TEXAS TIMELINE (10,000 YEARS)

Taylor Guerrero Burbank Middle School 7th Period Vanguard/Mr. Pope

Texas Regions

Texas has 4 regions:

Coastal Plains

North Central Plains

Great Plains

Mountain and Basins

Each is special in its own way!

Coastal Plains

The Coastal Plains mostly have flat to rolling hills. Since it is located close to the Gulf of Mexico, it receives a lot of rainfall every year. It’s warm in the summer and cool in the winter. Lots of vegetation is grown here . It is also the most populated, with Houston being the 4th largest city in the U.S.

North Central Plains

The North Central Plains have lakes, rivers, and canyons. It receives less rainfall than the coastal plains, but is still abundant in vegetation.

It has hot summers and cool winters. Though not as populated as the coastal plains, it’s the 2nd populated region in Texas.

Due to the continentality , every time you drive 100 miles west, you lose 1in. of rainfall every year.

Great Plains

The Great Plains is an area of flat land with very few growing trees. It is the flattest spot on North America and has hot , dry summers and cold winters. The Great Plains are the 3rd populated region in Texas.

There are lots of windmills in the area, mostly due to high winds. If you drive through the Great Plains, you

would see nothing but fences, grass and windmills.

Mountain and Basins

The Mountain and Basins has very little precipitation and dry land. There are two mountains: Davis (2,554 m) and Chisos (2,385 m).

The Mountain and Basins region is the least populated region in Texas. It has very hot summers and very cold winters. There is also very sparse vegetation on the land.

(Environment)

has a subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters. It gets around 95F in the summer, and about 53F in the winter.

Since it is close to the Gulf of Mexico, receives a plentiful amount of rain each year. (50 inches a year)

Numerous plants and animals grow in as well, such as birds, fish, tomatoes, corn, cotton, cows, rosebushes, rabbits, horses and many more!

Because is located in the Coastal Plains, it has mostly flat to rolling hills.

(Social)

Bayou Bend

Minute Maid

Reliant Stadium

Holocaust Museum

Galleria Mall

Johnson Space Center

BBVA Compass Stadium

Houston Zoo

Downtown Aquarium

(Politics)

is the largest growing city without zoning laws. It has a mayor, a city comptroller, 5 at-large members, and 11 district members. Annise Parker, the 61st mayor of Houston, is the 1st mayor to have an openly gay relationship . She has been a city comptroller and a At-Large for position 4. As a councilmember, she was recognized as “Councilmember of the Year” and "Distinguished Local Elected Official Award“. She is on her 2nd term and might serve a 3rd one in 2013.

(Economy)

is the 4th largest city in the U.S. and the largest city in Texas. It mostly depends on petrochemicals, exceeding $15 billion dollars in the Houston Ship Channel, the largest in the country. Supporting that is thousands of pipelines connecting 200 chemical plants, refinery, salt domes and fractionation plants along the Texas Gulf Coast. With more than 400 chemical manufacturing establishments and 235 jobs for manufacturing rubber and plastic,

is largest in the world for refinery.

The Paleo-Americans were the first people to arrive in the Americas. They were also known as Native Americans. The Paleo-Americans were nomads, which were people who moved from place to place and took everything with them. If they stayed a place too long, they would starve!

There were 2 jobs in the nomadic life-style: Hunters and Gatherers. The men were the hunters and the women were gatherers. The men hunted enormous animals such as the Wooly Mammoth, Saber-Tooth Tiger, Grizzly Bear, Wooly Rhino and Musk Ox. The women gathered plants, nuts, fish, and berries.

No one knows the exact date of when the Paleo-Americans came to North America. Scientists believe that they have been in North American for at least 10,000 years to 50,000 – 60,000 years ago.

The Gulf culture consists of two native groups: Coahuiltecans and Karankawas.

The Coahuiltecans lived near the South Texas Plain. They were nomadic because the dry landscape couldn’t produce crops. They hunted mostly deer, bison, and Javelina, an animal that looks like a hog. They gathered plants such as cacti, mesquite, and other kinds. When food was scarce, they ate worms and insects

The Karankawas lived along the Gulf Coast on small islands near Galveston and Corpus Christi. They were also nomadic because wet land would drown the crops. During the spring and summer, they would live in the forest, and in the fall and winter, they lived near the gulf. They hunted fish, deer, buffalo and turtles. They gathered clams, underwater plants, nuts, and berries.

The Southeastern Woodlands had one Native American group: the Caddos

The Caddos lived in Piney Woods. They lived in permanent villages and grew 2 crops a year. The Caddos grew melons, squash, plums, pumpkins, and other crops. They lived in a dome-shaped house made out of mud, poles and straw. Sometimes they were 50 feet in diameter!

The Caddos were matrilineal, which means they inherit traits from their mothers. There were two leaders, one handled war, the other handled peace. Both men and women could be the leader. They were the most advanced Native American group in Texas.

There were two types of Native American tribes: Jumanos and Tiguas.

The Jumanos live throughout present-day Texas. They acted as “middle men”, trading with other Native American tribes. They traded crops, animal skins, and meats. The Jumanos had striped tattoos on their faces to show they were peaceful traders. Men had short hair with one long lock decorated with feathers. Each feather meant that person did something brave in battle. The women wore braids. Their houses were made out of adobe, which is dried up mud. It kept them cool in the summer, and warm in the winter.

The Tiguas lived in what is now El-Paso. There houses are also made out of adobe. They are mostly farmers who traded with the Jumanos.

The Plains Culture had 3 Native American groups: Apache, Kiowa, and Comanche

The Apache lived in the Great Plains of Texas. They were nomads, so they moved from place to place. Anthropologists think the Apaches came from the far north because their language sounds a lot the Canadian and Alaskan language. There are two groups: the Mescaleros and Lipans. The Mescaleros lived in the mountains of West Texas. The Lipans lived in the Hill Country of Central Texas.

The Comanche lived in Western Texas and their language is similar to those of the Aztecs of Mexico. They were divided into several groups. Each group had one leader and a council of older men. Only that leader could make the decision of that group. They centered on hunting and war. They hunted elk, antelope, and buffalo.

The Kiowas lived in Western Texas as well, and were also nomadic people. They lived in tepees made out of animal hides and poles. The hides were decorated in paintings and important events that happened that year. The buffalo was very important to them. It provided food, shelter, and tools. All the men were warriors and the women gathered.

Europeans in the early-to-late 1500’s wanted gold than any other item in the world. If you were rich back then, people would honor you. They went by the 3 G’s: 1.Gold 2.Glory 3.God.

Spanish Soldiers, called Conquistadors, hunted for wealth and glory for Spain. They used guns and sharp swords against the Native Americans to make Spain the wealthiest and glorious country in the world.

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was a French explorer that sailed to now what is present- day Texas. He sailed on the La Belle and claimed the land for Spain. Though the Native Texans were already there, he had his own ways of getting what he wanted. With the advanced technology ,(guns, swords, etc..) they could control the Natives.

How are you going to defeat an army with guns and swords when all you have is a stick and a rock? The Native Texans let the Spanish take control over there land and capture and kill the Natives.

sailed from Cuba in 1519 and landed near present-day Vera Cruz without permission from Spanish soldiers. When he landed in Tenochtitlan, he liked all the wealth and civilization of the Aztecs.

imprisoned then killed their leader, Moctezuma, burned the city, and stole all the treasures from the Aztecs.

rebuilt the city and renamed it Mexico City, which became the capital of New Spain.

Alonso Alvarez de Pineda Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

Alonso Alvarez de Pineda was the first European to explore the coast of Texas and map it in the same year Cortez landed in Mexico.

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was sent to conquer the area from Florida to Mexico in 1527. He was stranded in Galveston for 6 years after being shipwrecked. The Karankawas helped Cabeza de Vaca and his crew to survive and make it back to Mexico. Along the way, he brought back stories of the “Seven Cities of Cibola”.

heard the stories of Cabeza de Vaca. He wanted to find the gold. He led an expedition through New Mexico and other parts of what is now southwestern United States 1540-1542. Sadly, there were no cities made of gold!

The friars, or the catholic pastors in the 1690’s built churches, or missions, to convert the captured Native Texans to catholic religion. The conquistadors , thought that if you weren’t catholic, you were going to hell. To fix the problem, they let the Native Texans become a catholic. If they didn’t or if they left the mission, they were hunted down. 1/10 Native Texans survived inside the missions.

To boost the economic industry in Mexico, the Spanish leaders invited American settlers into Texas.

In 1821, Moses Austin gained permission from the Spanish government to bring American settlers to Texas. Unfortunately, Moses died before he could bring the settlers to Texas. His wish was for his son, Stephen F. Austin, to bring the settlers.

Stephen F.Austin choose land near the Brazos and Colorado river because of fertile soil. He signed a contract with the Spanish government to allow 300 families to settle in Texas. These settlers would be known as “The Old 300”

Austin promised :

640 acres for each man

320 acres for each woman

160 acres for each child

80 acres for each slave

In 1821, after 3 years under Spanish rule, Mexico was finally an independent country. Mexico had a new government under Emperor Agustin de Iturbide. Austin was worried about the new government and thought they wouldn’t honor his colonization contract.

So, in 1822, Austin traveled 1000 miles to Mexico city to make sure they were still honoring his contract. Mexico City was unorganized at the time and didn’t want to focus on the contract right away. Finally in 1823, the government of Mexico passed a new colonization law, which Austin liked very much.

By 1825, Austin fulfilled most of his terms on his colonization contract with Mexico by bringing 300 families to Texas. He named the Brazos river town of San Felipe de Austin as the capital of his colony.

Though he wasn’t the only empresario, or colonizer, in Texas, he was the most successful. His hard work and dedication to carry out his father’s dream earned him the title of “The Father of Texas”