Alamo, The

Ever since Montezuma II superstitiously believed that invading Spainards were descendants of the god Quetzalcoatl, leading to the defeat of the Aztec Empire by Hernando Cortez in 1521, Spain had controlled Mexico. Exactly 300 years later, an American - Stephen Austin - sought, and received, permission to colonize a portion of Mexico called "Coahuila y Tejas."

The idea to colonize Mexican territory did not originate with Austin. His father, Moses, had come upon hard economic times in the United States, following the Panic of 1819. It was Moses who petitioned the Spanish authorities in Mexico to allow him, and 300 additional Anglo families (called "The Old Three Hundred"), to begin anew on Mexican land.

The plan would benefit both the Spaniards (who hoped for economic growth and protection from hostile Indians) and the colonists (who could inexpensively purchase large tracts of land). Moses, unhappily, contracted pneumonia and died in June of 1821, before colonization began. On his deathbed, he told Maria, his wife, to have his son Stephen take charge of resettlement efforts.

Keeping the commitment he made to his father, Stephen Austin ultimately settled about 1,000 families in the Texas territory. (Follow this link to see an actual map he used.) Mexican law allowed each family to buy 4,428 acres of pasture land and 177 acres of farm land. The average cost was about four cents an acre!

Most of the early settlers were Protestants from the American South. They planned to raise corn, cotton and cattle in the same manner they'd employed before emigrating to Mexico - with slaves on farms and plantations.

There was a brewing problem, however. Although certain exceptions were made for the Texas territory, Catholic Mexico had anti-slavery laws.

A showdown with Santa Anna, who ultimately banished slavery even in Texas, was not far off.