Moses Austin, a successful Connecticut merchant had caught gold fever, liquidated his resources and headed to modern day Texas to petition the Spanish government to allow him to mine for gold there. Once he got the go-ahead, he set up a gold mining process and was initially successful. However, the end of the War of 1812 caused a temporary collapse of the lead market and he went bankrupt. He then decided to recoup his losses by setting up a colony of 300 Anglo-American families in Texas, using his successful previous negotiating techniques with the Spanish this time as well. Though initially rejected, he persisted and eventually came away with a land grant from Spain that allowing him to start the settlement.
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