<P> In the late 18th century, Spain had stopped allocating new parcels of land in San Antonio and La Bahia, making it difficult for some families to accommodate their growth . Occupancy rights were granted to people in the northeast part of Texas, but the new residents had no official ownership of the land on which they lived . Just before Mexico achieved independence, Spain reversed its policies and passed a colonization law . Although the law did not state a religious requirement for settlers in Texas, it was understood that Spain's only religion was Catholicism, per the 1812 Constitution . Notably, article 28 of this law prohibited the importation of slaves into Spanish territories, and if brought to the area, they would be freed . Mexico adopted a similar law in 1824 . The General Colonization Law which enabled all heads of household who were citizens of or immigrants to Mexico to be eligible to claim land . The law did not differentiate among races or social stature, and people who had been granted occupancy rights would be able to claim the land patent for the dwellings . Unlike its predecessor, the Mexican law required immigrants to practice Catholicism and stressed that foreigners needed to learn Spanish . Settlers were supposed to own property or have a craft or useful profession, and all people wishing to live in Texas were expected to report to the nearest Mexican authority for permission to settle . The rules were widely disregarded and many families became squatters . </P> <P> As soon as the national colonization law was passed, approval for settlement contracts for Texas was the responsibility of the state government in Saltillo . They were soon besieged by foreign speculators wanting to bring colonists into the state . Coahuila y Tejas implemented the federal law in 1825 . At this time, about 3500 people lived in Texas, mostly congregated at San Antonio and La Bahia . Under the new law, people who did not already possess property in Texas could claim one square league (4438 acres) of irrigable land, with an additional league available to those who owned cattle . Soldiers were given first choice of land, followed by citizens and immigrants . Empresarios and individuals with large families were exempt from the limit . Those who had owned land under Spanish control were allowed to retain their property as long as they had not fought on the side of the Spanish during the Mexican War of Independence . Immigrants were subject to the same policies as Mexican citizens, and Native Americans who migrated to Texas after Mexican independence and were not indigenous to the area would be treated as immigrants . </P> <P> Approximately 3420 land grant applications were submitted by immigrants and naturalized citizens, many of them Anglo - Americans . The first group of colonists, known as the Old Three Hundred, arrived in 1822 to settle an empresarial grant that had been given to Stephen F. Austin by the Spanish . The group settled along the Brazos River, ranging from the near present - day Houston to Dallas . Shortly after they arrived, Austin learned that the new Mexican government had not ratified his father's land grant with Spain . He was forced to travel to Mexico City, 1,200 miles (1,931 km) away, to get permission for his colony . During his time in the capitol, Austin impressed various important people in the government by offering to draw a map of Texas, to help remove sediment obstructing navigation of the Colorado River, and by promising to carry out an Indian pacification campaign . On February 18, 1823, ten months after Austin arrived in Mexico City, Agustin I approved his colonization contract . One month later, Agustin abdicated as emperor, and the newly created republican congress nullified all acts of his government, including Austin's colonization contract . Many of Austin's new friends in Mexico praised his integrity before the congress, and his contract was re-approved in mid-April . On his return to Texas in July 1823, Austin established San Felipe de Austin as the new headquarters for his colony . </P> <P> There was no shortage of people willing to come to Texas . The United States was still struggling with the aftermath of the Panic of 1819, and soaring land prices within the United States made the Mexican land policy seem very generous . In 1827 Austin received a second grant allowing him to settle 100 families along the Old San Antonio Road to Nacogdoches, near what is now Bastrop . The location was chosen at the behest of the Tejanos, who hoped that colonists in that area could help defend against Comanche raids . Austin was later granted permission to resettle 800 other families in Texas . Twenty - three other empresarios also brought immigrants to Texas . Of these, only one of the empresarios, Martín De León settled citizens from within Mexico; the others came primarily from the United States . Many of the Anglo settlers owned slaves . All colonists were expected to become naturalized Mexican citizens, and they were also supposed to follow the state religion . In Austin's colony, the local priest formally converted new arrivals but then allowed them to worship as they pleased . </P>

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