How Did Mexico Attract Settlers to Texas?

After independence (1821), Mexico implemented the Empresario System to populate Texas:

• Empresarios (agents like Stephen F. Austin, Green DeWitt, Martín De León) received large land grants.
• They recruited families (mostly from U.S. South) offering:

• Land at ~12.5¢/acre (vs. $1.25 in US)
• Tax exemptions (10 years)
• Mexican citizenship

• Settlers pledged to:

• Become Catholic
• Adopt Mexican laws/customs
• Develop the land
• Defend against Native raids

By 1830, ~30,000 Anglo-Americans outnumbered Tejanos 10:1—setting the stage for the Texas Revolution (1835–36). The system worked too well for Mexico's control.