A Time To Stand by Walter Lord

I'm diving deeper into the 19th century with this quick read on The Alamo.  I know shockingly little about the history of the American west, so this provides a close-up account of one short, albeit potent and important, event from our past.

The story of the weeks-long siege and 90 minute battle add color to the story of The Alamo, but nothing of great surprise as the conclusion was well known to me.  What I learned was the context that led to the siege and battle.

Texas was not formally a part of Mexico in the years leading up to the battle in 1836.  Instead it was a Mexican colony, very sparsely populated, similar to the American west at the time.  And like the American west, the Mexican government offered financial incentives to lure settlers.  Land was offered at extraordinarily low prices, with powerful tax incentives that drew new settlers from far and wide.

To the surprise of the Mexican government the incentives drew mostly Americans from across North America.  People came to Texas from all corners of the U.S. from wide and disparate backgrounds, all looking to start a new life.

So many Americans settled in the Mexican colony of Texas that it disturbed that country's new leader, Santa Anna.  He came to power with promises of liberal reign, but soon after gaining power he switched to a centrist, authoritarian leadership style and started revoking concessions previously granted to settlers.

And all of this laddered up to the Battle of the Alamo within a period of months.

Interesting, short read!