The Desires of Her Heart Page 28
Historical Note
The land called Texas in 1821 was an interesting locale. This time period in the West is really transitional between the colonial days and the American West. What most of us think of as the Wild West began after the Civil War. In the 1820s through the 1830s, Americans were for the first time moving west of the Mississippi in large numbers. It’s hard to believe, but after America gained its freedom and set up its Constitution, the frontier was the Northwest Territory, which encompassed the eastern Midwest. For example, Illinois became a state in 1822. Abraham Lincoln was twelve years old when Stephen Austin got a land grant to bring three hundred Anglo families into Texas, a state in Mexico.
Spain agreeing to let angloamericanos into their territory was an act of desperation. They could not draw anyone in numbers from Spain or Mexico who wanted to move north of the Rio Grande. And Spain realized that it could not hold onto the land if they could not populate it. So the last Spanish governor of Mexico agreed to let Moses Austin, and upon Moses’ death, his son Stephen to bring Anglos into Texas. Of course, the truth was that Americans had already been filtering into Texas in small numbers for years. Spain didn’t have the troops to keep out the American squatters. So the Spanish invited Americans who were already coming into Texas. Spain did this so they wouldn’t lose Texas to the Americans. Which, of course, was completely illogical.
Spain tried to prevent the Americans from changing Texas into an Anglo colony by insisting settlers agree to convert to Catholicism, not bring in slaves, and pledge allegiance to Spain. Of course, the Anglos had no intention of doing any of that. As Cole Anderson said, the Americans thought they would just keep to themselves and be Americans in everything but what they called themselves.
The Mexican Revolution of 1821 actually took place in Spain, when liberals took over and ousted the king. Padre Hidalgo had led the peons in a revolt in 1811 but had been executed and the revolt crushed. But with the overthrow of the king, Mexico announced its independence and formulated the first, very liberal constitution of Mexico. The liberal Constitution of 1824 was welcomed by the angloamericano settlers in Texas, since it set up a federal system and constitutional freedoms just like in the United States.
But the Mexicans had no tradition of self-government, and the Constitution of 1824 would soon be scrapped in favor of dictatorship and central control. And this is what led to the Texas Revolution of 1836, with its famous call, “Remember the Alamo!” And this turbulent time is what Alandra Maria Inez Sandoval will face when she comes of age.
I hope you enjoyed reading the first book in my Texas Star of Destiny series. I took the title of the series from the Texas state song, which interestingly was written in 1829, seven years before Texas broke away from Mexico. As Don Carlos Sandoval said, “Anglos don’t blend in. They conquer.”
I love to hear from readers. Please drop by my website: www.LynCote.net or e-mail me at l.cote@juno.com.
Blessings,
Lyn Cote
About the Author
LYN COTE married her real-life hero and was blessed with a son and daughter. She loves game shows, knitting, cooking, and eating! She and her husband live on a beautiful lake in the northwoods of Wisconsin. Now that the children have moved out, she indulges three cats—V–8 (for the engine, not the juice), Sadie, and Tricksey. In the summer, she writes using her laptop on her porch overlooking the lake. And in the winter, she sits by the fireplace her husband installed with the help of a good neighbor during their first winter at the lake.
Lyn’s inspirational novels feature American women who step up to the challenges of their times and succeed in remaining true to the values of liberty and justice for all. The story of America is one of many nationalities and races coming together to forge our one nation under God and Lyn’s novels reflect this with accurate historical detail, always providing the ring of authenticity. Strong Women, Brave Stories.
Lyn loves to hear from readers, so visit her website at www.LynCote.net or e-mail her at l.cote@juno.com.
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By Lyn Cote
THE DESIRES OF HER HEART
BLESSED ASSURANCE
Credits
Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
Cover illustration by Ricky Mujica
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE DESIRES OF HER HEART. Copyright © 2009 by Lyn Cote. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition JANUARY 2009 ISBN: 9780061974762
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