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The Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, known more commonly as Presidio La Bahia, or simply La Bahia is a fort constructed by the Spanish Army that became the nucleus of the modern-day city of Goliad, Texas, United States. Originally founded in 1721 on the ruins of the failed French Fort Saint Louis, the presidio was moved to a location on the Guadalupe River in 1726. In 1747, the presidio and its mission were moved to their current location on the San Antonio River. By 1771, the presidio had been rebuilt in stone and had become "the only Spanish fortress for the entire Gulf Coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande to the Mississippi River".〔Roell (1994), p. 15.〕 The civilian settlement, later named Goliad, sprang up around the presidio in the late 18th century; the area was one of the three most important in Spanish Texas. The presidio was captured by insurgents twice during the Mexican War of Independence, by the Republican Army of the North in 1813 and by the Long Expedition in 1821. Each time the insurgents were later defeated by Spanish troops. By the end of 1821, Texas became part of the newly formed United Mexican States. La Bahía was one of the two major garrisons in Mexican Texas and lay halfway between San Antonio de Béxar (the political center of Spanish Texas) and Copano, the then major port in Texas. In October 1835, days after the beginning of the Texas Revolution, a group of Texian insurgents marched on La Bahía. After a 30-minute battle, the Mexican garrison surrendered and the Texians gained control of the presidio, which they soon renamed Fort Defiance. During the siege of the Alamo, Texian commander William B. Travis several times asked La Bahía commander James Fannin to bring reinforcements. Although Fannin and his men attempted a relief mission, they abandoned the attempt the following day. After the fall of the Alamo, General Sam Houston ordered Fannin to abandon La Bahía. He did so on March 19, 1836, but took a leisurely path. Following the Battle of Coleto, the La Bahía garrison was captured and imprisoned in the Presidio. On March 27, 1836, the Texian captives were marched outside the presidio walls and executed, an event known as the Goliad Massacre. La Bahía, for its esthetically augmented architectural reproduction was ranked among the most attractive Spanish presidio sites in the United States. ==Origins== Spain claimed control over the area now known as Texas, yet in the late 17th century the area between Mexico and Florida, within the domain of New Spain, increasingly became a lesser priority.〔Chipman (1992), p. 26.〕 Taking advantage of Spain's disinterest, France in 1685 authorized Robert de La Salle to organize a colony in northern New Spain. La Salle intended to put his colony along the Mississippi River, but poor maps and improper navigation decisions led La Salle's expedition to the west shore of Matagorda Bay in Spanish Texas.〔Weber (1992), p. 149.〕 Believing the French colony was a threat to Spanish mining interests and shipping routes, Spanish King Carlos II's Council of War recommended that "Spain needed swift action 'to remove this thorn which has been thrust into the heart of America. The greater the delay the greater the difficulty of attainment.'"〔Weber (1992), p. 149.〕 After several years of searching, in early 1689 a Spanish expedition lead by Alonso De León located the site of Fort Saint Louis. Several months earlier, Karankawa Indians had destroyed the fort and killed most of the colonists.〔Chipman (1992), p. 83.〕 The returning Spaniards burned the fort and buried the French cannons.〔Weber (1992), p. 153.〕 Alonso De León recommended that Spanish authorities establish presidios at the Rio Grande, the Frio River, and the Guadalupe River. Due to a shortage of funds the Spanish government chose not to establish any presidios.〔Chipman (1992), p. 88.〕 Consequently several Spanish missions in East Texas struggled from 1691 to 1693, until they failed, leaving Texas again unprotected by Spain.〔Weber (1992), p. 155.〕 France during the subsequent decades established a presence in Louisiana, causing the Spanish to see their claimed territories threatened with French exploitation and colonization.〔Weber (1992), pp. 159–160.〕 Spain re-established the East Texas missions in 1716, this time accompanied by a garrisoned presidio.〔Chipman (1992), p. 111.〕〔Chipman (1992), p. 112.〕 After difficulties with France during the 1719-1720 War of the Quadruple Alliance the Spanish determined to increase their military presence in Texas〔Weber (1992), pp. 165–166.〕 and in 1721 the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo, governor of Texas and Coahuila, founded Presidio La Bahia on the site of La Salle's former fort.〔Weber (1992), p. 168.〕 When Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga (also known as La Bahia) in 1722 was established nearby for the Coco, Karankawa, and Cujane Indians, a military garrison of 99 men were stationed at the Presidio.〔Chipman (1992), p. 126.〕 Priests at the nearby mission were unable to find an effective means of enticing the Karankawa into mission life or Catholic teachings. In April 1725 the friars requested that the mission be moved to a more favorable location. The next year both the presidio—retaining the name "Presidio La Bahía"—and Mission Espíritu Santo were relocated inland, along the Guadalupe River in what is now Victoria County.〔Roell (1994), p. 11.〕 The presidio and the mission remained at these sites for the next 23 years.〔Roell (1994), p. 12.〕 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「Presidio La Bahía」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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