Essay Example on Texas: A State of Pride and Ownership

Texas is home of natural attractiveness rich in both human and natural resources. Texans have developed a strong relationship with the state despite the wild landscape that characterizes their state. This relationship is often entrenched since childhood to adulthood. This connection often makes the Texans ooze a great sense of ownership and pride about Texas.

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The strong relationship between the Texans and their land can be traced back to the period before the Civil War (Howard 2015). The book primarily focuses on how the Texans used their land for various activities ranging from hunting, farming to the construction of houses. Texas had two groups of people. These are the English-speaking group and the Hispanic Tejanos.

The understanding of the Texas economy before the start of the Civil War is anchored on the interactions of these two group people and their connection to the land. The development of Texas was dependent on agriculture and countryside way of life because of two reasons; the Texas setting adapted the agricultural system inherent in both southeastern United States of America and New Spain (Howard 2015).

Also, the merger of institutions and customs of Mexican and Spanish groups with that of their colleagues in the United States helped Texan adjustment to the technologies and customs.

The term Tejanos was coined to refer to the Hispanic people of Texas. In the late seventeenth century, Spaniards living in Texas had an intention of blocking the French invasion into their land by converting Indians and Caddos to Catholicism (Howard 2015). They increased their presence by settling in the valley of Rio San Antonio. The development of the area was slowed as a result of a clash between the soldiers, citizens, and Indians among other groups. It should be noted that the ranching industry established between the Rio Grande and Rio San Antonio morphed into the most critical element of the Texas economy for an extended period.

Additionally, Texian was a term used to refer to the English- speaking Texans who mainly migrated from the southern United States (Howard 2015). After Mexican attained autonomy from Spain, Texians trooped in large numbers, and the Tejanos welcomed them. Texians started adhering to the southern agricultural system to the environment.

The Hispanic element of the Texas tradition proved to be vital between the groups of the Rio Grande and Rio San Antonio. The Hispanic agricultural system gained prominence based on the connection between various traditions and customs.

Following the arrival of Spaniards in Mexico, they found a more established agricultural practice in virtually every area ranging from the cultivation of vegetables, fruits to beans, chilies, and herbs among others. The most common form of cultivation predominant in Central America and Mexico was slash-and-burn (Howard 2015).

Caddos maintained the slash-and-burn system and effectively combined with widespread hunting. Some group of farmers operating in highly populated areas employed the use of the intensive agricultural practice. During the dry periods, Indians used stones to build structures that collected the runoff that could be used by plants at a later period. It is worth to note that Texans roots have been instrumental in understanding the socio-political development of agriculture in the past and how it has shaped the growth of the Texas economy to date.

References

Howard, M. K. (2015). Aging and the Elderly. The Early Republic and Antebellum America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic History, 64.