Fredonian Rebellion - Prelude

Prelude

Edwards arrived in Nacogdoches in August 1825. Mistakenly believing that he had the authority to determine the validity of existing land claims, Edwards, in September, demanded written proof of ownership, or their land would be forfeited and sold at auction. His action was at least partially driven by prejudice; Edwards scorned those who were poorer or of a different race than himself. By removing less-prosperous settlers, he could to assign their lands to wealthy planters, like himself, from the southern United States.

Very few of the English-speaking residents had valid titles. Those who had not arrived as filibusters had been duped by fraudulent land speculators. Most of the Spanish-speaking landowners lived on grants made to their families 70 or more years previously and were unable to produce any paperwork. Anticipating the potential conflict between the new empresario and the long-time residents of the area, the acting alcalde of the municipality, Luis Procela, and the municipality clerk, Jose Antonio Sepulveda, began validating old Spanish and Mexican land titles, a function legally assigned to the state land commissioner. In response, Edwards accused the men of forging deeds, further angering the residents.

By December 1825, Edwards had recruited 50 families to emigrate from the United States. As required under his contract, Edwards organized a local militia open to his colonists and established residents. When militia members elected Sepulveda as their captain, Edwards nullified the results and proclaimed himself head of the militia. Following this debacle, Edwards, acting outside his authority, called for elections for a new alcalde. Two men were nominated for the position—Edwards's son-in-law, Chichester Chaplin, seen as the representative for the newly arrived immigrants, and Samuel Norris, an American who had married the daughter of a long-time resident and was sympathetic to the more established residents. After Chaplin's victory, many settlers alleged vote-stacking in an appeal to Juan Antonio Saucedo, the political chief of the Department of Bexar. In March, Saucedo overturned the election results and proclaimed Norris the winner. Edwards refused to recognize Norris's authority.

Shortly after Saucedo's ruling, Edwards left to recruit more settlers from the United States, leaving his younger brother Benjamin in charge of the colony. Benjamin could not maintain stability in the colony, and the situation deteriorated rapidly. A vigilante group of earlier settlers harassed many newcomers, and Benjamin Edwards made several complaints to state authorities. Unhappy with Benjamin's tone and the increasing tension, Mexican authorities revoked the land grant in October and instructed the Edwards brothers to leave Mexico. Rumors that Haden Edwards had returned to the United States to raise an army and not just to recruit settlers likely influenced the government action. Unwilling to abandon his $50,000 ($1,027,000 as of 2012) investment in the colony, Haden Edwards rejoined his brother in Nacogodoches in late October, continuing their business affairs despite the cancellation of his colonization contract.