Texians is a name for immigrants from the United States and countries other than Mexico who became residents in the Tejas and Coahuila areas of Mexico, much of which later would be called Texas. Following a war for independence, several unofficial terms were used in the 19th century to denote residents of Texas, including Texasian, Texican, and Texonian.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Colonial Settlement 1.2 Texians of the Republic of Texas 2 Footnotes 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Colonial Settlement

Many different immigrant groups came to Texas over the centuries. There was Spanish immigration in the 17th century, French in the 18th and massive German, Czech, Dutch, Swedish, Irish, Scots, and Welsh immigration in the years leading up to Texas independence in the 19th. Thus, the word Texian is not specific to white immigrants or English-speaking immigrants that settled the land. And so, before Texas became a sovereign nation, Texian refers to anyone of any color and language not of local Tejano heritage.

In 1834-36 the Texian Army was organized for the Texas Revolution of independence from Mexico, a nation which had won its independence from Spain just a dozen years earlier. The Texian Army was a diverse group of men and women from many different nations and states. The Texian Army was made up of local native-born Tejano volunteers;^[1] United States volunteers from states such as Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia; and people from England, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and what is now the Czech Republic.^[2]

[edit] Texians of the Republic of Texas

Texian was the preferred demonym for all the people of the Republic of Texas, before it became a US state. This term was strongly favored by the majority of Texas residents, and President Mirabeau Lamar frequently used it to foster Texas nationalism. Attempts were made by some to defame the term Texian by falsely^{[citation needed]} indicating it referred to Anglo-Americans only. In reality, it was Anglo-Americans who eventually championed the usage of Texan. Overwhelming numbers in the United States used the term Texan, and due to heavy immigration from the United States, Texan became the standard term after 1850.^[3] The Texas Almanac of 1857 bemoaned the shift in usage, saying "Texian...has more euphony, and is better adapted to the conscience of poets who shall hereafter celebrate our deeds in sonorous strains than the harsh, abrupt, ungainly, appellation, Texan—impossible to rhyme with anything but the merest doggerel."^[4] The Almanac continued to use the earlier term until 1868. Indeed, many who had lived through the times of Revolution and Republic continued to call themselves Texians until well into the 20th Century.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] See also

• Tejano, the Hispanic-American citizens of the state and the Republic.
• Mexican Texas
• Republic of Texas

[edit] External links

• Texian from the Handbook of Texas Online
• The Texian Legacy Association homepage