Archaeologies of Removal: The Adaeseños of late 18th century Spanish Texas

Summary

The strategic importance of the presidio and missions on the eastern boundary of the province of Texas was diminished just prior to the end of the Seven Years War when France ceded its holdings west of the Mississippi River to Spain in 1762. Much of French Louisiana became Spanish, and the Spanish decided to close the three missions and presidio in the area of Los Adaes in 1773. Hundreds of Adaeseños were removed to San Antonio some 400 miles away. Many eventually returned in 1779 to the location of one of the closed missions and started the town of Nacogdoches, Texas’roughly 100 miles west of the closed presidio at Los Adaes. Archaeological investigations at the site of Presidio Los Adaes and several late 18th century sites in Nacogdoches allow for a comparative examination and evaluation of cultural changes and/or continuities in the Adaeseño community resulting from its removal and resettling.

Cite this Record

Archaeologies of Removal: The Adaeseños of late 18th century Spanish Texas. Morris K. Jackson, Tom Middlebrook, George Avery. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. 2014 ( tDAR id: 437359)

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-80,02