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The Consultation served as the provisional government of Mexican Texas from November 1835 through March 1836 during the Texas Revolution. Tensions rose in Texas during early 1835 as throughout Mexico federalists began to oppose the increasingly centralist policies of the government. In the summer, Texans elected delegates to a political convention to be held in Gonzales in mid-October. Weeks before the convention began, settlers took up arms against Mexican soldiers at the Battle of Gonzales. The convention was postponed until November 1 after many of the delegates joined the newly organized volunteer Texan Army to initiate a siege of the Mexican garrison at San Antonio de Bexar. On November 3, a quorum was reached in sanantonio Within days, the delegates passed a resolution to define why Texans were fighting. They expressed allegiance to the deposed Constitution of 1824 and maintained their right to form an independent government while this document was not in effect. Henry Smith was elected governor of the new provisional government and the remaining delegates formed a General Council. In the next weeks, the council authorized the creation of a new regular army to be commanded by Sam Houston. As Houston worked to establish an army independent from the existing volunteer army, the council repeatedly interfered in military matters. After authorizing an expedition to take Matamoros, Mexico, the council named several men, simultaneously, to organize and lead the assault. Angry at the effect the expedition was having on existing Texian garrisons, Smith dissolved the council. Alleging that Smith did not have the authority to disband them, council members impeached him and lieutenant governor James W. Robinson was named acting governor. ==Background== (詳細はMexican War of Independence (1810-1821) severed Spain's control over much of its North American territories, including Texas.〔Manchaca (2001), p. 161.〕 The 1824 Constitution of Mexico defined the new country as a federal republic with nineteen states and four territories. Due to limited population and extremely poor economies, the provinces of Texas and Coahuila were combined to become the state Coahuila y Tejas.〔Manchaca (2001), p. 162.〕〔Vazquez (1997), p. 51.〕 In the hopes that an influx of settlers could control the Indian raids, the new government liberalized immigration policies for the region. Under the General Colonization Law people from the United States could, for the first time, legally settle in Texas.〔Manchaca (2001), p. 164.〕 Large tracts of land were granted to ''empresarios'', who were responsible for recruiting settlers and establishing communities in Texas. With one exception, the new colonies were settled by foreigners.〔Manchaca (2001), pp. 198–9.〕 ''Tejanos'', Texas residents of Mexican descent, were soon vastly outnumbered by Anglos. By 1834, an estimated 30,000 Anglos lived in Coahuila y Tejas,〔Manchaca (2001), p. 201.〕 compared to only 7,800 Tejanos.〔Manchaca (2001), p. 172.〕 By 1833, Texas was divided into three political divisions: the Department of Béxar, the Department of Nacogdoches, and the Department of the Brazos.〔Vazquez (1997), p. 69.〕 By late 1834, the Mexican government began transitioning from a federalist model to centralism.〔Davis (2006), p. 112.〕 Santa Anna overturned the 1824 Constitution, dismissed the state legislatures, and ordered all militias disbanded.〔Davis (2006), p. 121.〕〔Hardin (1994), p. 6.〕 Federalists throughout Mexico were appalled. The governor of Coahuila y Tejas, Agustín Viesca, refused to dissolve the legislature, instead ordering that the session reconvene in Béxar, further from the influence of the Mexican army.〔Davis (2006), p. 122.〕 Viesca was arrested before he reached Texas.〔Hardin (1994), p. 23.〕 Citizens in the states of Oaxaca and Zacatecas took up arms.〔 Public opinion in Texas was divided.〔Lack (1992), pp. 24–6.〕 In June, one group staged a minor revolt against customs duties in Anahuac.〔Lack (1992), p. 25.〕 Resolutions by the city councils in Mina, Gonzales, Goliad, and Columbia denounced their actions.〔 Civic leaders in Mina were so disgusted they called for public meetings to determine whether settlers supported independence, a return to federalism, or the status quo. Although some leaders worried that Mexican officials would see this type of gathering as a step toward revolution, the ''ayuntamientos'' of both Columbia and San Felipe quickly endorsed the suggestion. They hoped that a political convention would make it quite clear that the majority of Texians did not support the radicals.〔Lack (1992), p. 32.〕 After the leaders of Columbia argued forcefully for the convention, the political chief of the department of the Brazos called for a meeting of representatives of municipalities in that department on August 1. Only four of the seven appointed delegates appeared. Discovering there was no official agenda, the four men returned home without actually doing anything.〔 As a response to the Anahuac disturbances, the commander of the Mexican army in Texas, Domingo de Ugartechea, requested reinforcements to help capture the dissidents.〔Lack (1992), pp. 26–28.〕 Small groups of soldiers began arriving in early August; in response, local municipalities formed Committees of Correspondence and Safety and unofficial militias.〔Lack (1992), p. 31.〕 On August 9, citizens at a public meeting in Brazoria again broached the idea of a larger political convention.〔Lack (1992), pp. 32–33.〕 Other communities debated whether to participate in such a convention, and whether its goals should be simply an exchange of opinions or to create an interim government.〔Davis (2006), p. 132.〕 The proposed political gathering, which became known as the Consultation, was endorsed by Stephen F. Austin, the first ''empresario'' in Texas, on September 8, which solidified support throughout the Anglo colonies.〔Lack (1992), p. 34.〕 Austin became the ''de facto'' leader of the Consultation, making plans for the gathering, which would convene on October 15. He requested that each community send one delegate early, to form a Permanent Council to start gathering opinions.〔Davis (2006), p. 136.〕 In the interim, hostilities between Mexican soldiers and Texas colonists increased, and in early October a group of Texians attacked a Mexican army contingent which had been sent to retrieve a cannon that had previously been loaned to Gonzales. This small skirmish marked the official start of the Texas Revolution. Gonzales became a rallying point for Texas settlers who opposed the centralist policies, and men flocked to the town.〔Davis (2006), pp. 140–3.〕 On October 11, the men formed themselves into a volunteer Texian Army and elected Austin as their commander.〔Winders (2004), p. 55.〕 Many of the Consultation delegates had also gathered in Gonzales, and rather than wait for the session to begin, they joined the army on a march against the Mexican garrison at Béxar.〔Winders (2004), p. 69.〕 By October 16, only 31 delegates had arrived in San Felipe, short of a quorum.〔Lack (1992), p. 41.〕 Most expected the siege of Béxar to be over very quickly, so the Consultation was postponed until November 1. In the interim, this group of delegates granted power to the Permanent Council, which in practice included representation from only seven districts. The Permanent Council made weak attempts to govern the area, but primarily carried out Austin's orders. In its most controversial move, the council closed all land offices in the region on October 27, to prevent speculators from seizing land during the unrest.〔Lack (1992), p. 42.〕 The siege of Béxar began in late October. Newly arrived immigrant Sam Houston traveled to Béxar to exhort the delegates to leave the siege and come to the Consultation. In a compromise, the officers voted to allow delegates who were members of the rank-and-file or were line officers to leave the siege, while those who were staff officers would remain to oversee military operations.〔Davis (2006), pp. 154–157.〕 William B. Travis, William Wharton, and Stephen F. Austin remained behind, while twenty delegates, including James Bowie, accompanied Houston to San Felipe.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Consultation (Texas)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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