It was the most valuable export that the United States sent to Europe. More than two decades before the battle at the Alamo, Tejanos in San Antonio waged a brutal — and unsuccessful — rebellion against Spanish rule. Salvador Martell The Navarros and other vecino families--the Ruizes, the Seguins, and the Veramendis--led the rebellion against Spain, and placed everything they owned at risk. His was "one of the most gratifying friendships," wrote Jose Antonio Navarro. Andres Tijerina: About five hundred of the women, the wives, the children of the Tejanos who had fled were then rounded up and put in a stockade, called La Quinta, a compound right on the military plaza in modern-day San Antonio, and kept there for several months, by the Spanish army, which was very brutal with their female captives, and made them suffer rape, and other abuses. The Alamo is a 2004 American Western film about the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution.It was directed by John Lee Hancock, produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Mark Johnson, distributed by Touchstone Pictures, and starred Dennis Quaid as Sam Houston, Billy Bob Thornton as David Crockett, and Jason Patric as Jim Bowie. Anglo settlers feared their land would be confiscated...their slaves set free. Narrator: 1813 -- twenty-three years before the Alamo -- the remote settlement of San Antonio, Texas. He looked great in a uniform. Soon after the Mexican troops sent by Santa Anna arrived in San Antonio, they were attacked by a Texas rebel army. Amon Carter Museum That's how they saw them. Choose an adventure below and discover your next favorite movie or TV show. Stephen F. Austin had an ambitious plan to bring U.S. families to Texas. Miraculously, at least fourteen people survived, and a few would later provide chilling eyewitness accounts of what happened. Fandango helps you go back to the movies with confidence and peace of mind. And they saw Austin as sort of their trump card; so Austin and Mexicans like Navarro see in each other important means to the same end. That only the people on the ground, in San Antonio know what's best, so rule has to be local. battle cry while fighting against Mexican forces. Graham Pilecki A small, ragtag Texan army under an old protégé of Andrew Jackson named Sam Houston fell back before Santa Anna’s advance, lulling the Mexicans into a sense of assured and easy conquest. Park Rangers at the Alamo With Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Emilio Echevarría, Jason Patric. Shunned by the Whigs, Tyler tried to assemble his own independent political power base, and as a Virginian and a slaveholder, Tyler was not shy of bidding for southern support. The picture also stars Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie and Laurence Harvey as William B. Travis, and the supporting cast features Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Joan O'Brien, Chill Wills, Joseph Calleia, Ken Curtis, Ruben Padilla as Santa Anna, and guest star Richard Boone as Sam Houston. Mark Markey But the fight for Texas had just begun. Anastacio Bueno, Historian: So this is a prominent man. WGBH Educational Foundation And he really sees it as a sort of grand life-undertaking that will be his life's work, that will be his great achievement to pass on to posterity. Narrator: In December of 1836 a bitter chill swept across Texas and Stephen F. Austin fell ill. The fourth in the 'See America First" series begins at the West Point Military Academy and then to the Naval Academy where, through scenes and the narrative of John B. Kennedy, the military growth of the USA is traced, up through the defense of the Alamo in the war between the Republic of Texas and Mexico in 1836. Gregg Cantrell Narrator: By 1830, there were thirty thousand settlers and slaves living in Texas. Sam Houston, commander of the Army of Texas, urged his troops to "Remember the Alamo.". James E. Crisp, Historian: Texas had a lot of land, and a lot of riches, in terms of the future. ", Anglos and Tejanos alike mourned Navarro's death in 1871. And in San Antonio, for the first time, Tejanos were a minority. His account reminded Texans -- both Tejano and Anglo -- that the fight for Texas began long before the words "Remember the Alamo" were ever spoken. May Heaven use these historical apuntes to stir generous hearts to treat with more respect this race of men who, as the legitimate proprietor of this land, lost it together with their lives and their hopes.... Near the end of his life, Navarro encouraged Tejanos to embrace their status as American citizens. Jennifer Hersey Adan Benavides, Historian: It would have been a dusty town. Richard Flores, Historian: What is interesting about the phrase is that it's really not an effort to remember the events that happened just a few short weeks before, but to "Remember the Alamo"...emotions that are brought forth in that invocation is one where Anglos thought Mexicans were tyrannous. Collect bonus rewards from our many partners, including AMC, Stubs, Cinemark Connections, Regal Crown Club when you link accounts. Looking for some great streaming picks? Adam Garza Travis apparently, at that time at least, didn't want to talk to the Mexicans, but wanted to confront them, and spite them. Navarro and Austin had become two of the most influential men in Texas. Harry Watson: Well, the news that African American slaves could be turned into quote-unquote, "apprentices" or "indentured laborers," in Mexico, and still be held to lifelong service was entirely encouraging in the South. So you get people like young William Barrett Travis, who's had a failed marriage and a bad law practice back in the United States, and arrives with dollar signs in his eyes, seeing a chance to make a lot of money as a lawyer, and also a chance to get involved in politics. Ira Spiegel Narrator: Concerned about the high number of U.S. immigrants in Texas, the Mexican government enacted legislation intended to seal the border. Gregg Cantrell: If the law goes into full operation and all immigration from the United States is cut off, then Austin and Navarro's plans for the creation of a flourishing cotton economy, and all of the good things that that would bring, will be dashed because Mexico is not going to be able to bring Texas into the world market economy.