DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Governor Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo — and friend, this one is worth pulling over for. Now, in 1719, a man with one of the longest names in the history of long names stepped into one of the biggest jobs on the frontier. Jose de Azlor y Virto de Vera — the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo — replaced Martin de Alarcon as Governor of Texas.
And his timing, well, it was something. His appointment coincided with war breaking out between Spain and France, which has a way of focusing a man's attention real fast. Aguayo didn't sit still.
He sent an expedition to East Texas to secure Spain's border with Louisiana, and he renamed the whole province Nuevas Filipinas — New Philippines — to make it crystal clear just whose territory this was. Then he reached out to Father Felix Isidro Espinosa and Father Antonio Margil de Jesus, calling them into the expedition to reestablish six missions that had previously been abandoned out in the Tejas. Then comes 1721.
Aguayo marched out of his headquarters in Monclova — and he did not march light. Five hundred and eighty-four soldiers, missionaries, and caretakers moving through that country together. The marker calls it the largest entrada ever to occur in Spanish Texas.
Just let that number sit with you for a moment. Along the way, Aguayo built alliances. He allied with native groups, among them the Rancheria Grande and the Caddo.
On July 25, 1721, he met with the leader of the Hainai and his interpreter, a woman named Angelina, and they pledged their loyalty to Aguayo and to Spain. Now, as Aguayo neared the missionary fields at the Neches River, somebody came riding to meet him — Louis Juchereau de St. Denis, the new commandant of the French fort Saint Jean Baptiste.
St. Denis had news: war between the two nations had ceased. You might think that would ease things.
But Aguayo used that very information to press St. Denis to abandon his invasion of Texas altogether. St.
Denis withdrew. With the French pulling back, Aguayo got to work. He reestablished the missions and added not just Presidio Dolores but Presidio Nuestra Senora del Pilar de los Adaes — a fortification planted only fourteen miles from the French outpost of Natchitoches.
Fourteen miles. Close enough to make a point without saying a word. Aguayo, who died in 1734, served as governor in a moment when the map of this continent was genuinely up for argument.
His performance reaffirmed Spanish supremacy in Tejas and prevented any further French claims to the region. One expedition, 584 people, and a line drawn in the East Texas pines that France never crossed again.
What the marker says
In 1719, Jose de Azlor y Virto de Vera, the Marquis de San Miguel de Aguayo (d. 1734), replaced Martin de Alarcon as Governor of Texas. His appointment coincided with war between Spain and France which prompted Aguayo to send an expedition to East Texas to secure its border with Louisiana. He renamed the province Nuevas Filipinas (New Philippines) to emphasize Spanish jurisdiction over the territory. He requested Father Felix Isidro Espinosa and Father Antonio Margil de Jesus to join the expedition in order to reestablish the six previously abandoned Tejas missions. Then in 1721, Aguayo marched from his headquarters in Monclova with 584 soldiers, missionaries and caretakers to East Texas. The entrada was the largest ever to occur in Spanish Texas. During the expedition, Aguayo allied with native groups, including the Rancheria Grande and Caddo. On July 25, 1721, Aguayo met with the leader of the Hainai and his interpreter Angelina, who pledged loyalty to him and Spain. When Aguayo neared the missionary fields at the Neches River, Louis Juchereau de St. Denis, new commandant of the French fort Saint Jean Baptiste, requested a meeting with Aguayo. St. Denis informed the governor that war between the two nations had ceased. With this new development, Aguayo pressed St. Denis to abandon his invasion of Texas. St. Denis withdrew and Aguayo began to reestablish the missions. In addition to Presidio Dolores, he added Presidio Nuestra Senora del Pilar de los Adaes, a fortification only fourteen miles from the French outpost of Natchitoches. Aguayo's performance as governor reaffirmed Spanish supremacy in Tejas, and prevented any further French claims to the region. (2015)