteño Town 15
Part i. three worlds in 1821
1. Making Mexico: Insurgency and Social Order in Béxar 27
2. Indigenous Identities: Locating “lo Indio” in the Tejano World 53
3. American Immigrants: Colonization and Tejano Identity 81
Part ii. Becoming tejano
4. Disrupting the Balance: Colonization Troubles, 1828–1834 111
5. La Pérdida de Tejas: Tejanos and the War of Texas Secession,
1834–1837 133
6. Tejanos as a Suspect Class: The End of Secession, 1837–1848 167
7. Voting and Violence: Tejanos and Ethnic Politics, 1848–1861 205
conclusion
Challenging Identities: Transnational Becomes Local 231
notes 239
index 281
Illustrations, Tables, Figures, and Map
illustrations
San Antonio River with Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo
in the distance, ca. 1869 17
San Pedro Springs in San Antonio, 1869 20
The Spanish Governor’s Palace door after restoration, 1930 30
The Veramendi Palace, ca. 1870 45
Children standing in front of a typical jacal in San Antonio, 1889 46
Portrait of Francisco Ruiz 54
Watercolor of a Comanche family by Lino Sánchez y Tapía, 1828 61
Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña after
secularization, 1868 68
Watercolor of Comanche warriors by Lino Sánchez y Tapía, 1828 74
“Map of Texas with the Contiguous American and Mexican States,
1835” 87
Map of Mexican battle plan by Ygnacio Labastida, 1836 159
“General Austin’s Map of Texas with Parts of Adjoining States, 1840” 171
Portrait of Juan N. Seguín from the Texas Republic period by
Thomas Jefferson Wright 175
José Antonio Navarro 213
Juan N. Seguín after his return to Texas from Mexico 218
Oxcarts on Commerce Street, 1882 223
taBles
2.1 Census of Béxar, January 1, 1820 65
2.2 Indian Gifts Presented in Béxar, 1807 77
5.1 Tejano Participation in the War of Secession 150
6.1 Tejano City Officials Serving More Than One Term, 1837–1873 193
figures
2.1 Concentric Circles of Indigenous Identification 57
6.1 Jury Service by Ethnicity, 1838–1858 194
maP
Texas, 1820–1836 16