For thousands of years several tribes made their homes in what is now Texas These included the Caddos who grew corn and sunflowers in East Texas The Karankawas lived on the Gulf Coast and became skilled at fishing And the Lipan Apache of West Texas were amazing horse riders deadly with a bow and arrow The first Europeans arrived in 1519 Although the Spanish were the first Europeans to explore Texas the French were the first to claim land and settle the area French explorer Robert de La Salle arrived in 1685 and built Fort St Louis near the modern-day city of Inez The first flag to fly over Texas may have been French but it didn’t last long Starting in the 1700s the Spanish began to build Catholic missions in the region The most important was Mission San Antonio de Valero better known as 6
The Alamo is now a museum and popular tourist attraction in San Antonio the Alamo The Spanish built the site in 1781 to spread Christianity in Texas The Spanish flag was the second to fly over Texas In 1820 Mexico went to war with Spain to gain independence Texas was a colony of Spain so when Mexico won its freedom it took over Texas as well Therefore the Mexican flag was the third to fly over Texas 7
Led by Stephen F Austin people from the United States began settling in Texas in the 1820s However tensions grew between the settlers and Mexico Eventually the settlers decided they would be better off without Mexico Texas began a war for its independence in 1835 The Texans were led by General Sam Houston and defeated the Mexican Army The fourth flag to fly in Texas was called the Lone Star Flag This was the flag of the Republic of Texas Although Texans enjoyed their freedom Mexico was still a threat General Houston and others sought protection by joining the United States In 1845 Texas became the 28th US state and the US flag became the fifth to fly over Texas Like other states in the South Texas allowed slavery Disagreements over this issue resulted in Texas leaving the United States to join the 8
Austin was the last capital of the Republic of Texas and remained capital when Texas became a US state Confederate States of America in 1861 The Confederate flag was the sixth to fly over Texas Texas fought for the Confederacy during the US Civil War 1861 1865 In 1870 five years after the Confederacy was defeated Texas was allowed back into the United States Today Texas is an important part of the United States Texas is the second-largest of the states 9
