Tlaxcalteca Indian Explorer
In 1690 Father Antonio de San Buenaventura de Olivares ( Head missionary of the Coahuila missions) sent Augustin de la Cruz, a Tlaxcalteco Indian neophyte, to explore the present day San Antonio area and the current Texas-Coahuila border (Baga 1690), Upon his return De la Cruz reported that the region was inhabited by peaceful village-dwelling Indians. Nearly two decades later Father Olivares visited the area and reported to the Royal government that the Indians of present day San Marcos and San Antonio areas were well suited for mission life. By 1716 a successful French colony had been established in Natchitoches, along the present Northeast Texas Louisiana border. Spain determined that present day Texas must be settled to avert any further French entradas, It became necessary to start populating several regions with soldiers, civilians, Indians, and mission Fathers. The intelligence gathered by Augustin de la Cruz during the 1690 exploratory expedition become crucial to Spain's strategy of populating the Northeast territories. In 1716 in preparation for the arrival of the colonists Spanish soldiers and missionaries were commissioned to explore Texas and to select sites for settlement. At this time most of the soldiers came from Coahuila, and a large number of them were from the Tlaxcalan towns of Saltillo and San Esteban ( Hernandez Xochitiotizin 1991).
In mid February 1716 Capt. Domingo Ramon took approximately 78 colonists into the Northeast (Bannon 1970) These settlers included nine priests, three lay brothers, dozens of colonists, and 25 soldiers. Many of the soldiers also bought their families. Among the colonists were Creoles, mestizos, and peninsulares (espanoles).
Only seven of the colonists were Indian, and one was black (Castaneda 1936). As the colonists migrated north they stopped many times along the route to rest and to greet friendly Tejas Indians. The settlers finally arrived in the Northeast on 26 June 1716 ( Bannon 1970). They established a Presidio 5 miles west of the Neches River and erected five missions nearby among various ethnic subdivisions the Caddo Indians. Although their initial journey succeeded, they soon experienced severe hardships when the gifts dwindled and there were no longer welcome. Within two years the Caddo Indians became increasingly hostile and repeatedly attacked the settlers. When the Royal government in Mexico City received news of the problems, it became necessary to reassess the colonization project; if military assistance was not made available, it was only a matter of time before the Indians destroyed the settlements. The Royal government also recognized that if the colonists needed help it would not be possible to dispatch a cavalry unit from Coahuila in a timely manner. It therefore became necessary to establish a second colony midway between the Northeast and Coahuila. A temporary militia could be assembled there and dispatched while a larger cavalry group came from Coahuila (Bannon 1970). Upon hearing the news that a second colony was to be established, Father Antonio de San Buenaventura de Olivares, having knowledge of the area and its inhabitants as was provided by Augustin de la Cruz took immediate action and petition the crown for the colony to be established in San Antonio and for all religious matters be in his charge.
In 1718 Father Olivares's petition was approved by the Royal Crown. His plans were to erect a mission and a civilian settlement populated by Indians and government by peninsulares (Weber 1992). These plans came to a temporary halt when Martin de Alarcon, the governor of Coahuila and Tejas, was appointed to recruit the settlers and establish a civilian colony. Although Father Olivares was commissioned to found the first mission in San Antonio, it was Alarcon who was appointed to control all secular matters in the colony. Their views on who should settle San Antonio clashed because even though Governor Alarcon, like Father Olivares, preferred to select Spaniards to settle San Antonio it was not possible because Alarcon was only able to recruit a handful of Spaniards. Most of the people willing to take a journey into the frontier were people of color (Castaneda 1936). According to Alarcon, only mulattos, lobos, coyotes, and mestizos from Coahuila were prepared to risk their lives in exchange for land. Father Olivares was very disappointed with this option because of his distrust of the Indian colonists he considered them half- breed savages and feared that if war broke out they would betray the Spanish. He believed that colonists of color were not the best agents of Spanish acculturation since they still practiced Indian dances and traditions and could easily revert to their parents lifestyle. Father Olivares several times attempted to delay the departure of colony until a larger number of peninsulares could be recruited. Finally Alarcon, unable and unwilling to fulfill the father's request, begin the trek toward San Antonio after agreeing to return and recruit more peninsulares.
The colonists were divided into two companies the first company departed from mission San José, located along the current Texas Coahuila border. It was composed of Father Olivares, two missionaries, 25 soldiers, and about five Indians raised by Olivares since childhood (Castaneda 1936). The second company, stationed in Saltillo, Coahuila, was composed of Alarcon and 22 settlers ( Chipman 1992). The settlers included many of the soldiers families as well as a large number of mostly Tlaxcalteca artisans (de la Teja 1991). The two companies departed in early April and arrived in San Antonio several days apart. Father Olivares took the direct route to San Antonio and arrived on one May 1718 (Banyan 1970). On that day Father Olivares founded mission San Antonio de Valero the chapel that later became the Alamo. Alarcon arrived five days later as he had taken a scouting route to explore the coast before proceeding to San Antonio. Presidio de Bejar was formally founded upon his arrival and the families clustered around the presidio and mission. They were the first members of what later was destined to become the largest civilian settlement in Spanish Texas, Villa of San Fernando de Bejar, later was renamed San Antonio. Some 28 years after his initial exploration Augustin De La Cruz the Tlaxcalteco Indian explorer's information resulted in the founding of present day San Antonio, Texas.