Abbreviated as TX on abbreviationfinder.org, Texas is the largest of the states of the North American confederation, located between 25 ° 51 ‘and 36 ° 30’ of lat. N. and 93 ° 31 ‘and 106 ° 38’ of long. O., bordering the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, with the Mexican confederation and the Gulf of Mexico (partially natural limits offered by the coast, by the Red, Sabine and Río Grande rivers), presents in its immense territory different morphological regions. In the western section is the so-called region of the Cordillera, which includes only a small part of the great corrugations that extend from New Mexico into Mexico: three parallel chains are distinguished, which reach the maximum height of the whole state in the Guadalupe Peak (m. 2895). To the east extends the morphological region of the Great Plains, which occupy, it can be said, throughout the western half of the state, identifying several subsections, such as the Panhandle Plateau north of the Canadian River, followed southwards by the so-called Stacked Plains or Llano Estacado and the Edwards Plateau, with a height usually greater than 1000 m., which decreases going south and east; closed by these subsections, the North Central Plains extend towards the east, an immense basin with heights varying between 800 and 300 m., very eroded by waterways, hence the name of North Central Dissected Plains: closed between these floors the Edwards Plateau, we have the central mining region (Mineral Central Region) made up of ancient rocks (granites, sediments of the Upper Paleozoic) and rich in rare minerals. A very pronounced step, which from Del Río near the Río Grande passing by south Antonio and Austin, climbs northwards to the Red River, divides the Great Plains from the other great region called Gulf Coastal Plain, an immense undulating territory, which becomes flat only along the coasts, in a 50-100 km wide strip, bordered by lagoons and bays, closed in turn by numerous, narrow and elongated peninsulas and islands (shores). The climate of the Texas is on the whole temperate warm subtropical: the highest temperatures occur in the eastern section, in the south-east and in the lower reaches of the Río Grande while decreasing going up towards the west and north-west (Houston 20 °, 5 on average all ‘year; Brownsville 22nd, 7; Waco 19th, 4; El Paso 17th, 2; Amarillo 13th, 3); winter is warm in inland areas and becomes warm along the coastal area, especially in the lower valley of the Río Grande (Brownsville 15 °; El Paso 7 °, 2; Amarillo 2 °, 2); summer is very hot, thus allowing planting crops. Huge contrasts in Texas with regard to rainfall: while in the east and south-east they can fall over 1000 mm. of rain per year (prevalence of spring and autumn) as in Houston (1205 mm.) and Galveston (1136), the precipitations are decreasing proceeding west (in south Antonio 710 mm; in Amarillo 547) up to reduce to less than 250 mm. at the western end of the state (in El Paso only 232 mm.), with prevalence in the summer period. Snow is an almost unknown phenomenon along the coastal section, while it appears frequent in the north-western part (in Amarillo 475 mm. Of snow per year); the serenity of the sky is much more pronounced in the western, semi-arid regions (70% in El Paso county) while it decreases as it descends towards the sea. Frequent are cyclones (tornadoes) almost always disastrous for the inhabitants and the countryside. A clear distinction is therefore identified between the west, arid, steppe with predominantly herbaceous associations and the east, rich in rains and therefore very wooded (the forested area of the Americans). From the hydrographic point of view, Texas sends its waters partly to the Mississippi through the Canadian, a tributary of Arkansas, and the Red River, which affect the northern section of the state, partly to the Gulf of Mexico directly by means of numerous arteries, of the main rivers, from east to west, are the Sabine, Trinity, Brazos, Colorado, Río Grande rivers with its main left tributary, the Río Pecos.
Texas covers an area of square kilometers. 688,643 (divided into 254 counties), thus placing itself in first place among the states of the confederation. The population in 1930 amounted to 5,824,715 residents, With a relative density of 8.7 per sq. Km. This value shows strong fluctuations between part and part, in relation to the different physical and economic conditions of the country. The most depopulated areas are the western ones (Cordillera region, Panhandle, Llano Estacado, Edwards Plateau), where the counties have minimum densities, equal to or less than 2 residents per sq. km. The eastern and coastal counties are in much better conditions: 8 counties then exceed 40 residents per sq. km. due to the presence of large urban centers. Overall 36 cities exceeded 10,000 inhabitants in 1930; over 100,000 individuals counted Houston (292,352), connected with Galveston Bay by a canal, which in recent years has become a major port for cotton and oil, Dallas (260,475) and Fort Worth (163,447) in the north-eastern section of the country, which has grown rapidly for mining reasons (petroleum), south Antonio (231.542), El Paso (102.421), on the left bank of the Río Grande, opposite the Mexican Ciudad Juàrez, a border and transit post of the highest order. The ethnic composition of the state in 1930 was as follows: 73.5% Whites; 14.7% of Negri; 11.80% of other color elements (mainly Mexican). Out of 100 Whites 97.7% consisted of indigenous elements born of partially and totally foreign parents; 2.3% by whites born abroad, in all 98,396 individuals (mainly Germans with 25,913 people; Czechoslovakians with 12,272; British and Scottish with 8493; Italians with 6550; Russians with 5467, etc.), living in greater numbers in the counties of Harris (Houston), Bexar (S. Antonio), Dallas, Galveston. Very numerous are the Mexicans (683,681 individuals) especially in the counties of the south-west, on the border with Mexico.
The state’s population has been increasing significantly: 212,592 residents in 1850, 3,048,710 in 1900, 4,663,228 in 1920, 5,824,715 in 1930. This is mainly due to the magnificent agricultural, mining and industrial development of the region, which offers immense economic possibilities. The number of farms it rose from 352.190 in 1900 to 495.489 in 1930. Agriculture is still today one of the fundamental bases, favored in areas less rainy than irrigation, which today spreads over about 3240 sq km. (0.5% of the total area of the state), especially in the valleys of the Río Grande, Pecos, Nueces, Colorado, Red River. The main agricultural products concern cereals (wheat and corn) and especially cotton, for which Texas occupies the first place in the confederation; production was 4,180,000 bales (of 500 pounds each) in the period 1911-1915, rising to 4,612,000 in the years 1926-1930 (4,428,000 in 1933), with large exports to other states of the confederation and to abroad: the production of fruit and vegetables is also noteworthy. The great diffusion of grazing areas favors breeding: in 1930 there were 762,042 horses, 1,040,106 mules, 6,602,702 cattle (of which 1,076,287 dairy, a significant increase compared to previous years), 1,561,461 pigs, 6,000,000 sheep and over 21 million birds courtyard. The forestry patrimony is enormous, equal to 24% of the total area, widespread in the central-eastern section of the country, with a prevalence of yellow pine. But Texas is much more important today for its mineral resources, which have made the fortunes of many counties and cities, some of which have doubled the population in the space of a decade. Petroleum occupies the first place, the production of which increased dramatically in the period 1901-10, 24,500,000 hectoliters per year; in the years 1916-1920, 93 million hectoliters; in 1926-1931, 415.400.000 hectoliters. The exploitation of oil is very recent, as little attention was given to it before 1883: the lucky discoveries of 1894 in the county of Navarro, those of 1901 in the county of Beaumont favored the development of extraction, which today is carried out in two areas, the coastal one (Jefferson, Harris, Brazoria counties, etc.) and the north-central one (Navarro, Comanche, Eastland, Stephens, Wichita counties), which completes the immense expanse of Oklahoma oil fields. A dense network of pipelines links Texas with the north-east and the ports of the Gulf. Compared to oil, the other mineral riches take second place: sulfur with the great mines of Freeport at the mouth of the Brazos River, and of Matagorda at the mouth of the Colorado River (Texas produces, it can be said,
Industries developed rapidly thanks to the exceptional abundance of certain raw materials: the number of workers rose from 38,604 in 1899 to 107,522 in 1919, reaching a maximum of 134,500 in 1929, to fall to 91,374 in 1933. the counties of Bexar (S. Antonio), Dallas, El Paso, Harris (Houston), Jefferson (Beaumont) and Tarrant (Fort Worth), all with more than 5,000 workers each. Texas has oil refineries (19,434 workers in 1929), factories for woodworking (16,387 workers), mechanical construction (14,633) and cotton oil pressing plants (4,480), foundries (8422), cotton mills (4649), etc., all industries that work and transform the raw materials of the state. Hand in hand with agricultural development, mining and industry have developed trade and the means of communication. There is a huge export of raw cotton, oil and its by-products, sulfur, wood, paper, favored by a dense railway network, which is only 500 km away. in 1860 it climbed to over 27,000 km. in 1933, from numerous ports, located along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, which can be grouped in the three districts of Sabine (Sabine, Port Arthur, Orange and Beaumont), of Galveston (Galveston, Houston, Texas City, Freeport) and finally that of the south-west (Corpus Christi); the Galveston-Houston group emerges, above all for the huge export of cotton and oil. Given its location, Texas is crossed by numerous transcontinental and international lines, both rail and air.
History
The Texas territory was visited by Cabeza de Vaca (1528-36), by Fray Marcos de Niza, and by Coronado, but only around 1689 was it named Texas or rather Tejas from a federation of nearly 30 Indian tribes, including the nine Asinais or Cenis tribe. Four years earlier the French under Lassalle had erected Fort San Luigi on the Bay of Espíritu Santo, but this lasted just 4 years. In 1689 the Spaniards under De León and Father Manzanet established the mission of San Francisco de los Tejas, perhaps south of the present-day city of Nacogdoches. The official name of Nuevos Filipinos was soon replaced by the name of Tejas.
In 1711 the Spanish missionaries had settled in San Juan Bautista, and in 1717 the mission was rebuilt at a distance of 4 miles and with the name of south Francisco de los Neches, and became the center of 5 other missions or presidios, but only three became vital centers: San Antonio (or Béjar), Goliad (or La Bahía) and Nacogdoches. The Spaniards lost the colony because they did not know how to populate it. They acquired the territory as far as Mississippi in 1762, but ceded it in 1803. In 1821 Mexico became independent. The statute of 1824 created a federal system and united Texas with Coahuila. As early as 1800 the Americans had begun to infiltrate this rich and sparsely populated territory (in 1820 the population did not exceed 4000 inhabitants, excluding Indians). Until now there had been no slavery, but the newcomers took their slaves with them. The American government made repeated attempts to buy Texas, arousing the Mexican government’s suspicion of the settlers’ loyalty. These were initially in favor of the dictatorship of Santa Anna, and in the San Felipe convention of 1832 they protested against the unjust suspicions asking for the revocation of the law of April 6, 1830 by which the Mexican Congress had wanted to close the borders to new immigration from the United States. But the struggle between Bustamante and Santa Anna distracted the attention of the central government and the abolition of the statute in 1835 and the creation of a centralized regime alienated the sympathy of the Tejani and led to secession. The more radicals expelled the loyal officials, and on 11 December they took Béiar, the only city remaining loyal to Mexico. A provisional government had already been established on 7 November, without however breaking ties with Mexico. On March 6, 1836, 182 men commanded by Colonel Travis were massacred in the Álamo in San Antonio which they had defended for 12 days, an action for which conciliation became impossible. On March 2, a new convention proclaimed the republic by appointing David Burnet as first president. On 21 April Santa Anna was beaten and captured on San Jacinto by General Houston (pron. Hiuston) and with the Velasco treaty he had to recognize the state of affairs, a treaty that was immediately repudiated by the Mexican government. In September the new state was approved by popular elections (and Houston elected president) and had to fight against Indian rebellions and growing financial difficulties, but was recognized in March 1837 by the United States, France in 1839, Holland and Belgium. in 1840, and finally from England in 1842. This last recognition, and the fear that Texas might come under British influence, created, despite the opposition of the anti-slavers, an American current in favor of annexation; and despite the declaration made by the Mexican government in 1843 that it would regard the annexation as a declaration of war, the American Congress,united states); an offer that after some hesitation, due to the triumph of the liberals in Mexico, the Tejans accepted with a series of votes ratified on 13 October. Slavery was maintained. The war between Mexico and the United States, caused by this annexation, belongs to the history of the two countries.
With the “Compromise of 1850” about a third of its territory was taken from Texas, which received a fee of $ 10 million from the federal government. In 1896 the Supreme Court settled an old dispute by taking away Greer County again. But under the Union, despite these mutilations, Texas remained by far the largest state, and its prosperity grew enormously. The population rose from 135,000 in 1847 to 200,000 in 1850, 300,000 in 1860, and over 3 million in 1900. Of course, the state took part with the rebels in the civil war. Since then he has always voted with the Democrats, with the sole exception of the presidential election in 1928, in which he voted for Republican Hoover.
Houston was established to be the capital in 1836, but in 1839 it was moved to the new city of Austin, which remained the home despite a turbulent attempt by President Houston to bring it back to Houston or Washington on the Brazos.
El Paso
City of the USA (606,913 residents In 2007), in Texas, at 1140 m asl on the left bank of the Rio Grande which here forms the border with the Mexico. Founded in 1827, it is a major railway, road and air hub. The agricultural products of the area immediately upstream (very fertile for the irrigation of Elephant Lake) and the minerals of Texas and the New Mexico they have given impetus to industries, represented by metallurgical (copper and lead), mechanical, petrochemical, food, textile (cotton), cement and clothing plants; it is home to a high school for mining and metallurgy, established in 1913.
San Antonio
City of Texas. Indian village renamed by Catholic missionaries in 1691, it was the most important center in Texas under the Spanish and Mexican governments. Theater of important battles in the struggle for independence, it passed to the United States (1845) and became the center of the cattle trade thanks to the arrival of the railway (1877).
Houston
City founded after the battle of S. Jacinto (April 21, 1836), capital of Texas in 1837-39 and in 1842-45. From the very beginning, very active in commercial exchanges, she grew rich thanks to the exploitation of oil fields. The construction of the Ship canal (1905-14) also made it one of the largest ports in the United States. It is also an important industrial and financial center.
Austin
According to countryaah.com, Austin is a city of the USA (743,074 residents In 2007), and capital of Texas, on the river Colorado. Founded, under the name of Waterloo, in 1838. Shopping center. The industry, alongside high-tech sectors (mobile telephony, computers, videoconferencing systems), has consolidated the traditional sectors (engineering, textiles, food, wood, etc.).
