These men and women deserve attention for their own life stories. For example, readers of all ages have been moved by the story of Cabeza de Vaca and the hardships he faced. To be sure, the history of Spanish Texas is larger than any single life. Recognizing this, we have presented multiple biographies that span the entire colonial period—from explorers to key figures in Texas’s independence from Spain in 1821. We have looked at important explorers and settlers in all parts of the future Lone Star State. You have read about Coronado in the west and north, José de Escandón in the south, and Antonio Gil Ibarvo (along with many others) in the east.
By studying explorers, missionaries, French Indian agents, Spanish military officers, crown agents, governors, rebel leaders, and colonial women we have tried to add color and interest to the rich subject that is Texas history. We have chosen these people for their human interest and because they played important roles.
Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso de León were early explorers and pathfinders. An important part of Texas’s religious history is the role played by missionaries such as Fathers Francisco Hidalgo and Antonio Margil. María de Agreda, the famous Lady in Blue, adds mystery to the missionaries’ actual work among the Indians. Military captains such as the Marqués de Aguayo and Pedro de Rivera made Texas first stronger and then weaker. Forty years later, suggestions by the Marqués de Rubí changed the face of East Texas and the lives of its settlers. In the meantime, Felipe de Rábago’s sinful behavior and bad example for his men most likely led to a double murder and the failure of three missions in central Texas. Despite turning his life around, Rábago’s record at San Sabá was not much better. Frenchmen Louis St. Denis and Athanase de Mézières are good examples of early multiculturalism. St. Denis’s wife, Manuela Sánchez, is the first really important woman on the Texas scene. Domingo Cabello, although he did not like Texas, managed to sign a peace treaty with the Comanches. His efforts brought Spain peace with the most powerful and feared Indians in Texas. In the late colonial period, Bernardo Gutiérrez and Joaquín de Arredondo are two men who were almost exact opposites in their goals. As a group, these men and women represent truly interesting personalities.
But what about colonial women who are not so well known? Because Texas was a dangerous frontier province of New Spain, having hundreds of soldiers stationed at various presidios meant that men outnumbered women in Spanish Texas. Men did the fighting and were more likely to die young. While they were absent, women (at times widows) had to be leaders of families and protectors of children. By looking at what we have called faceless and nameless females, we have managed to give some of them names and make them better known. Their story adds balance to histories that have given almost total attention to explorers, conquistadors, soldiers, missionaries, and governors. These Spanish, French, mestiza, mulata, and Native American women are the true mothers of Texas.