Manuel Becerra
Goliad, Goliad County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born at Presidio La Bahía del Espíritu Santo in 1762, Manuel Becerra played a significant role in the settlement and politics of the region. Becerra and his wife, Juana María Cadena, and their two daughters, María Josefa and Gertrudis, were leading citizens of La Bahía. In 1820, Antonio María Martínez, the last Spanish governor of Texas, called for the formation of the ayuntamiento of La Bahía as required in the Spanish Constitution of 1812. The ayuntamiento, or town council, included Manuel Becerra, who was elected its first secretary. Becerra's involvement with colonization efforts came the following year, as he was selected to accompany Stephen F. Austin to the Colorado River to find a suitable site for Austin's first colony. His friendship with empresario Martín de León led to his eventual responsibility within de León's Guadalupe Colony in 1827, when de León placed Becerra in charge of the colony's political and business affairs. The same year, Becerra helped negotiate a treaty with the Coco and Karankawa tribes to enhance peace and stability in the region. In 1832, Becerra received a land grant of 8,856 acres in what is now Refugio County and later assisted colonizer James Power in the colonization of the Power Colony at Villa de Refugio. As a citizen under the flags of Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas and the United States, Manuel Becerra bore witness to many of the formative events in Texas history and played a significant role in colonization efforts. He died in what is now Refugio County about 1849. (2001)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born at Presidio La Bahía in 1762, Manuel Becerra came of age as Texas passed through the hands of four governments and helped shape its transition at every step. Elected the first secretary of La Bahía's town council in 1820, he was soon chosen to accompany Stephen F. Austin in scouting a site for Austin's first colony, and later managed the political and business affairs of Martín de León's Guadalupe colony. In 1827 he helped negotiate a treaty with the Coco and Karankawa peoples, and he went on to receive a large land grant and aid the settlement of the Power colony before his death around 1849.
Why it matters
Becerra's life bridges Spanish, Mexican, republican, and American Texas, a reminder that the region's Anglo colonization rested on the groundwork of established Tejano leaders.
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Related people
- · Manuel Becerra
- · Stephen F. Austin
- · Martín de León
Themes & tags
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