Spain, Texas and El Camino Real
by R Edward Moore and Scott Nelson
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Beginning in the late seventeenth century, the Spanish Crown turned its eyes toward the northern frontier of New Spain, or present-day Mexico. The centuries-long rivalry with the French had been transferred to the New World when the Spanish learned of La Salle's settlement on the Texas coast. To prevent the loss of Texas, and protect the valuable mining districts in northern Mexico, three settlements were established in East, Central, and Coastal Texas. San Antonio de Bexar, Los Adaes, and La Bahia were based on military presidios, missionaries, and converted local Indians. These communities, or villas, were created along the Camino, and as a result were often granted royal privileges based on their economic or geographic importance. Unfortunately, Texas rivers were unable to support any regular trade or communication, so native guides were used to navigate the difficult Texas terrain. As early as the 1500's Spanish explorers like Cabeza de Vaca and Alonso de Leon relied on these friendly Indians for travel, trade paths, and communication.
From the easiest river crossings to well-worn travel corridors, these native guides showed their new neighbors established trails that connected the various cultures, villages, campsites, and trading areas of Texas. Over the next century, generations of Spaniards developed the trails for their own use. However, the unpredictable nature of Texas weather, combined with constant threats from hostile plains Indians, caused the paths to vary. As a result El Camino Real became not one road, but a series of ever- changing paths across Texas.
Throughout Texas history El Camino Real has played a vital role. Early Spanish settlers used the various paths to obtain supplies from Monclova and Saltillo in northern Mexico, and in 1808 the Crown founded San Marcos de Neve where the road crossed the San Marcos River. During the Mexican period Stephen F. Austin advised immigrants to follow the road from Nacogdoches to San Antonio, and within a decade over 30,000 Anglo-Americans arrived in Texas, leading some to call the Camino "the great thoroughfare of emigrants to Texas." During the Texas Revolution the Mexican Army used parts of the road to move across the state, while some even believe Davy Crocket used the San Marcos crossing on his way to the Alamo. Under the Republic Flag individuals and communities mad improvements such as wooden bridges and ferries, while after 1845 the US army used the Old San Antonio Road, as it came to be known, to transfer supplies south during the Mexican War. Years later, when the cotton and ranching industries in Texas reached their peak, the road was again used for commerce and trade. Communication, transportation, and trade were essential to surviving the rugged Texas landscape, and regardless of their heritage generations of Texans have relied upon El Camino Real for their livelihood.
2-1-2005