|
The Convention of 1833 (April 1–13, 1833), a political gathering of settlers in Mexican Texas, was a successor to the Convention of 1832, whose requests had not been addressed by the Mexican government. Despite the political uncertainty resulting from a recently concluded civil war, 56 delegates met in San Felipe de Austin to draft a series of petitions to the Mexican government. The volatile William H. Wharton presided over the meeting. Although the convention's agenda largely mirrored that of the Convention of 1832, delegates also agreed to pursue independent statehood for the province, which was at the time part of the state of Coahuila y Tejas. Under the guidance of Sam Houston, former governor of the US state of Tennessee, a committee drafted a state constitution to submit to the Mexican Congress. The proposed constitution was largely patterned on US political principles, yet retained several Spanish customs. Delegates also requested customs exemptions and asked that a ban on immigration into Texas be lifted. Some residents complained that this convention, like its predecessor, was illegal. Nevertheless, Stephen F. Austin journeyed to Mexico City to present the petitions to the government. Frustrated with the lack of progress, in October Austin wrote a letter encouraging Texans to form their own state government. This letter was forwarded to the Mexican government and Austin was imprisoned in early 1834. During his imprisonment, the federal and state legislatures later passed a series of measures to placate the colonists, including the introduction of trial by jury. Austin acknowledged that "()very evil complained of has been remedied."〔quoted in Davis (2006), p. 117.〕 ==Background== Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821. After the new country's monarchy was overthrown, the Constitution of 1824 established a federalist republic composed of multiple states. Sparsely populated provinces were denied independent statehood and instead merged with neighboring areas. Mexican Texas, which marked the country's eastern border with the United States, was combined with Coahuila to form the new state Coahuila y Tejas.〔 To facilitate government of the large area, the state was subdivided into several departments; all of Texas was included in the Department of Béxar.〔Ericson (2000), p. 33.〕 Texas was part of the Mexican frontier, and settlers faced frequent raids by native tribes. Bankrupt and unable to provide much military assistance, in 1824 the federal government legalized immigration from the United States and Europe, hoping that an influx of settlers would discourage raiding.〔Manchaca (2001), pp. 164, 187.〕 As the number of American living in Texas increased, Mexican authorities became apprehensive that the United States intended to annex the area, possibly by force.〔Henson (1982), pp. 47–8.〕〔Morton (1943), p. 33.〕 To curb the perceived threat, the Mexican government passed the Law of April 6, 1830, which restricted immigration from the United States into Texas and called for the first enforcement of customs duties.〔 The new laws were unpopular with both native Mexicans in Texas (''Tejanos'') and recent immigrants (Texians).〔Davis (2006), p. 77.〕 In 1832, General Antonio López de Santa Anna led a revolt against President Anastasio Bustamante's centralist government.〔Davis (2006), p. 85.〕 Under the pretext that they supported Santa Anna, a small group of Texians armed themselves and overthrew the commander of the garrison that was enforcing the new customs duties.〔Henson (1982), pp. 95–102, 109.〕 Other settlers followed their example, and within weeks all Mexican soldiers in eastern Texas had been forced to leave.〔Davis (2006), p. 86.〕 Buoyed by their military success, Texians organized a political convention to persuade Mexican authorities to weaken the Laws of April 6, 1830.〔Davis (2006), p. 92.〕 Although the two municipalities with the largest ''Tejano'' populations, San Antonio de Béxar and Victoria, refused to participate, 55 delegates met in October for the Convention of 1832.〔Davis (2006), p. 91.〕 They adopted a series of resolutions that requested changes in the governance of Texas. The most controversial item was for Texas to become an independent state, separate from Coahuila.〔 After approving the list of resolutions, delegates created a seven-member central committee to convene future meetings.〔Barker (1985), p. 351.〕 Before the list of concerns could be presented to the state and federal governments, Ramón Músquiz, the political chief of the Department of Béxar, ruled that the convention was illegal.〔Davis (2006), p. 94.〕 The law directed that citizens should protest to their local ''ayuntamiento'' (similar to a city council), which would forward their concerns to the political chief. The political chief could then escalate the concerns to the appropriate governmental authority.〔 Because this process had not been followed, Músquiz annulled the resolutions.〔 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「Convention of 1833」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|