Editor Jack Jackson has done a wonderful job presenting Teran's diary of his 1828 inspection of Texas with other original sources to allow the reader to form a rather complete and informed portrait of Texas before the revolution. Of course, all of the accounts are biased, but it is not difficult for the reader to balance them to understand the situation.
The accounts include not only the diary and letters by General Manuel de Mier y Teran, but also several of those with him on his expedition including Jose Maria Sanchez and Jean-Louis Berlandier. To give the reader a description of San Antonio in 1828, the editor presents accounts by Berlandier, Sanchez and a young trader from Cincinnati, J.C. Clopper, thus giving views of a European, Mexican and American. He also includes an account of a Frenchman, Theodore Pavie, written in 1830. Taken together this all makes for fascinating reading that no Hollywood movie has seen fit as yet to authentically reproduce.
Author Teran was sent into Texas as the head of a Boundary Commission to determine facts about the disputed boundary between Texas and Louisiana and also to bring back information on the entire state for use by the national government in making policy. At the time Mexico City authorities knew practically nothing about Texas and had failed in their attempts to populate the land due to depredations by the Comanches and Apaches. Teran was only thirty-eight, but well suited for the mission due to his education and scientifically oriented mind. He was to assess the condition of the frontier, recommend garrison points and policy with respect to settling Indian tribes pushed southwestward by the US and the massive legal and illegal immigration by Anglo American settlers.
Teran visited all of the primary locations of Mexican settlement, Laredo, San Antonio de Bexar, La Behia (Goliad) and Nacogdoches, and found that the Mexican population of Texas was less than 4,000 souls. It was already heavily outnumbered by Anglos coming in from the US, and he formed the opinion that contracts fot Anglo colonies should cease or be rescinded and Mexican immigration encouraged. He also felt that settling Indians into a buffer zone between Texas and the US would help control Anglo intrusions. He had much to say about the failed Spanish/Mexican policies, wanted to stop the importing of African slaves, emancipating those already in Texas (about 300-400 in 1828) and fighting the Comanches and Apaches whom he considered to be savages. He also found the current Mexican population to be lazy and no match for the Anglos in industry in making the land productive. He rightly feared that without severe and immediate action by the Mexican Government the Anglos would eventually take over Texas and make it part of the United States. All this comes out strongly in his writings which include letters to various other Mexican officials and individuals.
Unfortunately for Teran and Mexico the government could do little, and the tide of Anglo immigration was not stemmed. The reader must absolutely read the Epilogue to obtain a feel for Teran's personality, farsightedness and inability to impact the coming tragedy (as he saw it.) Teran was prone to bouts of depression, and in 1832 he committed suicide in the face of his impotence to prevent the loss of Texas (the reader should be reminded that the Texas Revolution was still three years away.) Actually, the Mexican Government had enacted almost all of Teran's policy recommendations, but could not effectively enforce them. In any case, without large scale Mexican immigration and the posting of troops able to suppress the Americans and defeat the Comanches and Apaches, Texas was as good as lost.
There is so much to learn here I don't know where to begin. Not the least is the lesson that if a nation can't control its borders it is doomed. Other cultures and peoples come in and either take over the government or cause the country to break up into smaller states divided along cultural, linguistic, religious, ethnic or racial lines. Gee, is this what is happening now in the US? Teran would certainly think so, only this time it is the Mexicans doing the invading to reclaim what they feel was unjustly taken from them in the 1830s and 40s.
This work is scholarly in the extreme, and the end notes are so valuable as to be required reading upon completion of each chapter. In fact, that is my only criticism -- I found myself constantly flipping back and forth to the end notes as I read this work. Perhaps the notes should have been placed as footnotes at the bottom of each page. The period maps and illustrations are excellent, and so is the editing and organization. My only suggestion to the reader might be to read the Introduction and Epilogue before reading the Diary. That way Teran's comments can be put into better context in light of his personal development of opinions and attitudes.
In short, this is a fantastic work -- a true historical snapshot of an important age in Mexican and American history. I recommend it to ALL American historians, not just those interested in Texan and Mexican history. It is also an important first person account that shows the author's development of policy for his country -- even if that policy was not implemented to the degree and effectiveness wanted by the author. Within three years the author decided it was too late for his policies to right the situation and he gave up his life as a result. Teran was a true patriot and outstanding individual. I found myself grieving for his loss -- so effective was this work.
If I could give it more than fire stars, I would.
