Revolution Building 101

The first step to revolution in Texas came at the port of Anahuac on Galveston Bay in 1832, from the governor who was commanded by Col. John Bradburn, a bully from Kentucky in the service of the Mexican military. He alienated the settlers by "borrowing" their slaves and supplies without payment, then ordered those who objected arrested and held for military trial.

In June 1832, 160 angry settlers took the fort, demanding Bradburn resign and the release of his prisoners.  The officers yielded, but there was a skirmish between settlers and Mexican troops.  The Texans settlers won. 

The Mexicans at this time were caught up in a political battle at home between the conservatives and the Federalists, champions of the new democratic constitution. The settlers at Anahuac were not against the new laws, but voiced their support for the Federalists.  The Federalists had taken power in 1824 in a coup led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

The settlers had two conventions at Austin in 1832 and 1833 in which they drew up a list of reforms they wanted to present to Santa Anna, who they considered their "Federalist ally".  Among those requests was the repeal of the prohibition of American immigration, trial by jury, and the separation of Texas from Coahuila. 

Stephen Austin was elected to take the requests to Mexico City.  When he arrived in 1833 he learned that President Santa Anna was away fighting rebels and the city was in a cholera turmoil.  Austin and the Vice President clashed over the slow pace of negotiations, after which Austin wrote to officials in San Antonio urging them to begin forming a new state without Mexico's permission.

Santa Anna, returning to the capital, agreed to some of Texan's requests - trial by jury and the repeal of the ban on American immigration, but he opposed Texan statehood.  Meanwhile Austin was arrested on his way home when Mexican officials intercepted his letter...

Next time...Who is this Santa Anna?
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Today in Pioneer History:  On September 12, 1846, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning elope. Barrett’s strict father disliked Browning, whom he viewed as an unreliable fortune hunter, so most of the courtship was conducted in secret. On September 12, 1846, while her family was away, Barrett sneaked out of the house and met Browning at St. Marylebone Parish Church, where they were married. She returned home for a week, keeping the marriage a secret, then fled with Browning to Italy. She never saw her father again. (not much "pioneer history" on this date :)