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179-677: The Gadsden Purchase ( Spanish : Venta de La Mesilla "La Mesilla sale") is a 29,640-square-mile (76,800 km) region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla , which took effect on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lands south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande where the United States wanted
358-537: A British company to build a railroad and sought an exclusive contract from the new Franklin Pierce Administration to deliver mail from New York to San Francisco. However, Sloo soon defaulted on bank loans and the contract was sold back to Hargous. The Pierce administration, which took office in March 1853, had a strong pro-southern, pro-expansion mindset. It sent Louisiana Senator Pierre Soulé to Spain to negotiate
537-770: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Texas Texas ( / ˈ t ɛ k s ə s / TEK -səss , locally also / ˈ t ɛ k s ɪ z / TEK -siz ; Spanish : Texas or Tejas , pronounced [ˈtexas] )
716-666: A bill to create two railroads, one with a northern route, and one with a southern route starting below Memphis on the Mississippi River. Under the Rusk legislation, the President would be authorized to select the specific termini and routes as well as the contractors who would build the railroads. Some southerners, however, worried that northern and central interests would leap ahead in construction and opposed any direct aid to private developers on constitutional grounds. Other southerners preferred
895-405: A central state apparatus designed to manage state institutions more efficiently. These changes helped Texas universities receive federal research funds. Beginning around the mid-20th century, Texas began to transform from a rural and agricultural state to one urban and industrialized. The state's population grew quickly during this period, with large levels of migration from outside the state. As
1074-588: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
1253-450: A deleterious way. The purchased lands were initially appended to the existing New Mexico Territory. To help control the new land, the US Army established Fort Buchanan on Sonoita Creek in present-day southern Arizona on November 17, 1856. The difficulty of governing the new areas from the territorial capital at Santa Fe led to efforts as early as 1856 to organize a new territory out of
1432-517: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
1611-541: A few thousand square miles and about 3,000 residents; more significantly, it included the Mesilla Valley. Bordering the Rio Grande River, the valley consisted of flat desert land measuring about 50 miles (80 km), north to south, by 200 miles (320 km), east to west. This valley was thought to be essential for construction of a transcontinental railroad using a southern route. John Bartlett of Rhode Island ,
1790-476: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
1969-568: A frontier territory. The state became notorious as a haven for people from other parts of the country who wanted to escape debt, war tensions, or other problems. "Gone to Texas" was a common expression for those fleeing the law in other states. Nevertheless, the state also attracted many businessmen and other settlers with more legitimate interests. The cattle industry continued to thrive, though it gradually became less profitable. Cotton and lumber became major industries creating new economic booms in various regions. Railroad networks grew rapidly as did
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#17328452743802148-415: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
2327-514: A major destination for migration during the early 21st century and was named the most popular state to move for three consecutive years. Another study in 2019 determined Texas's growth rate at 1,000 people per day. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas , the first confirmed case of the virus in Texas was announced on March 4, 2020. On April 27, 2020, Governor Greg Abbott announced phase one of re-opening
2506-497: A northern route. The Memphis convention overwhelmingly advocated the construction of a route beginning there, to connect with an El Paso, Texas to San Diego, California line. Disagreement arose only over the issue of financing. The convention president, Matthew Fontaine Maury of Virginia , preferred strict private financing, whereas John Bell and others thought that federal land grants to railroad developers would be necessary. Gadsden supported nullification in 1831. When California
2685-529: A part of the Sun Belt , Texas experienced strong economic growth, particularly during the 1970s and early 1980s. Texas's economy diversified, lessening its reliance on the petroleum industry . By 1990, Hispanics and Latino Americans overtook Blacks to become the largest minority group. Texas has the largest Black population with over 3.9 million. During the late 20th century, the Republican Party replaced
2864-455: A precedent for using federal land grants when he signed a bill promoted by Douglas that allowed a south to north, Mobile to Chicago railroad to be financed by "federal land grants for the specific purpose of railroad construction". To satisfy Southern opposition to the general principle of federally supported internal improvements , the land grants would first be transferred to the appropriate state or territorial government, which would oversee
3043-498: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
3222-454: A railroad across the isthmus was a "feasible and practical" idea. Clayton then instructed Robert P. Letcher , the minister to Mexico, to negotiate a treaty to protect Hargous' rights. The United States' proposal gave Mexicans a 20% discount on shipping, guaranteed Mexican rights in the zone, allowed the United States to send in military if necessary, and gave the United States most-favored-nation status for Mexican cargo fees. This treaty, however,
3401-617: A seaport. In addition, many Southern business interests feared that a northern transcontinental route would exclude the South from trade with the Orient . Other Southerners argued for diversification from a plantation economy to keep the South independent of northern bankers. In October 1849, the southern interests held a convention in Memphis, in response to a convention in St. Louis earlier that fall which discussed
3580-599: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
3759-518: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
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#17328452743803938-737: A southern route for the proposed railroad. The route was to begin in Texas and end in San Diego or Mazatlán . Southerners hoped that such a route would ensure Southern prosperity, while opening the "West to southern influence and settlement". Southern interest in railroads in general, and the Pacific railroad in particular, accelerated after the conclusion of the Mexican–American War in 1848. During that war, topographical officers William H. Emory and James W. Abert had conducted surveys that demonstrated
4117-613: A supply state was marginalized in mid-1863 after the Union capture of the Mississippi River . The final battle of the Civil War was fought at Palmito Ranch , near Brownsville, Texas, and saw a Confederate victory. Texas descended into anarchy for two months between the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia and the assumption of authority by Union General Gordon Granger . Violence marked
4296-435: A third of Colorado , and small portions of Kansas , Oklahoma , and Wyoming to the federal government, in return for the assumption of $ 10 million of the old republic's debt. Post-war Texas grew rapidly as migrants poured into the cotton lands of the state. They also brought or purchased enslaved African Americans, whose numbers tripled in the state from 1850 to 1860, from 58,000 to 182,566. Texas re-entered war following
4475-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
4654-640: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of
4833-449: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
5012-740: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
5191-721: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
5370-806: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
5549-405: Is the second-largest U.S. state by area, after Alaska , and the largest state within the contiguous United States , at 268,820 square miles (696,200 km ). If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 39th-largest . It ranks 26th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size . Texas is in the south central part of the United States. The Rio Grande forms a natural border with
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5728-804: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
5907-658: 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 km ), and with over 30 million residents as of 2023, it
6086-515: 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 . Spain was the first European country to claim and control Texas. Following a short-lived colony controlled by France, Mexico controlled the land until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming the Republic of Texas . In 1845, Texas joined
6265-410: Is unetymological, contrary to the historical value of the letter x ( / ʃ / ) in Spanish orthography . Alternative etymologies of the name advanced in the late 19th century connected the name Texas with the Spanish word teja , meaning 'roof tile', the plural tejas being used to designate Indigenous Pueblo settlements. A 1760s map by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin shows a village named Teijas on
6444-632: The Aranama , lived in southern Texas. This entire culture group, primarily centered in northeastern Mexico , is now extinct. No culture was dominant across all of present-day Texas, and many peoples inhabited the area. Native American tribes who have lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include the Alabama , Apache , Atakapan , Bidai , Caddo , Aranama , Comanche , Choctaw , Coushatta , Hasinai , Jumano , Karankawa , Kickapoo , Kiowa , Tonkawa , and Wichita . Many of these peoples migrated from
6623-577: The Battle of Gonzales . This launched the Texas Revolution . Texians elected delegates to the Consultation , which created a provisional government. The provisional government soon collapsed from infighting, and Texas was without clear governance for the first two months of 1836. Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna personally led an army to end the revolt. General José de Urrea defeated all
6802-637: The Democratic Party as the dominant party in the state. Beginning in the early 21st century, metropolitan areas including Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Austin became centers for the Texas Democratic Party in statewide and national elections as liberal policies became more accepted in urban areas. From the mid-2000s to 2019, Texas gained an influx of business relocations and regional headquarters from companies in California . Texas became
6981-508: The Gulf of Mexico . The resulting " oil boom " transformed Texas. Oil production averaged three million barrels per day at its peak in 1972. In 1901, the Democratic-dominated state legislature passed a bill requiring payment of a poll tax for voting, which effectively disenfranchised most Black and many poor White and Latino people. In addition, the legislature established white primaries , ensuring minorities were excluded from
7160-511: The Mesilla Valley , protection for Mexico from Indian raids, and the right of transit in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec . The treaty provided for a joint commission, made up of a surveyor and commissioner from each country, to determine the final boundary between the United States and Mexico. The treaty specified that the boundary, after following the Rio Grande River from the sea, would turn west from
7339-715: The Mississippian culture , also known as Mound Builders , which extended along the Mississippi River Valley east of Texas; and the civilizations of Mesoamerica , which were centered south of Texas. Influence of Teotihuacan in northern Mexico peaked around AD 500 and declined between the 8th and 10th centuries. When Europeans arrived in the Texas region, the language families present in the state were Caddoan, Atakapan , Athabaskan, Coahuiltecan , and Uto-Aztecan, in addition to several language isolates such as Tonkawa . Uto-Aztecan Puebloan and Jumano peoples lived neared
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7518-611: The Old Three Hundred , made places along the Brazos River in 1822. The population of Texas grew rapidly. In 1825, Texas had about 3,500 people, with most of Mexican descent. By 1834, the population had grown to about 37,800 people, with only 7,800 of Mexican descent. Many immigrants openly flouted Mexican law, especially the prohibition against slavery . Combined with United States' attempts to purchase Texas, Mexican authorities decided in 1830 to prohibit continued immigration from
7697-553: The Pacific Ocean . Their opponents, led by Sam Houston, advocated the annexation of Texas to the United States and peaceful co-existence with Native Americans. The conflict between the factions was typified by an incident known as the Texas Archive War . With wide popular support, Texas first applied for annexation to the United States in 1836, but its status as a slaveholding country caused its admission to be controversial and it
7876-534: The Saint Malo settlement assisting Jean Lafitte in the Battle of New Orleans . In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence included the Texas territory, which became part of Mexico. Due to its low population, the territory was assigned to other states and territories of Mexico ; the core territory was part of the state of Coahuila y Tejas , but other parts of today's Texas were part of Tamaulipas , Chihuahua , or
8055-509: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
8234-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
8413-665: The Trinity River , close to the site of modern Crockett . Texas lies between two major cultural spheres of Pre-Columbian North America : the Southwestern and the Plains areas. Archaeologists have found that three major Indigenous cultures lived in this territory, and reached their developmental peak before the first European contact. These were: the Ancestral Puebloans from the upper Rio Grande region, centered west of Texas;
8592-534: The United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which
8771-530: The United States Congress with the first plan to construct a transcontinental railroad. Although Congress took no action on his proposal, a commercial convention of 1845 in Memphis took up the issue. Prominent attendees included John C. Calhoun , Clement C. Clay, Sr. , John Bell , William Gwin , and Edmund P. Gaines , but James Gadsden of South Carolina was influential in the convention's recommending
8950-636: The Utah Territory and the New Mexico Territory , would facilitate a southern route to the West Coast since all territory for the railroad was now organized and would allow for federal land grants as a financing measure. Competing northern or central routes championed, respectively, by U.S. Senators Stephen Douglas of Illinois and Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri , would still need to go through unorganized territories. Millard Fillmore established
9129-553: The election of 1860 . During this time, Black people comprised 30 percent of the state's population, and they were overwhelmingly enslaved. When Abraham Lincoln was elected, South Carolina seceded from the Union; five other Deep South states quickly followed. A state convention considering secession opened in Austin on January 28, 1861. On February 1, by a vote of 166–8, the convention adopted an Ordinance of Secession . Texas voters approved this Ordinance on February 23, 1861. Texas joined
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#17328452743809308-672: The federalists against the government and drove all Mexican soldiers out of East Texas. They took advantage of the lack of oversight to agitate for more political freedom. Texians met at the Convention of 1832 to discuss requesting independent statehood, among other issues. The following year, Texians reiterated their demands at the Convention of 1833 . Within Mexico, tensions continued between federalists and centralists. In early 1835, wary Texians formed Committees of Correspondence and Safety. The unrest erupted into armed conflict in late 1835 at
9487-424: The 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout
9666-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
9845-406: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
10024-453: The 75,000 or so native nomads in the region from attacking swiftly and taking refuge among the hills, buttes , and arroyos in a landscape where one's enemies could be spotted twenty or thirty miles away. In the five years after approval of the Treaty, the United States spent $ 12 million (equivalent to $ 330 million in 2023) in this area, and General-in-Chief Winfield Scott estimated that five times that amount would be necessary to police
10203-523: The Caddo meant that few were converted. Positioned between French Louisiana and Spanish Texas, the Caddo maintained relations with both, but were closer with the French. After Spain took control of Louisiana, most of the missions in eastern Texas were closed and abandoned. The United States obtained Louisiana following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase and began convincing tribes to self-segregate from whites by moving west; facing an overflow of native peoples in Missouri and Arkansas, they were able to negotiate with
10382-403: The Caddo of Louisiana and Arkansas. Following the Texas Revolution, the Texans chose to make peace with the Indigenous people, but did not honor former land claims or agreements. The first president of Texas, Sam Houston , aimed to cooperate and make peace with Native tribes, but his successor, Mirabeau B. Lamar , took a much more hostile stance. Hostility towards Natives by white Texans prompted
10561-457: The Caddo to allow several displaced peoples to settle on unused lands in eastern Texas. These included the Muscogee , Houma Choctaw , Lenape and Mingo Seneca , among others, who came to view the Caddoans as saviors. The temperament of Native American tribes affected the fates of European explorers and settlers in that land. Friendly tribes taught newcomers how to grow local crops, prepare foods, and hunt wild game . Warlike tribes resisted
10740-411: The Caddo, with the U.S. government trying to keep them in check. The Caddo never turned to violence because of the situation, except in cases of self-defense. By the 1830s, the U.S. had drafted the Indian Removal Act, which was used to facilitate the Trail of Tears. Fearing retribution, Indian Agents all over the eastern U.S. tried to convince all Indigenous peoples to uproot and move west. This included
10919-413: The Caddo. After Caddo resistance, the Spanish missionaries returned to Mexico. When France began settling Louisiana , in 1716 Spanish authorities responded by founding a new series of missions in East Texas. Two years later, they created San Antonio as the first Spanish civilian settlement in the area. Hostile native tribes and distance from nearby Spanish colonies discouraged settlers from moving to
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#173284527438011098-571: The California state legislature a large land grant located between the 34th and 36th parallels, along the proposed dividing line for the two California states. A few months later, Gadsden and 1,200 potential settlers from South Carolina and Florida submitted a petition to the California legislature for permanent citizenship and permission to establish a rural district that would be farmed by "not less than Two Thousand of their African Domestics". The petition stimulated some debate, but it finally died in committee. The Compromise of 1850 , which created
11277-411: The Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. Historically, five major industries shaped the Texas economy prior to World War II : cattle, bison, cotton, timber, and oil. Before and after the Civil War, the cattle industry—which Texas came to dominate—was a major economic driver and created the traditional image of
11456-471: The Confederacy, Houston was deposed. While far from the major battlefields of the American Civil War , Texas contributed large numbers of soldiers and equipment. Union troops briefly occupied the state's primary port, Galveston. Texas's border with Mexico was known as the "backdoor of the Confederacy" because trade occurred at the border, bypassing the Union blockade. The Confederacy repulsed all Union attempts to shut down this route, but Texas's role as
11635-429: The Convention disbanded. The new government joined the other settlers in Texas in the Runaway Scrape , fleeing from the approaching Mexican army. After several weeks of retreat, the Texian Army commanded by Sam Houston attacked and defeated López de Santa Anna's forces at the Battle of San Jacinto . López de Santa Anna was captured and forced to sign the Treaties of Velasco , ending the war. The Constitution of
11814-523: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
11993-515: The Gadsden Purchase. In 1863, using a north-to-south dividing line, the Union created its own Arizona Territory out of the western half of the New Mexico Territory. The new American Arizona Territory also included most of the lands acquired in the Gadsden Purchase. This territory would be admitted into the Union as the State of Arizona on February 14, 1912, the last area of the Lower 48 States to receive statehood. Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano )
12172-404: The Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean. In 1842 Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna sold the rights to build a railroad or canal across the isthmus. The deal included land grants 300 miles (480 km) wide along the right-of-way for future colonization and development. In 1847 a British bank bought the rights, raising U.S. fears of British colonization in the hemisphere, in violation of
12351-401: The IBWC has been heavily criticized as an institutional anachronism, by-passed by modern social, environmental, and political issues. The residents of the area gained full US citizenship and slowly assimilated into American life over the next half-century. The principal threat to the peace and security of settlers and travelers in the area was raids by Apache Indians. The US Army took control of
12530-577: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
12709-465: The Mesilla Valley by Mexico because of its implication for the railroad, but President Fillmore supported it. Southerners in Congress prevented any action on the approval of this separate border treaty and eliminated further funding to survey the disputed borderland. Robert B. Campbell , a pro-railroad politician from Alabama , later replaced Bartlett. Mexico asserted that the commissioners' determinations were valid and prepared to send in troops to enforce
12888-514: The Mexican Territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México . Hoping more settlers would reduce the near-constant Comanche raids, Mexican Texas liberalized its immigration policies to permit immigrants from outside Mexico and Spain. Large swathes of land were allotted to empresarios , who recruited settlers from the United States, Europe, and the Mexican interior, primarily the U.S. Austin's settlers,
13067-591: The Mexican legislature rejected the treaty, a move that led to the Mexicans canceling Hargous' contract to use the right of way. Hargous put his losses at $ 5 million (equivalent to $ 142 million in 2023) and asked the United States government to intervene. President Fillmore refused to do so. Mexico sold the canal franchise, without the land grants, to A. G. Sloo and Associates in New York for $ 600,000 (equivalent to $ 17 million in 2023). In March 1853 Sloo contracted with
13246-426: The Mexican states of Chihuahua , Coahuila , Nuevo León , and Tamaulipas to the south. The Red River forms a natural border with Oklahoma and Arkansas to the north. The Sabine River forms a natural border with Louisiana to the east. The Texas Panhandle has an eastern border with Oklahoma at 100° W , a northern border with Oklahoma at 36°30' N and a western border with New Mexico at 103° W . El Paso lies on
13425-568: The Mississippi and New Orleans, and they at least wanted to secure a southern route. Also showing interest was Peter A. Hargous of New York who ran an import-export business between New York and Vera Cruz . Hargous purchased the rights to the route for $ 25,000 (equivalent to $ 700,000 in 2023), but realized that the grant had little value unless it was supported by the Mexican and American governments. In Mexico, topographical officer George W. Hughes reported to Secretary of State John M. Clayton that
13604-476: The Northern United States or California and to escape segregation. In 1940, Texas was 74% White , 14.4% Black, and 11.5% Hispanic. World War II had a dramatic impact on Texas, as federal money poured in to build military bases, munitions factories, detention camps and Army hospitals; 750,000 Texans left for service; the cities exploded with new industry; and hundreds of thousands of poor farmers left
13783-529: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
13962-429: The Pacific railroad for the remainder of the antebellum period. It was becoming increasingly difficult, if not outright impossible, to consider any proposal that could not somehow be construed as relating to slavery and, therefore, sectional issues. Although few people fully realized it at the close of 1854, sectionalism had taken such a firm, unrelenting hold on the nation that completion of an antebellum Pacific railroad
14141-547: The Philippines'), or as provincia de los Tejas ('province of the Tejas '), later also provincia de Texas (or de Tejas ), ('province of Texas'). It was incorporated as provincia de Texas into the Mexican Empire in 1821, and declared a republic in 1836. The Royal Spanish Academy recognizes both spellings, Tejas and Texas , as Spanish-language forms of the name. The English pronunciation with /ks/
14320-514: The Republic of Texas prohibited the government from restricting slavery or freeing slaves, and required free people of African descent to leave the country. Political battles raged between two factions of the new Republic. The nationalist faction, led by Mirabeau B. Lamar , advocated the continued independence of Texas, the expulsion of the Native Americans , and the expansion of the Republic to
14499-719: The Rio Grande in the western portion of the state and the Athabaskan-speaking Apache tribes lived throughout the interior. The agricultural, mound-building Caddo controlled much of the northeastern part of the state, along the Red , Sabine , and Neches River basins. Atakapan peoples such as the Akokisa and Bidai lived along the northeastern Gulf Coast; the Karankawa lived along the central coast. At least one tribe of Coahuiltecans ,
14678-558: The Rio Grande on January 13, 1846. A few months later Mexican troops routed an American cavalry patrol in the disputed area in the Thornton Affair starting the Mexican–American War . The first battles of the war were fought in Texas: the Siege of Fort Texas , Battle of Palo Alto and Battle of Resaca de la Palma . After these decisive victories, the United States invaded Mexican territory, ending
14857-716: The Sloo grant was signed in Mexico on March 21, 1853. At the same time that this treaty was received in Washington, Pierce learned that New Mexico Territorial Governor William C. Lane had issued a proclamation claiming the Mesilla Valley as part of New Mexico, leading to protests from Mexico. Pierce was also aware of efforts by France, through its consul in San Francisco, to acquire the Mexican state of Sonora . Pierce recalled Lane in May and replaced him with David Meriwether of Kentucky. Meriwether
15036-580: The Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of
15215-399: The Texas cowboy. In the later 19th century, cotton and lumber grew to be major industries as the cattle industry became less lucrative. Ultimately, the discovery of major petroleum deposits ( Spindletop in particular) initiated an economic boom that became the driving force behind the economy for much of the 20th century. Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry during
15394-587: The Texian resistance along the coast culminating in the Goliad massacre . López de Santa Anna's forces, after a thirteen-day siege , overwhelmed Texian defenders at the Battle of the Alamo . News of the defeats sparked panic among Texas settlers. The newly elected Texian delegates to the Convention of 1836 quickly signed a declaration of independence on March 2, forming the Republic of Texas . After electing interim officers,
15573-510: The Treasury, supported it. Both were stockholders in a Vicksburg -based railroad that planned to build a link to Texas to join up with the southern route. Davis argued that the southern route would have an important military application in the likely event of future troubles with Mexico. A treaty initiated in the Fillmore administration that would provide joint Mexican and United States protection for
15752-633: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Gadsden Treaty and subsequent treaties, the International Boundary and Water Commission was established in 1889 to maintain the border. Pursuant to still later treaties, the IBWC expanded its duties to allocation of river waters between the two nations, and provided for flood control and water sanitation. Once viewed as a model of international cooperation, in recent decades
15931-597: The U.S. After Texas's annexation, Mexico broke diplomatic relations with the United States. While the United States claimed Texas's border stretched to the Rio Grande, Mexico claimed it was the Nueces River leaving the Rio Grande Valley under contested Texan sovereignty. While the former Republic of Texas could not enforce its border claims, the United States had the military strength and the political will to do so. President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor south to
16110-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
16289-418: The U.S. to buy-out Article XI for $ 25 million ($ 670 million) while President Fillmore proposed a settlement that was $ 10 million less ($ 270 million). During negotiations of the treaty, Americans had failed to secure the right of transit across the 125-mile-wide (201 km) Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico. The idea of building a railroad here had been considered for a long time, connecting
16468-540: The US would allow further aggression against Mexican territory. Santa Anna needed to get as much money for as little territory as possible. When the United Kingdom rejected Mexican requests to assist in the negotiations, Santa Anna opted for the $ 15 million package. Santa Anna and Gadsden signed the treaty on December 30, 1853, and the treaty was presented to the U.S. Senate for confirmation. Pierce and his cabinet began debating
16647-534: The Union took final approval action on June 8, 1854, when the treaty took effect. The purchase was the last substantial territorial acquisition in the contiguous United States , and defined the Mexico–United States border . The Arizona cities of Tucson , Yuma and Tombstone are on territory acquired by the U.S. in the Gadsden Purchase. The financially-strapped government of Santa Anna agreed to sell
16826-445: The United States entered into many other debates, as the acquisition of new territory opened the question of whether it would be slave or free territory; in this case, the debate over slavery ended progress on construction of a southern transcontinental rail line until the early 1880s, although the preferred land became part of the nation and was used as intended after the Civil War. In January 1845, Asa Whitney of New York presented
17005-533: The United States from any further obligation to protect Mexicans. $ 50 million (equivalent to $ 1.4 billion in 2023) would have bought the Baja California Peninsula and a large portion of the northwestern Mexican states while $ 15 million ($ 430 million) was to buy the 38,000 square miles (98,000 km) of desert necessary for the railroad plans. "Gadsden's antagonistic manner" alienated Santa Anna. Gadsden had advised Santa Anna that "the spirit of
17184-572: The United States negotiator, agreed to allow Mexico to retain the Mesilla Valley by setting the point at which the boundary commenced toward the west from the Rio Grande River at 32° 22′ N. This point was north of the American claim of 31° 52′ N and, at the easternmost part, also north of the Mexican-claimed boundary at 32° 15′ N, both also on the Rio Grande River). Bartlett's agreement to 32° 22′ N
17363-519: The United States of America as the 28th state. The state's annexation set off a chain of events that led to the Mexican–American War in 1846. Following victory by the United States, Texas remained a slave state until the American Civil War , when it declared its secession from the Union in early 1861 before officially joining the Confederate States of America on March 2. After
17542-444: The United States. However, illegal immigration from the United States into Mexico continued to increase the population of Texas. New laws also called for the enforcement of customs duties angering native Mexican citizens ( Tejanos ) and recent immigrants alike. The Anahuac Disturbances in 1832 were the first open revolt against Mexican rule, coinciding with a revolt in Mexico against the nation's president. Texians sided with
17721-480: The acquisition of Cuba. Pierce appointed expansionists John Y. Mason of Virginia and Solon Borland of Arkansas as ministers, respectively, to France and Nicaragua . Pierce's Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, was already on record as favoring a southern route for a transcontinental railroad, so southern rail enthusiasts had every reason to be encouraged. The South as a whole, however, remained divided. In January 1853, Senator Thomas Jefferson Rusk of Texas introduced
17900-451: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
18079-420: The age" would soon lead the northern Mexican states to secede so he might as well sell them now. Mexico balked at any large-scale sale of territory. The Mexican President felt threatened by William Walker 's attempt to capture Baja California with 50 troops and annex Sonora. Gadsden disavowed any government backing of Walker, who retreated to the U.S. and was placed on trial as a criminal. Santa Anna worried that
18258-514: The agreement. Several filibusters raised armies to invade the area west of the Sabine River. Marked by the War of 1812 , some men who had escaped from the Spanish, held (Old) Philippines had immigrated to and also passed through Texas (New Philippines) and reached Louisiana where Philippine exiles aided the United States in the defense of New Orleans against a British invasion, with Filipinos in
18437-561: The area. It was one of New Spain's least populated provinces. In 1749, the Spanish peace treaty with the Lipan Apache angered many tribes, including the Comanche, Tonkawa, and Hasinai. The Comanche signed a treaty with Spain in 1785 and later helped to defeat the Lipan Apache and Karankawa tribes. With numerous missions being established, priests led a peaceful conversion of most tribes. By
18616-516: The border. Mexican officials, frustrated with the failure of the United States to effectively enforce its guarantee, demanded reparations for the losses inflicted on Mexican citizens by the raids. The United States argued that the Treaty did not require any compensation nor did it require any greater effort to protect Mexicans than was expended in protecting its own citizens. During the Fillmore administration, Mexico claimed damages of $ 40 million (equivalent to $ 1.1 billion in 2023) but offered to allow
18795-672: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
18974-556: The colony of Fort Saint Louis at Matagorda Bay rather than along the Mississippi River . The colony lasted only four years before succumbing to harsh conditions and hostile natives. A small band of survivors traveled eastward into the lands of the Caddo, but La Salle was killed by disgruntled expedition members. In 1690 Spanish authorities, concerned that France posed a competitive threat, constructed several missions in East Texas among
19153-495: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
19332-751: The construction of what is now known as the Sunset Route , a transcontinental railroad , to be carried out, which the Southern Pacific Railroad later completed in 1881–1883. The purchase also aimed to resolve other border issues. The first draft was signed on December 30, 1853, by James Gadsden , U.S. minister to Mexico, and by Antonio López de Santa Anna , president of Mexico. The U.S. Senate voted in favor of ratifying it with amendments on April 25, 1854, and then sent it to President Franklin Pierce . Mexico's government and its General Congress or Congress of
19511-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
19690-418: The damages caused by American Indian raids, but agreed to let an international tribunal resolve this. Gadsden realized that Santa Anna needed money and passed this information along to Secretary Marcy. Marcy and Pierce responded with new instructions. Gadsden was authorized to purchase any of six parcels of land with a price fixed for each. The price would include the settlement of all Indian damages and relieve
19869-600: The desert and mountains of the Big Bend . The name Texas , based on the Caddo word táy:shaʼ ( /tə́jːʃaʔ/ ) 'friend', was applied, in the spelling Tejas or Texas , by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, specifically the Hasinai Confederacy. During Spanish colonial rule , in the 18th century, the area was known as Nuevas Filipinas (' New Philippines ') and Nuevo Reino de Filipinas ('New Kingdom of
20048-420: The difficulties of the task: Comanche, Apache, and other tribal warriors had been punishing Spanish, Mexican, and American intruders into their stark homeland for three centuries and been given no incentive to let up their murderous marauding and pillaging, horse stealing in particular. The U. S. Army had posted nearly 8,000 of its total of 11,000 soldiers along the southwestern boundary, but they could not halt
20227-529: The early months of Reconstruction . Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston by General Gordon Granger, almost two and a half years after the original announcement. President Johnson, in 1866, declared the civilian government restored in Texas. Despite not meeting Reconstruction requirements, Congress resumed allowing elected Texas representatives into
20406-583: The east, seeking a route to Mexico. They passed through the Caddo lands but turned back after reaching the River of Daycao (possibly the Brazos or Colorado), beyond which point the Native peoples were nomadic and did not have the agricultural stores to feed the expedition. European powers ignored the area until accidentally settling there in 1685. Miscalculations by René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle resulted in his establishing
20585-474: The economy. Amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in autumn 2020, Abbott refused to enact further lockdowns. In November 2020, Texas was selected as one of four states to test Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine distribution. As of February 2, 2021, there had been over 2.4 million confirmed cases in Texas, with at least 37,417 deaths. During February 13–17, 2021, the state faced a major weather emergency as Winter Storm Uri hit
20764-470: The end of the 18th century only a few nomadic tribes had not converted. When the United States purchased Louisiana from France in 1803, American authorities insisted the agreement also included Texas. The boundary between New Spain and the United States was finally set in 1819 at the Sabine River , the modern border between Texas and Louisiana. Eager for new land, many U.S. settlers refused to recognize
20943-678: The feasibility of a railroad's originating in El Paso or western Arkansas and ending in San Diego. J. D. B. DeBow , the editor of DeBow's Review , and Gadsden both publicized within the South the benefits of building this railroad. Gadsden had become the president of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1839; about a decade later, the company had laid 136 miles (219 km) of track extending west from Charleston, South Carolina , and
21122-612: The federal government for their opposition to U.S. involvement in World War I . The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl dealt a double blow to the state's economy, which had significantly improved since the Civil War. Migrants abandoned the worst-hit sections of Texas during the Dust Bowl years. Especially from this period on, Black people left Texas in the Great Migration to get work in
21301-450: The federal government in 1870. Social volatility continued as the state struggled with agricultural depression and labor issues. Like most of the South, the Texas economy was devastated by the War. However, since the state had not been as dependent on slaves as other parts of the South, it was able to recover more quickly. The culture in Texas during the later 19th century exhibited many facets of
21480-406: The fields for much better-paying war jobs, never to return to agriculture. Texas manufactured 3.1 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking eleventh among the 48 states. Texas modernized and expanded its system of higher education through the 1960s. The state created a comprehensive plan for higher education, funded in large part by oil revenues, and
21659-589: The fighting in Texas. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the two-year war. In return for US$ 18,250,000, Mexico gave the U.S. undisputed control of Texas, ceded the Mexican Cession in 1848, most of which today is called the American Southwest, and Texas's borders were established at the Rio Grande. The Compromise of 1850 set Texas's boundaries at their present position: Texas ceded its claims to land which later became half of present-day New Mexico ,
21838-422: The final transfer to private developers. By 1850, however, the majority of the South was not interested in exploiting its advantages in developing a transcontinental railroad or railroads in general. Businessmen like Gadsden, who advocated economic diversification, were in the minority. The Southern economy was based on cotton exports, and then-current transportation networks met the plantation system's needs. There
22017-493: The first Europeans in what is now Texas. Cabeza de Vaca reported that in 1528, when the Spanish landed in the area, "half the natives died from a disease of the bowels and blamed us." Cabeza de Vaca also made observations about the way of life of the Ignaces Natives of Texas. Francisco Vázquez de Coronado described another encounter with native people in 1541. The expedition of Hernando de Soto entered into Texas from
22196-661: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
22375-569: The formal political process. The number of voters dropped dramatically, and the Democrats crushed competition from the Republican and Populist parties. The Socialist Party became the second-largest party in Texas after 1912, coinciding with a large socialist upsurge in the United States during fierce battles in the labor movement and the popularity of national heroes like Eugene V. Debs . The socialists' popularity soon waned after their vilification by
22554-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
22733-584: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
22912-519: The isthmian proposals. An amendment was added to the Rusk bill to prohibit direct aid, but southerners still split their vote in Congress and the amendment failed. This rejection led to legislative demands, sponsored by William Gwin of California and Salmon P. Chase of Ohio and supported by the railroad interests, for new surveys for possible routes. Gwin expected that a southern route would be approved—both Davis and Robert J. Walker , former Secretary of
23091-527: The language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in
23270-535: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
23449-686: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
23628-500: The mid-20th century. As of 2022 , it has the most Fortune 500 company headquarters (53) in the United States. With a growing base of industry, the state leads in many industries, including tourism , agriculture , petrochemicals , energy , computers and electronics , aerospace , and biomedical sciences . Texas has led the U.S. in state export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product . The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and Greater Houston areas are
23807-416: The mountains, a route with a southeastern terminus might need to swing south into what was still Mexican territory. The administration of President Pierce, strongly influenced by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis , a Southerner from Mississippi, saw an opportunity to acquire land for the railroad, as well as to acquire significant other territory from northern Mexico. In those years, the debate over slavery in
23986-683: The movement of most Native populations north into what would become Indian Territory (modern Oklahoma). Only the Alabama-Coushatta would remain in the parts of Texas subject to white settlement, though the Comanche would continue to control most of the western half of the state until their defeat in the 1870s and 1880s. The first historical document related to Texas was a map of the Gulf Coast , created in 1519 by Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda . Nine years later, shipwrecked Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his cohort became
24165-502: The nation's fourth and fifth-most populous urban regions respectively. Its capital city is Austin . Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault , Texas contains diverse landscapes common to both the U.S. Southern and the Southwestern regions . Most population centers are in areas of former prairies , grasslands , forests, and the coastline . Traveling from east to west, terrain ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods , to rolling plains and rugged hills, to
24344-486: The newly created Confederate States of America on March 4, 1861, ratifying the permanent C.S. Constitution on March 23. Not all Texans favored secession initially, although many of the same would later support the Southern cause. Texas's most notable Unionist was the state governor, Sam Houston . Not wanting to aggravate the situation, Houston refused two offers from President Lincoln for Union troops to keep him in office. After refusing to swear an oath of allegiance to
24523-406: The north or east during the colonial period, such as the Choctaw , Alabama-Coushatta, and Delaware . The region was primarily controlled by the Spanish until the Texas Revolution . They were most interested in relationships with the Caddo, who were—like the Spanish—a settled, agricultural people. Several Spanish missions were opened in Caddo territory, but a lack of interest in Christianity among
24702-498: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
24881-508: The other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano
25060-481: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
25239-434: The port at Galveston as commerce expanded. The lumber industry quickly expanded and was Texas' largest industry prior to the 20th century. In 1900, Texas suffered the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history during the Galveston hurricane . On January 10, 1901, the first major oil well in Texas, Spindletop , was found south of Beaumont . Other fields were later discovered nearby in East Texas , West Texas , and under
25418-547: The precepts of the Monroe Doctrine . United States interest in the right-of-way increased in 1848 after the gold strikes in the Sierra Nevada , which led to the California Gold Rush . The Memphis commercial convention of 1849 recommended that the United States pursue the trans-isthmus route, since it appeared unlikely that a transcontinental railroad would be built anytime soon. Interests in Louisiana were especially adamant about this option, as they believed that any transcontinental railroad would divert commercial traffic away from
25597-406: The purchase as acquisition of more slave territory. Even the sale of a relatively small strip of land angered the Mexican people, who saw Santa Anna's actions as a betrayal of their country. They watched in dismay as he squandered the funds generated by the Purchase. Contemporary Mexican historians continue to view the deal negatively and believe that it has defined the American–Mexican relationship in
25776-464: The purchase lands in 1854 but not until 1856 were troops stationed in the troubled region. In June 1857 it established Fort Buchanan south of the Gila at the head of the Sonoita Creek Valley. The fort protected the area until it was evacuated and destroyed in July 1861. The new stability brought miners and ranchers. By the late 1850s mining camps and military posts had not only transformed the Arizona countryside; they had also generated new trade linkages to
25955-433: The purposes of building a railroad through it, convince Mexico that the US had done its best regarding the Indian raids, and elicit Mexican cooperation in efforts by US citizens to build a canal or railroad across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Supporting the Sloo interests was not part of the instructions. Gadsden met with Santa Anna in Mexico City on September 25, 1853, to discuss the terms of the treaty. The Mexican government
26134-403: The revised treaty back to Santa Anna, who accepted the changes. The treaty went into effect June 30, 1854. While the land was available for construction of a southern railroad, the issue had become too strongly associated with the sectional debate over slavery to receive federal funding. Roberson wrote: The unfortunate debates in 1854 left an indelible mark on the course of national politics and
26313-439: The river eight miles (13 km) north of El Paso. The treaty was based on an 1847 copy (the Disturnell Map) of a twenty-five-year-old map which was incorporated into the treaty. However, surveys revealed that El Paso was 36 miles (58 km) further south and 100 miles (160 km) further west than the map showed. Mexico favored the map, but the United States put faith in the results of the survey. The disputed territory involved
26492-429: The settlers. Prior treaties with the Spanish forbade either side from militarizing its native population in any potential conflict between the two nations. Several outbreaks of violence between Native Americans and Texans started to spread in the prelude to the Texas Revolution. Texans accused tribes of stealing livestock. While no proof was found, those in charge of Texas at the time attempted to publicly blame and punish
26671-404: The southern part allow slavery. Gadsden planned to establish a slave-holding colony there based on rice, cotton, and sugar, and wanted to use slave labor to build a railroad and highway that originated in either San Antonio or the Red River valley. The railway or highway would transport people to the California gold fields. Toward this end, on December 31, 1851, Gadsden asked Green to secure from
26850-401: The southern portion. Many of the early settlers in the region were, however, pro-slavery and sympathetic to the South , resulting in an impasse in Congress as to how best to reorganize the territory. The shifting of the course of the Rio Grande would cause a later dispute over the boundary between Purchase lands and those of the state of Texas, known as the Country Club Dispute . Pursuant to
27029-497: The spirit of "Young America", and efforts to build railroads and canals across Central America and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico divided their forces, leaving a lot of time for the Pacific railroad. Moreover, the Compromise of 1850 encouraged Southerners not to antagonize opponents by resurrecting the railroad controversy. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) ended the Mexican–American War, but left issues affecting both sides that still needed to be resolved: possession of
27208-402: The state of Sonora, Mexico. Magdalena, Sonora, became a supply center for Tubac; wheat from nearby Cucurpe fed the troops at Fort Buchanan; and the town of Santa Cruz sustained the Mowry mines, just miles to the north. In 1861, during the American Civil War , the Confederate States of America formed the Confederate Territory of Arizona , including in the new territory mainly areas acquired by
27387-450: The state, as well as most of the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Historically high power usage across the state caused the state's power grid to become overworked and ERCOT (the main operator of the Texas Interconnection grid) declared an emergency and began to implement rolling blackouts across Texas, causing a power crisis . Over 3 million Texans were without power and over 4 million were under boil-water notices. Texas
27566-431: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
27745-458: The territory for $ 10 million (equivalent to $ 270 million in 2023). After the devastating loss of Mexican territory to the U.S. in the Mexican–American War (1846–48) and the continued unauthorized military expeditions in the zone led by William Carr Lane , New Mexico territorial governor and noted filibuster , some historians argue that Santa Anna may have calculated it was better to yield territory by treaty and receive payment rather than have
27924-551: The territory simply seized by the United States. As the railroad age evolved, business-oriented Southerners saw that a railroad linking the South with the Pacific Coast would expand trade opportunities. They thought the topography of the southern portion of the original Mexican Cession was too mountainous to allow a direct route. Projected southern railroad routes tended to veer to the north as they proceeded eastward, which would favor connections with northern railroads and ultimately favor northern seaports. Southerners saw that to avoid
28103-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
28282-465: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
28461-441: The treaty a bad reputation. Some Senators objected to furnishing Santa Anna financial assistance. The treaty reached the Senate as that body focused on the debate over the Kansas–Nebraska Act . On April 17, after much debate, the Senate voted 27 to 18 in favor of the treaty, falling three votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority. After this defeat, Secretary Davis and southern Senators pressed Pierce to add more provisions to
28640-488: The treaty in January 1854. Although disappointed in the amount of territory secured and some of the terms, Pierce signed it, and submitted it to the Senate on February 10. Gadsden, however, suggested that northern Senators would block the treaty to deny the South a railroad. The treaty needed a two-thirds vote in favor of ratification in the US Senate, where it met strong opposition. Anti-slavery senators opposed further acquisition of slave territory. Lobbying by speculators gave
28819-447: The treaty in early 1851, but the Mexican Congress refused to accept the treaty. In the meantime, Hargous proceeded as if the treaty would be approved eventually. Judah P. Benjamin and a committee of New Orleans businessmen joined with Hargous and secured a charter from the Louisiana legislature to create the Tehuantepec Railroad Company. The new company sold stock and sent survey teams to Mexico. Hargous started to acquire land even after
28998-439: The treaty including: The land area included in the treaty is shown in the map at the head of the article, and in the national map in this section. This version of the treaty successfully passed the US Senate April 25, 1854, by a vote of 33 to 12. The reduction in territory was an accommodation of northern senators who opposed the acquisition of additional slave territory. In the final vote, northerners split 12 to 12. Gadsden took
29177-434: The unratified agreement. Article XI of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo contained a guarantee that the United States would protect Mexicans by preventing cross-border raids by local Comanche and Apache tribes. At the time the treaty was ratified, Secretary of State James Buchanan had believed that the United States had both the commitment and resources to enforce this promise. Historian Richard Kluger , however, described
29356-533: The whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on
29535-582: The world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of
29714-470: Was $ 3 million (equivalent to $ 85 million in 2023) in debt. Gadsden wanted to connect all Southern railroads into one sectional network. He was concerned that the increasing railroad construction in the North was shifting trade in lumber, farm and manufacturing goods from the traditional north–south route based on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to an east–west axis that would bypass the South. He also saw Charleston, his home town, losing its prominence as
29893-467: Was admitted to the Union as a free state in 1850, he advocated secession by South Carolina. Gadsden considered slavery "a social blessing" and abolitionists "the greatest curse of the nation". When the secession proposal failed, Gadsden worked with his cousin Isaac Edward Holmes , a lawyer in San Francisco since 1851, and California state senator Thomas Jefferson Green , in an attempt to divide California into northern and southern portions and proposed that
30072-408: Was captured twice and Texans were defeated in battle in the Dawson massacre . Despite these successes, Mexico did not keep an occupying force in Texas, and the republic survived. The cotton price crash of the 1840s depressed the country's economy. Texas was finally annexed when the expansionist James K. Polk won the election of 1844 . On December 29, 1845, the U.S. Congress admitted Texas to
30251-581: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
30430-446: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
30609-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
30788-402: Was given orders to stay out of the Mesilla Valley until negotiations with Mexico could be completed. With the encouragement of Davis, Pierce also appointed James Gadsden as minister to Mexico, with specific instructions to negotiate with Mexico over the acquisition of additional territory. Secretary of State William L. Marcy gave Gadsden clear instructions: he was to secure the Mesilla Valley for
30967-438: Was going through political and financial turmoil. In the process, Santa Anna had been returned to power about the same time that Pierce was inaugurated. Santa Anna was willing to deal with the United States because he needed money to rebuild the Mexican Army for defense against the United States. He initially rejected the extension of the border further south to the Sierra Madre Mountains . He initially insisted on reparations for
31146-410: Was in exchange for a boundary westward from the river that did not turn north until 110° W in order to include the Santa Rita del Corbe Mountains (sometimes referred to simply as the Corbe Mountains) located in current New Mexico east of current-day Silver City. This area was believed to have rich copper deposits, and some silver and gold which had not yet been mined. Southerners opposed retention of
31325-410: Was initially rebuffed. This status, and Mexican diplomacy in support of its claims to the territory, also complicated Texas's ability to form foreign alliances and trade relationships. The Comanche Indians furnished the main Native American opposition to the Texas Republic, manifested in multiple raids on settlements . Mexico launched two small expeditions into Texas in 1842. The town of San Antonio
31504-449: Was little home market for an intra-South trade. In the short term, the best use for capital was to invest it in more slaves and land rather than in taxing it to support canals, railroads, roads, or in dredging rivers. Historian Jere W. Roberson wrote: Southerners might have gained a great deal under the 1850 land grant act had they concentrated their efforts. But continued opposition to Federal aid, filibustering, an unenthusiastic President,
31683-429: Was never finalized. The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, which guaranteed the neutrality of any such canal, was finalized in April 1850. Mexican negotiators refused the treaty because it would eliminate Mexico's ability to play the US and Britain against each other. They eliminated the right of the United States to unilaterally intervene militarily. The United States Senate approved
31862-574: Was prohibited. Money, interest, and enthusiasm were devoted to emotion-filled topics, not the Pacific railroad. The effect was such that railroad development, which accelerated in the North, stagnated in the South. As originally envisioned, the purchase would have encompassed a much larger region, extending far enough south to include most of the current Mexican states of Baja California , Baja California Sur , Coahuila , Chihuahua , Sonora , Nuevo León , and Tamaulipas . The Mexican people opposed such boundaries, as did anti-slavery Americans , who saw
32041-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
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