Stephen F. Austin’s Texas Colonists: The “Old Three Hundred” Terms

Stephen F. Austin led the first legal Anglo-American colony in Texas (1821). Settlers agreed to:

1. Become Mexican citizens.
2. Profess Roman Catholicism.
3. Learn Spanish.
4. Obey Mexican laws.
5. Pay Mexican taxes.
6. Serve in militia if called.
7. Not introduce slaves (though loosely enforced).
8. Stay 10 leagues (26 mi) from coast/U.S. border.

These conditions reflected Mexico’s 1824 colonization law; violations later fueled the Texas Revolution.