Jake Hansen

Rhetorical Cartography of Early Texas: From Independence to Annexation investigates the rhetorical and political significance of Texas cartography (1763-1848) on expansionism and slavery.

Before the Mexican Revolution in 1821, there was little geographic or cartographic information regarding the interior territory of northern New Spain, which included the current areas of Texas, New Mexico, California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah; as well as parts of Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Kansas. Although the Spanish had claimed the land since the 1500's, surveying of the area was not undertaken until the end of the Seven Year's War and the transfer of Lousiana from France to Spain. Without French Lousiana acting as a buffer between Spanish claims and those of the British, there was increased concern amongst the Spanish regarding English territorial aggression. As a result, Mexican-born Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez was given access to Spanish military reports and documents which he used to create the create and publish the first map of the area including Texas in 1763 (Martin 101).