As you wander across Texas.

A truism about history is that it is written by the winner.  And if there is no winner, we create one, because we must always have a protagonist. 

Take for instance Nolan County west of Fort Worth.  Prior to Mexico attaining its independence, all land west of the Mississippi River was claimed by the Spanish Throne.  “The land belonged to the sovereign country of Spain.  If you were not a Spaniard, you needed a passport to cross west of the Mississippi River.  Most of us learned of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the 6th grade and of course, Pike’s Peak.   What we did not learn was that these incursions were at the behest of the US government.  Both excursions were invasions of the sovereign country of Spain. We could call them invasions of a foreign country. If you trespassed into Spanish Territory, as a minimum Spain was going to ignore the incursion as it did with the Lewis and Clark Expedition or send you to jail as it did Pike.  Phillip Nolan was not so lucky. Having been warned to stay on the east side of the Mississippi, he did not. He and most of his troupe were killed in somewhere around Bosque County.

Something I hear frequently is “We were here first.” Meaning we beat the Comanche, Apache, and all other Native Americans here. Heck, we even crossed the Bering Straits first. I guess we should not exaggerate. I can say that according to DNA testing, more than half of me is Native. So one-half was there first. The other half joined much later. What we can say with certainty is that once upon a time all this land belonged to indigenous peoples (meaning Apache, Comanche, et al) and then Spain laid claim to all of it. Up until 1821. 

Then the world came to a stop. No longer was there a Spain. In the western part of the continent there was chaos. Spain had maintained a garrison in Santa Fe to keep the Americans from crossing the Mississippi River going west. With the threat of Spanish military gone, the covered American wagons were swift to cross the Mississippi and head west looking for land silver and gold. The US won all the West without a fight. Some of you may doubt this but think, Spain held the territory since Columbus. Sure, Spain lost Florida and Louisiana but those were nothing more than political gambits. In the case of the land west of the Mississippi, it never did belong to Mexico. It was abandoned land up for grabs first come first serve when Mexico declared independence. The minute the American crossed the Mississippi, the land belonged to the US without firing a shot. Plainly, Mexico did not have the military resources to hold the huge tract of land. Yup, the Six Shooter Law prevailed, or to the victor belong the spoils. The US was more than generous by giving Mexico some money for the land, it did not have to, that is the law of the jungle.

There was an immediate problem. What do you call all these people that used to be called Spaniards? Mexicans. Yup. Went from being Spaniard to being Mexican. Of course, some did not even know what Mexico was. Separation does that. Tejanos are mestizos like most of us. They were as much Mexican as Hondurans, Salvadorans. Tejanos wanted to be free from Mexico. That is why some of them joined the Texas Revolution. There were no Spaniards anymore, everyone was a Mexican.

Ineptness and lack of foresight caused all the land east of the Mississippi to be lost. Folks. Santa Ana had no business in South Texas. He was in a hostile place where he was not welcome. As a general, Santa Ana was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. He was the only bulb. That is why he was made president more than once. Instead of fighting, Santa Ana should have secured the land by placing outliers clearly visible to the Americans that there was a Mexican presence. It was a matter of perception. It is better to look strong that fight to prove you are not.

So. Who was here first? Half of me.

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Nolan County is named after Phillip Nolan.   Phillip Nolan was a leading character in the late 1700’s history of Spanish North America.  From the book, Pierre Vidal, (Noel M. Loomis and Abraham P. Nasatir)  I gleaned that Nolan was a wheeler-dealer, spy, and horse thief. 

Phillip Nolan knew the penalty for interring Spanish Territory without a passport.  When caught he was given the opportunity to surrender.  He declined.  He signed his own death warrant.

Inscribed in this monument in Bosque County is the following comment: “Nolan’s death aroused a wave of indignation that led to the independence of Texas.”  This is somewhat of a stretch since in 1801 Texas was still a part of Spain and foreigners were not allowed without the written authorization of the Spanish governor. 

A hero was created and given credit for something that still had not happened.  It is time to revise Texas History and tell what really happened. 

Felix Alvarado