07/21/2025
Today back in 1821, the Spanish flag was lowered in Texas for the last time. The many influences of Spanish colonization are still felt daily in Texas.
The most obvious legacy is that of the language; the state's name comes from the Spanish translation of a Caddo word for “friend.” Every major river in modern Texas, except the Red, has a Spanish name, as do 42 of the state's 254 counties. Numerous towns also bear Spanish names. Even many of the words that have been incorporated into American English, such as barbecue, canyon, ranch, and plaza, come from Spanish words. And, of course, many descendants of the Spanish settlers still remain in Texas and speak Spanish.
An additional obvious legacy is that of Catholicism. At the end of Spain's reign over Texas, virtually all the Hispanic inhabitants (and some indigenous as well) practiced the Catholic religion, and it is still practiced in Texas by a large number of people (though this is also a result of later German, Czech, Irish, French, and Mexican immigrants.) The Spanish missions built in San Antonio to convert Indians to Catholicism have been restored and are National Historic Landmarks.
Our beloved Tex-Mex also stems from the Mexican food fusion of Spanish ingredients mixed with native ingredients over the centuries.
The landscape of Texas was changed as a result of some Spanish policies. As early as the 1690s, Spaniards brought European livestock, including cattle, horses, and mules, with them on their expeditions throughout the province. Some of the livestock strayed or stayed behind when the Spanish retreated from the territory in 1693, allowing the Indian tribes to begin loosely managing herds of the animals. These herds grazed heavily on the native grasses, allowing mesquite, which was native to the lower Texas coast, to spread inland. Although the introduced livestock were able to adapt to the changing conditions, the buffalo had a more difficult time grazing among the new vegetation, beginning the decline in their numbers. Spanish farmers also introduced tilling and irrigation to the land, further changing the landscape. Spanish architectural concepts were also adopted by those in Texas, including the addition of patios, tile floors and roofs, arched windows and doorways, carved wooden doors, and wrought iron grillwork.
Also, the first cattle drives originated from Spanish Texas, well before the Anglo Cowboy. Vaqueros drove hundreds of cattle, sheep, and goats to Louisiana during the American War for Independence to supply American colonists. Spain's real intent was to weaken the British militarily and financially. Later Anglo colonists learned the ranching life from vaqueros and evolved into what we think of as cowboys.
Although Texas eventually adopted much of the Anglo-American legal system, many Spanish legal practices were retained. Among these was the Spanish model of keeping certain personal property safe from creditors. Texas implemented the first homestead exemption in the United States in 1839, and its property exemption laws are now the most liberal state in the United States. Furthermore, Spanish law maintained that both husband and wife should share equally in the profits of marriage, and, like many other former Spanish provinces, Texas retained the idea of community property rather than use the Anglo laws in which all property belonged to the husband. Furthermore, Spanish law allowed an independent executor to be named in probate cases who is not required to gain court permission for each act not explicitly listed in the testament. Texas retained this idea, and it has eventually spread to other states, included Arizona, Washington, and Idaho. In other legal matters, Texas kept the Spanish principle of adoption, becoming the first U.S. state to allow adoption.
