Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas

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13 B e t w e e n t h e y e a r s 1823 and 1827, the Mexican province of Texas experienced a rapid series of transformations that permanently shifted the region’s social and political relations. Increased Anglo-American immigration and commerce, elevated concern for Texas by the nascent Mexican federal government, and higher levels of engagement with several indigenous groups in the hinterland required an expansive grasp of transnational and intercultural con- flicts by provincial officials. From his seat in Béxar, the jefe político of Texas, José Antonio Saucedo, observed these tectonic movements while managing the day-to-day business of improving life on the Mexican frontier. Saucedo navigated these complex issues by relying on personal relationships and a culture of social and political brokering gained from a lifetime in the region. Saucedo’s significance came from his time serving as jefe político, a position that functioned as the de facto governor of Texas. The office of jefe político defined the unique administrative status of Texas—not being a state, but requiring local governance as a department . Appointed by the governor, Saucedo carried out executive functions during a critical time in Mexican history. From his desk, the jefe político governed the entire district including Nacogdoches and La Bahía. It is worth exploring the impact of Saucedo’s policies and actions since they provide early signs of growing problems for government officials in Texas. Despite these tensions, Saucedo sought to find a balance between the demands of the young Mexican nation and ambitious American immigrants. Before detailing his governance of Mexican Texas, it is useful to examine Saucedo’s life trajectory as a Tejano on the frontier and early political actor during the end of the Spanish colony. At first glance Saucedo seems an unlikely person to hold the top political position in Texas during the Mexican period. He lacked the national political aspirations and personal wealth of other Tejano leaders. This is not to say he did not serve his community, but rather that he entered political service at an older age. In a sense, Saucedo grew into the position during a time that required attention to the subtleties and nuances of living in the borderlands. JOSÉ ANTONIO SAUCEDO at the nexus of c hange Raúl A. Ramos 1 4 · r a ú l a . r a m o s Little is precisely known of Saucedo’s life owing in no small part to his modest and seemingly unimportant early years. Working backward from often contradictory census records and references in other documents, one finds that he was born in Béxar around 1766 to José Antonio Saucedo and Margarita Angulo.1 He was married to Manuela Flores, with whom he had two daughters. His extended household also seems to have included two of his aunts, Juana Beralda and Antonia. The 1793 census also counts an unnamed mulatta slave in his household, though she may have been tied to his aunt Antonia since she is listed in Antonia’s household in an earlier census.2 The same 1793 census also counts three orphaned Indian children in the household; they do not appear in other early records, but some clues to their lives appear in later documents. For instance, an 1819 count lists a José Saucedo with the calidad (status) of Indio and the occupation of day laborer.3 His listed age at forty-one comes close enough to the fourteen-year-old orphan from the census twenty-six years prior. That the Saucedo family housed and adopted Indian children appears consistent with research on the complex network of captive exchange between Spanish colonists and several indigenous tribes on the frontier.4 These children may have come to the family as a result of inter-Indian or Spanish-Indian warfare as far away as New Mexico and Coahuila. Several indigenous groups, including Comanches , frequented Béxar to trade and receive gifts from Spanish and later Mexican officials and included among their wares both Indian and Spanish captives.5 It is even possible that Saucedo’s family took responsibility for these children after a raid José Antonio may have participated in as a soldier. The nature of the arrangement remains speculative since the orphans are not mentioned in his will.6 José Antonio Saucedo’s father served in the Spanish military approximately thirteen years. He submitted his resignation on 30 June 1779, after claiming that...