Texas

• 1. Indigenous Foundations And Colonial Encounters

  ›

  The Caddo people controlled much of northeastern Texas along the Red, Sabine, and Neches River basins when European explorers first arrived. Archaeologists have identified three major Indigenous cultures that reached their developmental peak before contact: the Ancestral Puebloans from the upper Rio Grande region, the Mississippian culture known as Mound Builders, and civilizations of Mesoamerica centered south of Texas. The Spanish applied the name Texas to the Hasinai Confederacy based on a Caddo word meaning friend. Francisco Vázquez de Coronado described an encounter with native people in 1541 while Hernando de Soto entered from the east seeking a route to Mexico. A small band of survivors traveled eastward into Caddo lands after René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle established Fort Saint Louis at Matagorda Bay in 1685. La Salle was killed by disgruntled expedition members four years later. Spanish authorities constructed several missions in East Texas among the Caddo in 1690 but returned to Mexico following resistance. San Antonio became the first Spanish civilian settlement in the area two years later in 1722. By the end of the 18th century only a few nomadic tribes had not converted to Christianity. The Comanche signed a treaty with Spain in 1785 and helped defeat the Lipan Apache and Karankawa tribes. Hostile native tribes and distance from nearby colonies discouraged settlers from moving to the area making it one of New Spain's least populated provinces.

• 2. Revolution And Republic Era

  ›

  Tensions between settlers and the Mexican government culminated in the Texas Revolution which included the Battle of the Alamo. General José de Urrea defeated all Texian resistance along the coast culminating in the Goliad massacre. López de Santa Anna's forces overwhelmed Texian defenders at the Battle of the Alamo after a thirteen-day siege. News of these defeats sparked panic among Texas settlers who fled in what became known as the Runaway Scrape. The newly elected Texian delegates to the Convention of 1836 quickly signed a declaration of independence on March 2 forming the Republic of Texas. Sam Houston commanded the Texian Army that attacked and defeated López de Santa Anna's forces at the Battle of San Jacinto. López de Santa Anna was captured and forced to sign the Treaties of Velasco ending the war. Political battles raged between two factions of the new Republic. Mirabeau B. Lamar led the nationalist faction advocating continued independence while Sam Houston advocated annexation to the United States. The conflict typified by an incident known as the Texas Archive War saw wide popular support for annexation attempts starting in 1836. Mexico launched two small expeditions into Texas in 1842 capturing San Antonio twice and defeating Texans in battle during the Dawson massacre. Despite these successes Mexico did not keep an occupying force allowing the republic to survive. The cotton price crash of the 1840s depressed the country's economy until James K. Polk won the election of 1844. On the 29th of December 1845 the U.S. Congress admitted Texas to the United States as the 28th state.

• 3. Civil War And Economic Transformation

  ›

  Texas joined the newly created Confederate States of America on the 4th of March 1861 after a state convention adopted an Ordinance of Secession on February 1. Governor Sam Houston refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy and was subsequently deposed. Union troops briefly occupied Galveston but Texas served as the backdoor of the Confederacy where trade occurred bypassing the Union blockade. The final battle of the Civil War was fought at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville seeing a Confederate victory. Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston by General Gordon Granger almost two and a half years after the original announcement. President Johnson declared the civilian government restored in Texas in 1866 though Congress resumed allowing elected representatives in 1870. The cattle industry continued to thrive while cotton and lumber became major industries creating new economic booms. Railroad networks grew rapidly as did the port at Galveston as commerce expanded. In 1900 Texas suffered the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history with the Galveston hurricane. Oil production averaged three million barrels per day at its peak in 1972 following the discovery of Spindletop south of Beaumont on the 10th of January 1901. Other fields were later discovered nearby in East Texas, West Texas, and under the Gulf of Mexico.

• 4. Modern Urbanization And Demographic Shifts

  ›

  The resident population of Texas reached 29,145,505 in the 2020 census representing a 15.9% increase since 2010. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population was 31,290,831 as of the 1st of July 2024 an increase of 7.4% since the 2020 census. Texas is the second-most populous state after California and the only other state to surpass 30 million people as of the 2nd of July 2022. In 2015 Texas had 4.7 million foreign-born residents about 17% of the population and 21.6% of the state workforce. Major countries of origin for Texan immigrants included Mexico accounting for 55.1% of immigrants followed by India at 5%. Two-thirds of all Texans live in major metropolitan areas such as Houston according to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report which found 24,432 homeless people. As of 2022 Hispanics and Latinos replaced non-Hispanic Whites as the largest share of the state's population making up 40.2%. Minority Americans make up 60.2% of the Texas population with Blacks comprising 11.8% and Asians 5.4%. By 2021 approximately 50,546 Texans spoke French or a French-based creole language while German was spoken by 49,565 residents.

• 5. Geological Diversity And Climate Extremes

  ›

  Texas has 10 climatic regions, 14 soil regions and 11 distinct ecological regions spanning from Gulf Coastal Plains to Basin and Range Province. The Great Plains region spans through the panhandle and Llano Estacado to the hill country near Lago Vista and Austin dominated by prairie and steppe. Far West Texas includes Sand Hills, the Stockton Plateau, desert valleys, wooded mountain slopes and desert grasslands. El Paso averages inches of annual rainfall while parts of southeast Texas average as much as inches. Snow falls multiple times each winter in the Panhandle and mountainous areas of West Texas once or twice a year in North Texas. Night-time summer temperatures range from upper 50s degrees Fahrenheit in West Texas mountains to 75 degrees in Galveston. Tornado Alley covers the northern section where the state experiences an average of 139 tornadoes a year striking most frequently in April, May, and June. A hurricane in 1875 killed about 400 people in Indianola followed by another in 1886 that destroyed the town. The 1900 Galveston hurricane subsequently devastated that city killing an estimated number between 8,000 and 12,000 making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

• 6. Energy Dominance And Industrial Power

  ›

  As of 2024 Texas had a gross state product of $2.664 trillion ranking second highest among any U.S. state. If Texas were its own country it would be the sixth-largest oil producer in the world according to a 2014 study. The Railroad Commission of Texas regulates the state's oil and gas industry and surface coal and uranium mining until the 1970s when it controlled petroleum prices. As of the 1st of January 2021 Texas has proved recoverable petroleum reserves of about 25 billion barrels representing 44% of known U.S. reserves. The Port Arthur Refinery in Southeast Texas is the largest refinery in the United States processing 1.5 million barrels of oil a day. Texas leads the nation in total net electricity production generating 437,236 MWh in 2014 which was 89% more than Florida. In 2014 10.6% of electricity consumed came from wind turbines with the Roscoe Wind Farm having a 781.5 megawatt capacity. Many petroleum companies are based in Texas including ConocoPhillips, EOG Resources, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, and Valero Energy. Texans consume on average the fifth most energy per capita following Wyoming, Alaska, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Iowa.