Hispanic and Latino Texans are residents of the state of Texas who are of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 39.3% of the state's population. [1] Moreover, the U.S Census shows that the 2010 estimated Hispanic population in Texas was 9.7 million and increased to 11.4 million in 2020 with a 2,064,657 population jump from the 2010 Latino population estimate. [2]
In 2022, Hispanics and Latinos of any race overtook the non-Hispanic white population as the state's largest demographic. [3]
The first European to see Texas was Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, who led an expedition for the governor of Jamaica, Francisco de Garay, in 1520. While searching for a passage between the Gulf of Mexico and Asia, [4] Álvarez de Pineda created the first map of the northern Gulf Coast. [5] This map is the earliest recorded document of Texas history. [5] Moreover, the area of present-day Texas was claimed by Spain at this time. [6]
Years later on June 1527, an expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez and Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca with the purpose of reaching Florida in order to build a city, resulted in a failed mission due to harsh weather and disease. [8] Instead, the Spanish explorers were left shipwrecked off the coast of Texas where the Spanish lived for around six years. [8] After the years spent living in Texas among Indigenous civilization, Narvaez and Cabeza de Baca along with some of their men, found their way back to Mexico City in 1536 and told stories about the extravagancies witnessed in the north. [9] Learning about this, the Spanish set out due north in 1539 with the purpose of discovering riches in places yet to be explored. One of the primary motives for the excursions was for the discovery of gold. [9]
The excursion of the Spanish in 1539 into the north or what is today Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, was led by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado. [10] On July 7, 1540, Coronado's army reached the outskirts of the rumored city of much gold, Cibola, near upper Rio Grande where the Spanish encountered massive resistance from Puebloans. [9] The violence between the Spanish and the Puebloans continued at Cibola until the Puebloan soldiers inhabiting Cibola were forced to leave to a village where their wives and children had moved to for shelter. [9]
When the fighting settled, Coronado decided to explore the land more extendedly, which was when one of the expeditions arrived at Texas in 1541 where they encountered groups of people from the Caddo tribe, leading to more events of violence. [9] After all, Coronado returned to New Spain on April 1542 an informed about the cruel reality of the cities in the north that were explored, describing them as not having any gold or silver. [11] Soon after this, the Spanish decided to remain away from the north or the present day southwest region of the United States for approximately 150 years, though expeditions led by Spaniards and not authorized by Spain did take place within those years. [9] Until 1688, Spain essentially remained out of Texas. [12]
Around 1688, the Spanish learned about French interventions occurring in the area of Texas, land that had already been claimed by Spain. [13] This led to the actions taken by Spaniard Alonso de León, the then governor of Coahuila, to march into Texas towards Fort St. Louis. [13] Fort St. Louis was the location where the French were set up. In April 1689, Alonso de Leon arrived with his army ready to take down the French fort and looking for any remaining French in the area. [13] During the time there, de Leon was informed by some of the located French that the Karankawa people had attacked them and left the fort in ruins, forcing the French to flee. [13] A year after going back to New Spain, de Leon returned to Texas because he was concerned about the French returning to Spanish territory. [10] Spanish activity in Texas remained minimal and only returned when the French attempted to intervene. [9]
In 1690 when de Leon returned to Texas, he had with him an army of about 100 men made up of soldiers and priests and built the first church in Texas, named San Francisco de los Tejas. [14] The construction of this church was a major stepping stone for Spain as Spanish Texas was headed to become an area of greater importance for Spain. After San Francisco de los Tejas was established, the construction of many more missions followed, such as Mision Nuestra Senora del Rosario and Nuestra Senora del Refugio. [9] A year later in January 1691, Domingo Terán de los Ríos was appointed to be the governor of Spanish Texas. [10] Throughout the construction of various churches, the Spanish had interactions with different Indigenous groups. Soon enough, interracial marriages led to the development of different races such as mestizos, criollos, and culebras/mulattos. [9] This led to the development of the Caste system in Texas and throughout the southwest United States. During this time, Spain faced problems with the French, the Natives, and with also with each other. [10] With years passing by, the occurrence of other events such as the American Revolution in 1775, led to more problems in Texas. Soon enough, Spain would have to face the ever-growing United States and the Mexican population while having problems with the Natives and the French. [10]
Mexico declared its independence from Spain on September 16, 1810 and war ended on September 26, 1821. [15] Because of Mexico's independence from Spain, Texas became the property of Mexico. [15] Around this time, the United States had obtained massive amounts of land from France through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. [16] In addition, under Mexican law, Texas was available for anyone to move to and also offered land grants to empresarios. [17] During this time, the population of Texas grew quickly. [18] The population was not only Mexican but also included United States citizens, Native Americans and enslaved people. [19] When people residing in Texas did not agree with Mexican law and did not follow the law, Mexico ended all immigration into Texas. [19] Such events led to the Texas Independence which then led to the annexation of Texas and then to the Mexican–American War. [10]
On February 2, 1848 the peace treaty, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, was signed between Mexico and the United States which essentially gave the United States much of the land that was owned by Mexico in the north and established the Rio Grande River as the border between Texas and Mexico. [20] Moreover, Hispanics and Latinos already living in the territory that became of the United States, were given the opportunity to stay and obtain United States citizenship. [20] While many chose to leave to their home country, many also decided to stay. [20]
The major immigration of Mexicans into Texas began during the 1890s due to the growth and Industrialisation aspect of Texas that created a plethora of jobs. [18] Most of immigrants were Mexicans, who migrated to improve their living conditions and give their children a better education.
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Hispanics (of any race) were 7.1% of the state population in 1910.[ citation needed ] As of 2010, 45% of Texas residents had Hispanic ancestry; these include recent immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and South America, as well as Tejanos, whose ancestors have lived in Texas as early as the 1700s.[ citation needed ] Tejanos are the largest ancestry group in southern Duval County and among the largest in and around Bexar County, including San Antonio, where over one million Hispanics live. The state has the second largest Hispanic population in the United States, behind California.[ citation needed ]
Hispanics dominate southern, south-central, and western Texas and form a significant portion of the residents in the cities of Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The Hispanic population contributes to Texas having a younger population than the American average, because Hispanic births have outnumbered non-Hispanic white births since the early 1990s. In 2007, for the first time since the early nineteenth century, Hispanics accounted for more than half of all births (50.2%), while non-Hispanic whites accounted for just 34%.[ citation needed ]
Steve Murdock, a demographer with the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas at Rice University and a former director of the U.S. Census Bureau, predicted that, between 2000 and 2040 (assuming that the net migration rate will equal half that of 1990–2000), Hispanic public school enrollment will increase by 213 percent, while non-Hispanic white enrollment will decrease by 15 percent. [21] As of 2010, 29.21% (6,543,702) of Texas residents age 5 and older spoke Spanish at home as a primary language. [22]
Ancestry by origin (2020-2022 Census) [23] | Population | % |
---|---|---|
Argentine | 19,696 | |
Bolivian | 6,926 | |
Chilean | 14,149 | |
Colombian | 104,755 | |
Costa Rican | 12,961 | |
Cuban | 129,482 | |
Dominican | 38,063 | |
Ecuadorian | 30,411 | |
Guatemalan | 151,112 | |
Honduran | 242,067 | |
Mexican | 9,674,825 | |
Nicaraguan | 38,344 | |
Panamanian | 22,621 | |
Paraguayan | 2,726 | |
Peruvian | 37,277 | |
Puerto Rican | 264,937 | |
Salvadoran | 405,687 | |
"Spanish" | 90,033 | |
"Spaniard" | 130,833 | |
"Spanish American" | 2,128 | |
Uruguayan | 3,453 | |
Venezuelan | 122,038 | |
All other | 520,494 | |
Total | 12,070,642 |
Ancestry by region [24] [25] | Number | % |
---|---|---|
Mexican | 7,951,193 | 31.6% |
Caribbean | 190,470 | 0.8% |
Central American | 420,683 | 1.7% |
South American | 133,808 | 0.5% |
Other Hispanic | 764,767 | 3.0% |
Total | ||
In Texas, English is the state's de facto official language (though it lacks de jure status) and is used in government. However, the continual influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants increased the import of Spanish in Texas. Texas's counties bordering Mexico are mostly Hispanic, and consequently, Spanish is commonly spoken in the region. The Government of Texas, through Section 2054.116 of the Government Code, mandates that state agencies provide information on their websites in Spanish to assist residents who have limited English proficiency. [26]
From 1915 to 1919, during the Mexican Revolution, Mexicans and Tejanos in South Texas faced increased violence from Texan Rangers. Due to tensions caused by changes in both governments and the border, people of Latino descent were hanged, shot, burnt, decapitated, and tortured. [27] Texas Legislative Investigation ended this period of violence by finding the Texas Rangers guilty. More recently, the Texas government has acknowledged this period of history with the "Life and Death on the Border, 1910 to 1920" exhibit. [28]
Anti-Latino attitudes spiked during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Latinos, among other foreigners, were accused of stealing jobs from Americans and contributing to the decline of the economy. In response to the growing, Anglo-American, frustration, the United States government forcibly removed 2 million Latinos with the majority of them being American citizens. During these repatriations, local governments denied aid to those of Mexican descent, offered train fares to Mexico and raided Latino communities. Hospitals removed Latinos with disabilities and illness while employers laid off Latino workers. To avoid raids and discrimination, many Latinos returned to Mexico voluntarily. By 1936, approximately one third of Texas's Latino population had been repatriated. [29]
These sentiments heightened in the 1840s with the end of the Mexican-American War and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The increased population of Latinos were met with further illegal deportations, violence, racism, and segregation. [29] In instance of these reactions was the Olivera Street raid of 1931. During this raid, law enforcement and immigration agents arrested and deported nearly 400 Mexican-Americans despite their citizenship or immigration status in America.
Anti-Latino sentiments grew during the California Gold Rush as many Latinos demonstrated more advanced mining skills than their white counterparts. [30] From the late 19th century, the Gold Rush era, to the early 20th century, mob violence against Spanish-speaking individuals became a common occurrence and the number of victims reached well over thousands. [31] During this period, Texas Rangers carried out lynchings of Hispanic men, women, and children for accusations that included cattle theft, murder, witchcraft, and even refusal to play the fiddle. Some case studies included the burning of Refugio Ramírez and his family for the alleged bewitching of neighbors in 1880 by a mob in Collin County, North Texas. Another event included the Porvenir Massacre of 1918, which involved the seizure and assassination of 15 men and boys from the village of Porvenir in Presidio County, Texas. Although Texas Rangers justified the murders by accusing the people of being "thieves, spies and murderers", the United States Army's and the State Department's investigations found that the denizens of Porvenir were unarmed and innocent. As a result, Texas state government began investigation of the Texas Rangers. [32]
With a high number of chemical industries and facilities, various neighborhoods within Houston are susceptible to toxic air pollution. The communities closest to these environmentally hazardous spaces are communities of low-income, people of color. [33] Located in East Houston, Harrisburg/Manchester and Galena Park are the two communities with the closest proximity to Risk Management Plan (RMP) facilities or facilities that use certain hazardous substances. [34]
Both Harrisburg/Manchester and Galena Park are largely made up of impoverished, Latino communities with average household incomes of $49,732 and $45,431. Due to the close proximity to RMP facilities, the people of these neighborhoods are at a 24 to 36 percent higher risk of getting cancer when compared to the predominantly white neighborhoods of Houston. [35] Harrisburg/Manchester is geographically centered in the middle of "21 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting facilities, 11 large quantity generators of hazardous waste, 4 facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous waste, 9 major dischargers of air pollutants, and 8 major stormwater discharging facilities". An average of 484,000 pounds of toxic chemicals are released into the Harrisburg/Manchester air while none are released in communities with average household incomes of $226,333 and poverty rate of 3 percent. [36]
Spanning from the 1890s to the 1980s, 122 school districts throughout 59 counties established segregated schools for Mexican-Americans. These poorly developed schools lacked the adequate schooling environment. Teachers possessed no credentials or experience while the classrooms lacked the necessary equipment. School administrators often placed Tejano students into 'low-track' classes. By assessing Tejano students on biased rubrics that evaluated mental, emotional, and language abilities, school officials classified Tejano students as inferior and underdeveloped. Beginning with elementary schools, administrators assigned Tejano children to low-level and nonacademic courses, aimed to lead the students to vocational or general-education courses. Due to unequal educational platforms, disregard for Tejano culture, and linguistic intolerance, Hispanic students had higher withdrawal rates and lower academic performances. [33]
Until 1970 Houston Independent School District (HISD) counted its Hispanic and Latino students as "white." [37]
Total population of Spanish Texas, East of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico and North of Nuevo Santander prior to admission to U.S. statehood. These three regions formed today's Texas.
Texas | Spaniards, Criollo, Mestizo | % pop |
---|---|---|
1682 (Coulson and Joyce estimates) | 129 (Spanish settlers in Ysleta Mission, first Spanish foundation in modern-day Texas) [38] | N/A |
1731 | 500 [39] | N/A |
1742 (Peter Gerhard estimations) | 1,800 [40] | N/A |
1755 (Coulson and Joyce estimates) | 1,600 [38] | N/A |
1761 | 1,200 (Spanish Texas) [41] | N/A |
1780 | 2,000 (Spanish Texas) | 50% [40] [42] |
1790 (Revillagigedo census) [43] | 2,409 (Spanish Texas) | 73% |
1800 (Juan Bautista Elguézabal census) | 4,800 (Spanish Texas) [40] | N/A |
1810 | 5,000 (Spanish Texas) [44] | N/A |
1821 | 10,500 - 2,500 (Spanish Texas) [Note 1] [45] - 8,000 (El Paso) [45] [Note 2] | 10% [46] |
1830 (Coulson and Joyce estimates) | 3,000 (Spanish Texas) [38] | N/A |
Texas | Number of people of Mexican Origin (1850-1930) and of Hispanic/Latino Origin (1940-2020) in Texas [47] [48] [49] [50] [a] | +% of Population of Mexican Origin (1850-1930) and of Hispanic/Latino Origin (1940-2020) in Texas |
---|---|---|
1840 | 7,000 | 10% [51] |
1845 (year of the U.S. annexation of Texas) | 23,000 [52] | N/A |
1850 | 14,000 [53] | N/A |
1860 | 12,000 [54] | N/A |
1870 | N/A | N/A |
1880 | 74,401 [55] | N/A |
1890 | N/A | N/A |
1900 | 165,000 [56] - 173,980 [55] | N/A |
1910 | 276,654 - 280,975 [55] | 7.1% |
1920 | 461,659 - 472,616 [55] | 9.9% |
1930 | 732,106 [55] - 803,810 | 13.8% |
1940 | 736,433 | 11.5% |
1950 | 1,025,588 | 13.3% |
1960 | 1,417,792 | 14.8% |
1970 | 1,981,861 (15% sample) | 17.7% |
1980 | 2 985 824 | 21.0% |
1990 | 4 339 905 | 25.5% |
2000 | 6,669,666 | 32.0% |
2010 | 9,460,921 | 37.6% |
2020 | 11,441,717 | 39.3% |
Texas is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest. Texas has a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Covering 268,596 square miles (695,660 km2), and with some 30.5 million residents as of 2023, it is the second-largest state by both area and population. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State for its former status as an independent republic.
Victoria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 91,319. Its county seat is also named Victoria. Victoria County is included in the Victoria, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, and comprises the entirety of the Victoria, TX media market.
San Saba County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in western Central Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,730. Its county seat is San Saba. The county is named after the San Saba River, which flows through the county.
Maverick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 57,887. Its county seat is Eagle Pass. The county was created in 1856 and organized in 1871. It is named for Samuel Maverick, cattleman and state legislator.
Benavides is a city in Duval County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,183 at the 2020 census.
Goliad is a city and the county seat of Goliad County, Texas, United States. It is known for the 1836 Goliad massacre during the Texas Revolution. It had a population of 1,620 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Victoria, Texas, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Tejanos are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent.
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican heritage. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United States. Mexicans born outside the US make up 53% of the total population of foreign-born Hispanic Americans and 25% of the total foreign-born population. Chicano is a term used by some to describe the unique identity held by Mexican-Americans. The United States is home to the second-largest Mexican community in the world, behind only Mexico.
Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans of full or partial Spanish and/or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. These demographics include all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino regardless of race. As of 2020, the Census Bureau estimated that there were almost 65.3 million Hispanics and Latinos living in the United States and its territories.
Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1519 until 1821. Spain claimed ownership of the region in 1519. Slave raids by Spaniards into what became Texas began in the 16th century and created an atmosphere of antagonism with Native Americans (Indians) which would cause endless difficulties for the Spanish in the future. Spain did not attempt to establish a permanent presence until after France established the colony of Fort Saint Louis in 1685. In 1688, the French colony failed due to internal dissention and attacks by the Karankawa Indians. In 1690, responding to fear of French encroachment, Spanish explorer Alonso de León escorted several Catholic missionaries to east Texas, where they established the first mission in Texas. That attempt to establish a Spanish colony failed due to the hostility of the Caddo Indians.
Indigenous people lived in what is now Texas more than 10,000 years ago, as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of prehistoric Leanderthal Lady. In 1519, the arrival of the first Spanish conquistadors in the region of North America now known as Texas found the region occupied by numerous Native American tribes. The name Texas derives from táyshaʼ, a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai, which means "friends" or "allies." In the recorded history of what is now the U.S. state of Texas, all or parts of Texas have been claimed by six countries: France, Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy during the Civil War, and the United States of America.
José Joaquín de Arredondo y Mioño (1768–1837) was a 19th-century Spanish and Mexican soldier who served during the last two decades of Spanish rule in New Spain. He was military commandant of the Texas province during the first Texas revolutions against Spanish rule.
The history of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States is wide-ranging, spanning more than four hundred years of American colonial and post-colonial history. Hispanics became the first American citizens in the newly acquired Southwest territory after the Mexican–American War, and remained a majority in several states until the 20th century.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Texas:
The city of Houston has significant populations of Mexican Americans, Mexican immigrants, and Mexican citizen expatriates. Houston residents of Mexican origin make up the oldest Hispanic ethnic group in Houston, and Jessi Elana Aaron and José Esteban Hernández, authors of "Quantitative evidence for contact-induced accommodation: Shifts in /s/ reduction patterns in Salvadoran Spanish in Houston," referring to another large Latino group in Houston, stated that as of 2007 it was the most "well-established" Hispanophone ethnic group there. Houston is the third city for Mexican immigrants after Chicago and Los Angeles.
Indigenous peoples lived in the area now known as Texas long before Spanish explorers arrived in the area. However, once Spaniards arrived and claimed the area for Spain, a process known as mestizaje occurred, in which Spaniards and Native Americans had mestizo children who had both Spanish and indigenous blood. Texas was ruled by Spain as part of its New Spain territory from 1520, when Spaniards first arrived in Mexico in 1520, until Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, which led to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848). In 1830, the Mexican population fell to 20 percent and in 1840 down to 10 percent. When Spanish rule in Texas ended, Mexicans in Texas numbered 5,000. In 1850 over 14,000 Texas residents had Mexican origin.
This is a Mexican American bibliography. This list consists of books, and journal articles, about Mexican Americans, Chicanos, and their history and culture. The list includes works of literature whose subject matter is significantly about Mexican Americans and the Chicano/a experience. This list does not include works by Mexican American writers which do not address the topic, such as science texts by Mexican American writers.
Ethnicity in the Sunbelt: A History of Mexican Americans in Houston is a 1989 book written by Arnoldo De León and published by the Mexican American Studies Program, University of Houston.
The Hispanic population in Houston is increasing as more immigrants from Latin American countries come to work in the area. As of 2006 the city has the third-largest Hispanic population in the United States. As of 2011, the city is 44% Hispanic. As of 2011, of the city's U.S. citizens that are Hispanic, half are age 18 or older, and are therefore at the age range eligible to vote. As of 2011 many Hispanics in Houston are not U.S. citizens, especially those living in Gulfton and Spring Branch, and are therefore ineligible to vote in elections. As a result, Hispanics have proportionally less representation in the municipal government than other ethnic groups. As of April 2011 two of the Houston City Council members are Hispanic, making up 18% of the council.
San Antonio de Béxar: A Community on New Spain's Northern Frontier is a non-fiction book by Jesus F. de la Teja, published by the University of New Mexico Press in 1995.
Light Townsend Cummins, and Cary D. Wintz (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2014), 31–48.