Shows
A New History of Old TexasThe Conscience of a RepublicJosé Francisco Ruíz's reputation and personal relationships went a long way toward preserving Tejanos' status in the newly independent Republic of Texas. They weren't enough, however, to ensure true equality. That was a fight that his nephew, his great-great-grandson, and many other Tejanos would have to carry on. Yet Ruíz's life stands as perhaps the best and fullest exemplar of a Tejano Patriot. Click here to purchase the complete audiobook of "Tejano Patriot" by Art Martínez de Vara and read by Brandon Seale. www.BrandonSeale.com
2023-12-2116 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Die is CastFor the fourth time in his life, José Francisco Ruíz had to decide where his loyalties lie: to his flag or to his ideology. In 1835, however, there would be no hesitation. Too old now to carry a rifle, Ruíz became a sort of "first quartermaster" of the 1835-36 Texas Revolution, in addition to one of only two Texas-born signers of this second Texas declaration of Independence. His support for the cause of Texas independence was among the most crucial factors holding together the Tejano-Anglo alliance of 1836, for all of the uncertainties that Tejanos would face in an Ang...
2023-12-1415 min
A New History of Old TexasImmigrants and Indians1820's East Texas was a melting pot of native Texans, old time Tejanos, Indian immigrants pushed out of the United States, and newcomer Anglos. For all their distaste of José Francisco Ruíz's revolutionary past, the old Mexican officer corps had no choice but to turn to him once again to manage the chaos. It would leave Ruíz more disillusioned than ever with the prospects for Mexico.Click here to purchase the complete audiobook of "Tejano Patriot" by Art Martínez de Vara and read by Brandon Seale. www.BrandonSeale.com
2023-12-0709 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Impossible PeaceIf there was anything more improbable in Texas history than the Lipan-Comanche alliance orchestrated by José Francisco Ruíz in 1816, it was the peace brokered WITH the Lipanes and Comanches on behalf of the newly-independent Mexican empire in 1822. It would culminate in one of the most memorable scenes in Texas history, the journey of Ruíz and a handful of Lipan and Comanche chiefs to the halls of Monteczuma for a three-way peace that Texas would never truly be able to enjoy... Click here to purchase the complete audiobook of "Tejano Patriot" by Art Martínez de Vara...
2023-11-3014 min
A New History of Old TexasComancheros in ExileJosé Francisco Ruíz would remain a focus of Spanish royalist vengeance after the Battle of Medina. For good reason. From his exile in Louisiana, Ruíz orchestrated a proxy war by his Lipan and especially Comanche allies against Spanish royalists' fragile hold on Texas. It would bring Spain to the brink of abandoning Texas. Eventually royalists would have no choice but to ask Ruíz to bring peace to the frontier that he had incited to total war.Click here to purchase the complete audiobook of "Tejano Patriot" by Art Martínez de Vara and read by Br...
2023-11-2308 min
A New History of Old TexasBlood in the SandThe Battle of Medina left José Francisco Ruíz the highest-ranking Tejano revolutionary in the state...and its most wanted man. What drove him to abandon a promising future in the Spanish army and turn on his old comrades-in-arms? And what price would he have to pay for this change of heart?Click here to purchase the complete audiobook of "Tejano Patriot" by Art Martínez de Vara and read by Brandon Seale. www.BrandonSeale.com
2023-11-1614 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Man for TexasJosé Francisco Ruíz lived through the most turbulent years of Texas history. What was it about Ruíz that always seemed to place him at the center of the action? What made him the man to whom Tejanos, Anglos, and Native Americans all turned in uncertain times? Join us to find out what made José Francisco Ruíz "The Man for Texas."Click here to purchase the complete audiobook of "Tejano Patriot" by Art Martínez de Vara and read by Brandon Seale. www.BrandonSeale.com
2023-11-0909 min
bigcitysmalltown with Bob Rivard3. Uncovering Lost Texas Histories with Brandon Seale When Brandon Seale set out to discover the truth behind the forgotten Battle of Medina, he didn't expect to uncover an entire battlefield. Yet, by collaborating with American Veterans Archaeological Recovery and scholars, he and his team have slowly but surely pieced together an incredible discovery. But will they be able to honor the battle and its legacy? In this episode, you will be able to: Discover the untold stories surrounding the lost Battle of Medina and its impact on Texas history. Appreciate the indispensable contributions of citizen historians and archaeologists in revealing...
2023-04-1739 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Republic of the Sierra MadreFiery San Antonian José María Carvajal refuses to give up the dream of a northeastern Mexican republic, only to be defeated by his old commander, Antonio Canales. Carvajal - and his reputation - recover in the turmoil of the French Intervention, however, and he rises to his own moment in the sun as the regional hegemon of Tamaulipas. For a few years.Photo: Arista's Campaign Map, 1840, Courtesy Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, The University of Texas at Austin.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-03-0930 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Concessions of CamargoAntonio Canales lays down his sword...and emerges as the new kingmaker of northeastern Mexico.Photo of Brandon Seale at the approximate location of Zapata's last stand, Morelos, Coahuila.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-03-0221 min
A New History of Old TexasRescuing ZapataThe normally reserved Antonio Canales throws everything he has at Centralist General Mariano Arista in a desperate bid to rescue his estranged brother-in-arms, Antonio Zapata.Photo: "Zapata's Defeat" inset from Arista's Campaign map, 1840, courtesy Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, The University of Texas at Austin.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-02-2321 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Battle of MorelosFrustrated with Antonio Canales, Antonio Zapata breaks away from the Rio Grande Federalist Army...and rides into an ambush in Santa Rita de Morelos!Photo: Battle of Morelos campaign medal, photo courtesy of Art Martinez de Vara.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-02-1621 min
A New History of Old TexasDesperate MeasuresJust days after declaring the formation of a new "provisional government of the northern border," Federalist commander Antonio Canales opens up communications with Centralist General Mariano Arista to surrender! Antonio Zapata finds out...and the rift grows between the two Rio Granders. Photo Courtesy of the Republic of the Rio Grande Museum, Laredo, TX.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-02-0920 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Casa Blanca Articles of ConventionThe text of the "Casa Blanca Articles of Convention," as transcribed by Professor Stan Green, and as translated by Brandon Seale, with comments from Professor Green and Lic. Jacqueline Pasquel.Photo: Canales's call to convention, photo courtesy of the Republic of the Rio Grande Museum, Laredo, TX.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-02-0215 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Republic of the Northern BorderOn January 26th, 1840, the Republic of the Rio Grande was formed. Or rather, the "provisional government for the northern border" was declared. Commentators then and podcasters now consider whether there is in fact a difference between these two ideas.Photo courtesy of the Republic of the Rio Grande Museum, Laredo, TX.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-01-2618 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Battle of AlcantraUnder the command of Antonio Zapata, Antonio Canales and José María Carbajal, the Rio Grande Federalists win their greatest battle to-date. Yet diplomatic recognition eludes them, as a new Centralist opponent emerges with a knack for the public relations game – General Mariano Arista.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-01-1932 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Kingdom of ZapataAntonio Zapata - the "mulato" son of a domestic servant and a cowboy - establishes himself as the kingmaker over Northeastern Mexico. And led by San Antonian José María Carvajal, the Rio Grande Federalists call on some old allies in the fight against Centralism - the Texians.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-01-1224 min
A New History of Old TexasZapata UnleashedIn one of the most remarkable campaigns in Mexican military history, Antonio Zapata and a small band of Rio Grande vaqueros and Carrizo Indians immobilize three Centralist armies and launch a punitive expedition against a Comanche war party, establishing the Rio Grande Federalists as the de facto government of the region.www.BrandonSeale.com
2022-01-0522 min
A New History of Old TexasOrder and Disorder on the New BorderAntonio Zapata comes over to the side of the Federalist insurgents... and turns their war of words into a real threat to Centralist rule over Northeastern Mexico.Photo: Illustration of Antonio Zapata by Matt Tumlinson www.BrandonSeale.com
2021-12-2923 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Federalist RevoltsAfter the failed "Texas campaign" of 1836, the Mexican centralist army falls back onto the Rio Grande villas. Through a series of requisitions, taxes and just outright theft, they manage to impoverish the region and bankrupt Antonio Zapata. Yet, Zapata doesn't join the first Rio Grande revolt against centralist rule in 1838, led by Antonio Canales. Not yet anyway.www.BrandonSeale.com
2021-12-2228 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Constitution of 1824Antonio Zapata emerges as one of the most promising young leaders of newly independent Revilla – soon–to–be renamed Guerrero – just as Mexico elects its first president under the famed Constitution of 1824. By the second election in 1828, however, Mexico is in turmoil.www.BrandonSeale.com
2021-12-1532 min
A New History of Old TexasLas Villas del NorteIn the 1750's, Carrizo Indians living in the lower Rio Grande Valley greeted two new groups of settlers: the Lipan Apaches and the Spanish. For the next two generations, the freedoms - and terrors - of the region continued to attract a hardy array of new settlers, including a surprisingly large percentage of "mulatos," Afro-Mexicans who found refuge on the distant Rio Grande frontier.Photo: The red sandstone church in Old Revilla, Public Domain.www.BrandonSeale.com
2021-12-0824 min
A New History of Old TexasYoung ZapataYoung Antonio Zapata is born in Revilla, Nuevo Santander, the son of a domestic servant and a cow hand. The same town from which our old friend, José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara (go listen to Season 2) was just getting his start as a revolutionary.Photo: Plains Warrior in Blue, Friedrich Richard Petri, artist, circa 1850 Texas Memorial Museum, Austin, accession #2197. Courtesy Republic of the Rio Grande Museum, Laredo, TX.www.BrandonSeale.com
2021-12-0822 min
A New History of Old TexasMexican IndependenceAs Antonio Zapata grows into manhood, his unique talents become clear to all around him. Mexico wins its independence...but very little changes for the residents of the Rio Grande.Photo: Ejército_Trigarante, Wikipedia.www.BrandonSeale.com
2021-12-0820 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Republic of the Rio GrandeFrom 1838 to 1840, the people of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas fought against the Mexican central government for their independence. They fought under the battlefield leadership of one of the most remarkable men in Texas history and – as best I can tell – the only Afro-Tejano to have a Texas county named after him: Antonio Zapata. For the better part of a year, Zapata reigned supreme as the military leader of the region and as the avatar of his people. With his army of Rio Grande vaqueros, Carrizo Indians, and Anglo-Texian volunteers, he held as many as three Mexican centralist armies at b...
2021-10-2503 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Gospel According to Cabeza de VacaWhat the legacy of the four old Narváez expeditionaries in the New World amounted to. How their legacy back in the Old World may have been more meaningful. How Cabeza de Vaca saw his legacy. And how we might think of it as well.Pages: f63v-67r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999). Cover art: "La Relación Cover," by unknown, Wikipedia, Public Domain.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-09-2127 min
A New History of Old TexasThe "Ideal" ConquestHow the four expeditionaries translated their gospel into terms their Native American followers might understand. How the four expeditionaries then translated the Native American worldview into terms Castilians might understand. How they became apostles from the Indians. How they advocated for the full humanity of Native Americans. And how they came up short.Pages: f60v-63v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999). Cover Art: "Historia de México a través de los siglos," 1929-35. By Diego Rivera, Palacio Nacional de México.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-09-1720 min
A New History of Old TexasFour HorsemenWhat the four expeditionaries found when they were reunited with their countrymen. How they were horrified by what they saw. And how they resolved to do something about it.Pages: f56v-f60v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999). Cover art: "Michuaca Lienzo Nuño de Guzmán," by unknown, Wikipedia, Public Domain.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-09-1422 min
A New History of Old TexasCrossing the DivideHow the four expeditionaries crossed the Continental Divide. How they re-connected with the Castilian world. And how they saw the first signs of the devastation wrought by their countrymen on the Native American communities of which they now considered themselves a part.Pages: f52r-56v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999). Cover art: "Cabeza de Vaca, Estevanico, and the other Survivors," artist unknown. Image available on the Internet, viewed on 24 April 2020. httpstshaonline.orghandbookonlinearticlesfca06.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-09-1023 min
A New History of Old TexasThe ArrowheadHow Cabeza de Vaca removed an arrowhead from the beating heart of an ailing native. How the four expeditionaries' "authority" continued to grow. How the expeditionaries abused that authority. And how they came to repent of it.Pages: f49v-f52r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover Art: "The First Recorded Surgical Operation in North America," 1965. By Tom Lea, Courtesy of the Tom Lea Institute., El Paso, Texas. All Rights Reserved.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-09-0720 min
A New History of Old TexasAll Things to All PeopleWhat clues Native Americans left as to how they viewed the four expeditionaries. Why they seemed so determined to carry the expeditionaries up into northern Coahuila. And how the expeditionaries entered the spiritual heartland of Native North America.Pages: f48v-f49v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: Photo by Jean Clottes, Courtesy Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center, taken from The White Shaman Mural: An Enduring Creation Narrative in the Rock Art of the Lower Pecos. University of Texas Press, Austin (2016), fig 1-6.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-09-0322 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Inexplicable TurnHow the four expeditionaries came to within a few weeks’ march of the Rio de las Palmas, their goal for the last seven years. How they turned away from their goal. And how it becomes apparent that the spiritual movement they were "leading" wasn't really about them. Pages: f46v-f48v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Children of the Sun" by Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia, Courtesy of DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, DeGrazia Foundation, Tucson, Arizona. All Rights Reserved.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-08-3120 min
A New History of Old TexasThe First American Ponzi SchemeHow Estevan prepared the way for his companions as they crossed the Rio Grande. How to interpret the agendas of the "headmen" leading the natives now surrounding the four expeditionaries. How the expeditionaries realized they were still, despite their following, as vulnerable as they had been back on the Galveston beach. Pages: f41v-f46v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions in the Big Bend area. Texas Beyond History. Image available on the Internet, viewed on 12 May 2020.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-08-2720 min
A New History of Old TexasMala CosaWhen the expeditionaries came to question their medicine. How they came to fear that they - perhaps - might be bringing the evil they thought they were curing. How they stopped healing. And how that made things even worse.Pages: f38v-f41v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: Illustration by Carolyn E. Boyd, Courtesy Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center, taken from The White Shaman Mural: An Enduring Creation Narrative in the Rock Art of the Lower Pecos. University of Texas Press, Austin (2016), fig 5-33.www.BrandonSeale...
2020-08-2420 min
A New History of Old TexasSigns and WondersHow the expeditionaries' cures became increasingly challenging. How their faith continued to work for them...and for their patients who were cured by it. And how Cabeza de Vaca raised a man from the dead.Pages: f37r-f38v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: Illustration by Carolyn E. Boyd, Courtesy Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center, taken from The White Shaman Mural: An Enduring Creation Narrative in the Rock Art of the Lower Pecos. University of Texas Press, Austin (2016), fig 5-20.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-08-2020 min
A New History of Old TexasTests of FaithHow the four castaways became medicine men. How they performed their "cures." And how a burning bush showed Cabeza de Vaca the course he needed to follow.Pages: f36r-37r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: Illustration by Carolyn E. Boyd, Courtesy Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center, taken from The White Shaman Mural: An Enduring Creation Narrative in the Rock Art of the Lower Pecos. University of Texas Press, Austin (2016), fig 6-2.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-08-1719 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Great EscapeHow prickly pears brought the four old expeditionaries together. How they gorged on the nasty little fruits. And how they embarked on the first leg of their great pilgrimage that would carry them across the continent over the next eighteen months.Pages: f34v-f36r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Estéban." The Granger Collection, New York. Image available on the Internet, viewed on 12 May 2020. https://kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/148310.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-08-1315 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Utility of BeliefHow Cabeza de Vaca was separated from Castillo, Dorantes, and Estevan. How his status decreased with his utility in the new landscape of South Texas. And what he did to survive this most difficult year.Pages: f34r-34v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999). Cover art: "Claustro de Santo Domingo," by unknown, presumed burial location of Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, Wikicommons, Public Domain.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-08-1017 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Great TunalHow the peoples of South Texas differed from those of the upper Texas coast. How the four expeditionaries planned to escape from them. And how their plan was foiled.Pages: f31v-f34r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Cactus Patch" by Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia, Courtesy of DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, DeGrazia Foundation, Tucson, Arizona. All Rights Reserved.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-08-0620 min
A New History of Old TexasFaith the Size of a PecanHow Alonso Castillo, Andrés Dorantes, and Esteban had made their way down the Texas Coast in 1529. How they had fallen into "slavery." How they were reunited with Cabeza de Vaca. And what to make of the "faith" that these men profess so unquestioningly in the face of repeated misfortunes.Pages: f28v-f31v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Encircling Deer with Fire" by Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia, Courtesy of DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, DeGrazia Foundation, Tucson, Arizona. All Rights Reserved.Texas Beyond History: Learning from Cabeza de Va...
2020-08-0321 min
A New History of Old TexasHe Who Has a WhyHow Cabeza de Vaca decided to leave Galveston Island. How his companion, Lope de Oviedo, decided he couldn't. And how Cabeza de Vaca first heard rumors of other surviving expeditionaries amongst the native peoples of South Texas.Pages: f28r-f28v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Trader" by Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia, Courtesy of DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, DeGrazia Foundation, Tucson, Arizona. All Rights Reserved.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-07-3022 min
A New History of Old TexasOut of SlaveryHow the Native population of Galveston Island was decimated. The expeditionaries too. How Cabeza de Vaca was left behind. And how he lifted himself up from "slavery" to become a merchant plying his wares up and down the Texas coast.Pages: f26r-f28r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Slaves Digging Roots" by Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia, Courtesy of DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, DeGrazia Foundation, Tucson, Arizona. All Rights Reserved.Texas State Center for the Study of the Southwest Cabeza de Vaca Resourceswww.BrandonSeale.com
2020-07-2721 min
A New History of Old TexasCastawaysHow Cabeza de Vaca and his companions were reunited with some of their fellow Narváez expeditionaries, including Alonso Castillo, Andrés Dorantes, and Estevan. How they tried to integrate themselves into the daily rhythms of the Cavoque community. And what happened that first winter when Native American and European immune systems were compromised by hunger, cold, and exposure to diseases they had never met before.Pages: f23r-f26r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Expedition Cabeza de Vaca Karte," Wikicommons, Public Domain.The Witliff Collections, Texas St...
2020-07-2327 min
A New History of Old TexasNaked in the New WorldHow the expeditionaries debated what to do in the face of 100 armed "Cavoques," as the natives of Galveston called themselves. How the Cavoques offered to take the expeditionaries back to their village. And how the welcoming party they threw for the castaways scared the bejeezus out of them.Pages: f22r-f23r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: Courtesy Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center, taken from The White Shaman Mural: An Enduring Creation Narrative in the Rock Art of the Lower Pecos. University of Texas Press, Austin (2016), fig 2-8.
2020-07-2016 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Island of Ill-Fate (aka, Galveston)How the conquistadors became castaways on Galveston Island. How the natives of Galveston Island found them. And what the natives decided to do with them.Pages: f20v-f22r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Barges Capsize" by Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia, Courtesy of DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, DeGrazia Foundation, Tucson, Arizona. All Rights Reserved.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-07-1618 min
A New History of Old TexasThe GulfHow the Narváez expeditionaries returned to the Gulf of Mexico. How the Gulf "turned" on them. And how all the tools of conquest began to fail them.Pages: f16r-f20v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Hernando Colon Map," courtesy of Jim MacDougald (1527). Note the label on the North American portion, "Tierra que aora va poblar panfilo de narvaes."www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-07-1321 min
A New History of Old TexasApalacheHow the Narváez expeditionaries "conquered" Apalache. And then had to flee for their lives. How they made it back to the Florida coast. And how they confronted the frightening reality that they had lost contact with their ships.Pages: f11r-f16r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999). Cover art: "Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca," by Alfred Russell.www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-07-0921 min
A New History of Old TexasMissing the MarkHow the Narváez expeditionaries missed their target by a mere 1,000 miles. How they mistook the western coast of Florida for the eastern coast of Mexico. And how they doubled down on their error after finding the first hints of gold.Pages: f3r-f7r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999). Cover art: "Panfilo de Narvaez Expedition," viewed 2 February 2020, https://www.trailoffloridasindianheritage.org/narvaez-mound-jungle-prada#.A Land So Strange, by Andrés Resendez (2007).www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-07-0624 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Sons of 1492How Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and 600 others came to the New World under the command of Pánfilo de Narváez. What the men and women in the Narváez Expedition were hoping to find. And what they actually found instead.Pages: f1r-f2v in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999). Cover art: "Portrait of Cabeza de Vaca," by unknown, Wikicommons, Public Domain.Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca: His Account, His Life, and the Expedition of Pánfilo de Narvaez, by Rolena Adorno and Patrick Charles Pautz (1999).www...
2020-07-0632 min
A New History of Old TexasA Land So StrangeHow the Narváez expeditionaries marched on their Floridian Tenochtitlán. And how the whole story goes a little Gabriel García Márquez upon the colorful entrance of a Floridian native chief.Pages: f7r-f11r in Zamora (1542) Edition as published by Adorno and Pautz (1999).Cover art: "Panfilo de Narvaez and his Companions Reach the Gulf of Mexico after Crossing Florida," 19th century wood engraving. www.BrandonSeale.com
2020-07-0622 min
A New History of Old TexasSeason 3 - Cabeza de VacaBack in the first episode of the first season of this podcast series, I begged someone to make a movie about the wanderings of Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and his three companions.Well, as several of you pointed out, someone actually has made this movie. In 1991 Mexican filmmaker Nicolás Echevarría created a really striking and kinda trippy art-house film that actually does a pretty good job capturing the surrealness of Cabeza de Vaca’s adventures.But it’s not an easily digestible film. And in its strangeness, it partly obscures the facts of...
2020-04-2502 min
A New History of Old TexasIs this the Battlefield of Medina?The trauma of 1813 stuck with Tejanos…and it emboldened them. What lessons did they draw from the Battle of Medina? What lessons should we draw today?And at long last, we point our finger to the map and ask, “Is this the Battlefield of Medina?” www.BrandonSeale.com
2019-08-2637 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Most Important Primary Account of the Battle of MedinaSometime in the 1820's or 30's, an anonymous survivor of the Spanish Royalist occupation of San Antonio in 1813 wrote down his (or her?) memories of those tragic events. As far as I know, it is the only contemporary Spanish-language account of these events from the Republican perspective, and our friend Joe Arciniega joins us once again this episode to read it into the historical record. www.BrandonSeale.com
2019-08-1936 min
A New History of Old TexasTerror in Texas (Explicit)(WARNING: This episode contains graphic language and descriptions of Spanish Royalists' sack of San Antonio following the Battle of Medina.)After defeating the Republican Army of the North at the Battle of Medina, Spanish Royalist General Joaquín de Arredondo entered San Antonio intent on teaching its citizens a lesson they would never forget. The subsequent Sack of Béxar, the execution of hundreds of Tejano men, and the imprisonment and assault of just as many Tejana women marked Texans for many generations to come…though not, perhaps, in the way that Arredondo intended.The rese...
2019-08-1936 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Battle of Medina RevisitedAfter a year of research and interviews, we sum up everything we’ve learned over the last year to recreate what happened on August 18, 1813, when 1,830 Spanish Royalists under the command of General Joaquín de Arredondo finally met up with the unbeaten 1,400 man Republican Army of the North twenty miles or so south of San Antonio.Additionally, the battlefield search team attempts to validate the artifacts they have uncovered. The results are simultaneously disconcerting, exhilarating…and confusing.www.BrandonSeale.com
2019-08-0543 min
A New History of Old TexasArtifacts at Last!On August 4, 1813, after months of plotting, José Álvarez de Toledo personally arrived in San Antonio and overthrew Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara as commander-in-chief of the Republican Army of the North. Just as the Republicans found themselves more divided than ever, their most fearsome opponent to-date – Joaquín de Arredondo – began his march up the Laredo Road to challenge them.At long, long last, our research team uncovers artifacts from the battle. Even better, we find cannonballs! And once we plot them on the map, a pattern begins to emerge…www.BrandonSeale.com
2019-07-2227 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Battle of Alazán CreekAfter the Republican victory at the Battle of Rosillo and Texans’ bold declaration of Independence in April of 1813, a Royalist commander from Veracruz decided to take charge of the situation. While he began assembling an army to reconquer Texas, he sent forth a force of 700 men to pin down the Republicans and reconnoiter their movements. In command of that force was the flip-flopping Colonel Ignacio Elizondo, whom our listeners may remember from his ambush and capture of Father Miguel Hidalgo. The Republicans didn’t let pass the opportunity to use Elizondo’s impulsiveness against him.Back in the pr...
2019-07-0831 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Original Texas Declaration of IndependenceFor the first time that I know of, we present here the original Texas Declaration of Independence in English – as performed by a direct descendant of the men who brought about that independence back in 1813!www.BrandonSeale.com
2019-07-0121 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Free and Independent State of TexasOn April 6, 1813, Texas declared its independence, having momentarily rid the province of all traces of Spanish control. Eleven days later, the new Texas government promulgated a constitution, drawing from both Spanish civil and Anglo-American natural law traditions. Unfortunately, a horrific series of executions of captured Spanish officers nearly ripped the Republican Army apart at its seams, just as a Royalist army of retribution came sneaking up the Camino Real.The research team starts digging at the suspected site of the Republican camp the night before the battle. What they learn while digging may be even more important...
2019-06-2435 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Battle of RosilloIn February of 1813, Spanish Royalist forces under Texas Governor Manuel Salcedo stormed the Republicans besieged in Goliad – and were resoundingly repulsed. The Republicans broke out of Goliad and pursued the Royalists all the way back to San Antonio, where Salcedo and Gutiérrez de Lara met in one final battle.We finally lay our hands on maps from the early 1800’s that might tell us where contemporaries believed that the Battle of Medina had taken place.www.BrandonSeale.com
2019-06-1026 min
A New History of Old TexasThe March on GoliadIn 7th grade Texas history textbooks, Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara figures only peripherally in the events covered in this series. In reality, he may have been the great unifying figure for the Tejano, Native American, and Americans volunteers marching across Texas in the fall of 1812. Texas Governor Manuel Salcedo certainly took notice of his movements and rode out to ambush the revolutionary commander on the road to San Antonio in October 1812. It would be Gutiérrez de Lara, however, who had a surprise in store for Salcedo.The research team takes to the air to look fo...
2019-05-2728 min
A New History of Old TexasJosé Bernardo Gutiérrez de LaraBefore Father Miguel Hidalgo was captured by Royalist forces in March of 1811, he commissioned a modest but vocal supporter from the Rio Grande Valley as his emissary to the United States. With a dozen or so loyal followers, that emissary - José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara - escaped Royalist capture and crossed over the Sabine, where he would spend the next two years rallying recruits and resources to the cause of Mexican independence.Multiple contemporary accounts of the Battle of Medina relate the Republican army's route to the battlefield. Unfortunately, they almost all relate it differently or...
2019-05-1319 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Governor ReturnsAfter capturing Father Miguel Hidalgo, Texas Royalist Governor Manuel Salcedo returned to San Antonio in a less-than-magnanimous frame of mind. San Antonio, after all, was the town that had deposed him and the town to which Father Hidalgo had been fleeing. Governor Salcedo took it upon himself to impress upon San Antonians the true cost of disloyalty to the Crown…and to him. The battlefield search team, meanwhile, combines the results of modern technology (LIDAR) and the grunt work of a dedicated UTSA researcher (Bruce Moses) to map out the roads into San Antonio in 1813 and locate Gen...
2019-04-2925 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Casas RevoltOn September 16, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla unleashed a cry of protest against centuries of Spanish exploitation of New Spain. San Antonians under a retired militia captain named Juan Bautista de las Casas took up the cry and attached themselves to his cause.We start our search for the battlefield of Medina by examining the most primary account of them all: the post-action report of the Spanish Royalist commander, Joaquín de Arredondo., who gives us our first important clues for narrowing the search area. www.BrandonSeale.com
2019-04-1522 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Roads to RevolutionTexas in 1800 was defined by its isolation, which Tejanos felt all the more acutely because of Spain’s restrictive trade laws and general neglect towards its most distant colonies. Tejanos began to see themselves as a people apart and to crave more autonomy and control over their own affairs.Three different battle markers claim to be the site of the Battle of Medina, though none has ever produced archaeological evidence of the battle. What can the markers tell us, however, about where the battle might have occurred? Listen to learn more.www.BrandonSeale.com
2019-04-0122 min
A New History of Old TexasSeason 2 - Finding MedinaEpisode 11 of the first season of this podcast described the Battle of Medina as having taken place “somewhere in the area between modern-day Lytle, Somerset, and Von Ormy.” That was way off. But this podcast wasn’t the first to express confusion over the location of the battlefield. Today, three different markers dot the Bexar-Atascosa County line claiming to mark the spot where the largest, bloodiest battle in Texas history occurred.What was the Battle of Medina and why was it fought? How do you lose a battlefield of this size and importance, particularly in a state like T...
2019-03-0409 min
2018-05-0526 min
A New History of Old TexasA City DividedSan Antonio in 1860 didn't look like the rest of Texas, or for that matter, the rest of the United States. The U.S. Civil War nearly tore the town apart all the same, and almost 1/3 of her sons fell on distant battlefields. As it had previously, however, war created opportunity, and this war laid the foundations of the great businesses that would lead San Antonio into the industrial age.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-05-0122 min
A New History of Old TexasSan Antonio on the BrinkIn 1845, San Antonians voted to join the United States and plunged themselves right back into war with their old foes in the Valley of Mexico. The war, however, brought new prosperity to the frontier outpost and new prosperity brought new immigrants from all over the globe. These new immigrants reveled in the freedoms the isolated town offered them and soon made San Antonio the largest city in Texas.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-04-2431 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Fall of San AntonioIn the first years of the Republic of Texas, San Antonio was assaulted by Mexican Centralist forces almost every year until finally falling - twice - to Mexican armies in 1842. These invasions struck a tragic blow to the unity of the fragile new multi-ethnic Republic, even as the period gave birth to the national symbols of the two peoples warring over the little frontier town. www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-04-1721 min
A New History of Old TexasTexian San AntonioThe new Texian government broke off San Antonio's special relationship with the Comanche empire, provoking renewed hostilities from the horsemen off the plains. Newcomers to the town had to integrate themselves quickly into the fighting units of Old San Antonians and learn the lessons of frontier warfare firsthand.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-04-1021 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Battle of the AlamoThe Battle of the Alamo as you've never heard it before.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-04-0356 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico01 - The OilfindersPorfirio Diaz, Standard Oil, Weetman Pearson (El Aguila), Edward Doheny (La Huasteca), and gushers! Suggested reading: Jonathan C. Brown, "Oil and Revolution in Mexico." Link here: http://tinyurl.com/zvermpa
2018-03-3019 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico08 - Yeah, Another CrisisThe Peso Devaluation of 1994 and fallout from the Carlos Salinas administration opens the door to the election of the first non-PRI president of Mexico in 70 years. Vicente Fox enters office to great fanfare, yet leaves PEMEX largely untouched, even after the "PEMEXGate" scandal seemed to present him the perfect opportunity to reform it. No one ever talks about the real reasons why Fox failed to reform PEMEX, until now. Suggested reading: Raul Muñoz Leos, "Pemex en la Encrucijada." Link here: http://tinyurl.com/gsloq5r
2018-03-3021 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico05 - Poor PlanningIn this episode, we struggle to make sense of PEMEX's adolescent period. Great measures - such as the formation of the Instituto Mexicano de Petroleo - are taken which will yield fantastic results a decade later. But disturbing patterns begin to emerge as other Mexican institutions come to rely on PEMEX's spectacular wealth to advance their own agendas.
2018-03-3020 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico11 - What's Wrong with MexicoNothing's "wrong" with Mexico of course...but what makes it so different and so maddening?Recommended reading: Luis Rubio's "The Problem of Power" (http://tinyurl.com/h4zkxuz)
2018-03-3018 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico02 - RevoluciónThe oil companies withdraw from Mexican society as Revolution ravages the country. As Post-Revolutionary governments reassert control over the country, they go to battle with the oil companies over the validity of their holdings and soon find allies in the incipient Oilworkers Movement.Suggested reading: Mariano Azuela, "Los De Abajo: Novela De La Revolución Mexicana."Link here: http://tinyurl.com/hoxltbd
2018-03-3017 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico03 - The ExpropriationOn March 18, 1938, Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas expropriated the properties of the American, English, and Dutch oil companies operating in Mexico. Was this the ideological act of a political radical? Or a calculated piece of realpolitik that united the Mexican business class with the socialist labor movement to forge the coalition that would rule Mexico for the next sixty years?Suggested reading: Jonathan C. Brown and Alan Knight, "The Mexican Petroleum Industry in the Twentieth Century."
2018-03-3026 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico04 - The Golden Age of PemexAntonio J. Bermudez assumes the Directorship of PEMEX and makes it the animal we have come to know and love. PEMEX truly becomes an oil company, making critical downstream investments and finally surpassing pre-Expropriation activity. But hints at her future struggles appear even as the great Petrolera achieves her first successes.Suggested reading: Antonio J. Bermúdez, "Doce Años al Servicio de la Industria Petrolera Mexicana, 1947-1958."
2018-03-3025 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico10 - The Mexican Energy ReformAfter regaining office in December 2012, the PRI party carries out the single biggest change to the Mexican Constitution in 70 years with the 2013 Mexican Energy Reform. In some ways, the 2013 Reform is simple to describe because it was so radical. But it seems destined to fall short of its proponents' wildest claims and of the oil industry's already modest expectations. Here's the 3 biggest challenges still standing in the way of the success of the Mexican Energy Reform...and the 4 things they got REALLY right.Recommended listening: John Moody's "Mexico Explained" Podcast (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mexico-explained/id1027184141?mt=2)
2018-03-3036 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico09 - Slouching towards ReformCantarell peaks. Chicontepec comes up dry. And the Multiple Service Contracts fail to produce an increase in foreign investment or in the production of hydrocarbons. And then the PEMEX tower explodes. Things go from bad to worse in this episode, but Mexico begins to take her first tentative steps towards Reform.Suggested reading: "The Eagle Ford" by...me (http://tinyurl.com/je7xn57).
2018-03-3018 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico07 - The Lost DecadeMexico limps through the 1980's following a collapse in oil prices and an effective default on its national debt. When the Harvard-educated, neoliberal Carlos Salinas takes office in 1988, he takes on the old structure of Mexico's statist economy, including PEMEX, the Oilworkers' Union, and its colorful leader, La Quina. You won't believe how close PEMEX came to getting it right in the early 1990's - before Salinas' government got so many things so very wrong.Suggested reading: http://petroleo.colmex.mx/
2018-03-3018 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico06 - Managing AbundanceWe're back to gushers and glory here with the great oil finds of the 1970's: Reforma, Cantarell, and Ku-Maloob-Zaap. And we're talking about the closest thing PEMEX has to an American-style, larger-than-life oil personality: Jorge Diaz Serrano.Suggested viewing on YouTube: Jose Agustin's "Tragicomedia Mexicana."Link here: http://tinyurl.com/zssjyun
2018-03-3025 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Siege of BéxarIn late 1835, Centralists and Federalists clashed in San Antonio over the course of a two-month long siege that culminated in five days of brutal house-to-house fighting.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-03-2725 min
A New History of Old TexasSanta AnnaIn 1833, Santa Anna was elected President of Mexico. In 1834, he declared himself dictator. Mexico rose in revolt and San Antonians rode to Coahuila in support of their fellow Federalists. www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-03-2016 min
A New History of Old TexasIllegal ImmigrationIn 1830, Mexican Centralists outlawed future Anglo immigration to Texas and walked back the freedoms recognized by the 1824 Federalist Constitution. San Antonians - who had long been the loudest advocates for both immigration and Federalism - responded with a bold defense of their new neighbors and an even bolder threat to break away if Centralists wouldn't respect their hard-won rights.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-03-1317 min
A New History of Old TexasSons of LibertadThe most fascinating account of Jacksonian America doesn't come from a French aristocrat who spent barely nine months on the continent. It comes from Lorenzo de Zavala, author of the 1824 Mexican Federalist Constitution, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and first Vice President of the Republic of Texas. It was in Texas - and in particular, in San Antonio - where De Zavala saw the ultimate opportunity for a new “mixed society of the American system and the Spanish customs and traditions,” which would represent the triumph of the New World over the tired ideas and prejudices of the...
2018-03-0616 min
A New History of Old TexasMexican San AntonioIn 1821, Mexico finally won its independence from Spain. In 1824, the new nation promulgated one of the most enlightened constitutions in the world, establishing a federal republic with clearly-defined civil liberties and checks and balances. San Antonio appeared to be on track to recover from the trauma of 1813 and to emerge from the poverty that old Spanish system had left behind. And the key to their prosperity, they believed, was immigration.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-02-2716 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Battle of MedinaSpanish Royalists responded to San Antonio's 1813 Declaration of Independence by massacring the Republican Army of the North and by implementing a deliberate policy of terror against San Antonio's civilians, summarily executing almost three hundred of San Antonio's leading men while forcing their wives, daughters, and mothers to slave away on behalf of the soldiers murdering their loved ones. No community in New Spain suffered the way that San Antonio did for Mexican Independence, and it remains the bloodiest episode in Texas history. CORRECTION: Although the location of the Battle of Medina is not precisely known, it appears to have...
2018-02-2020 min
A New History of Old TexasThe First Republic of TexasIn 1813, San Antonians declared their independence from Spain. The 1813 Texas Declaration of Independence and the 1813 Texas Constitution show San Antonians drawing from both Hispanic and Anglo legal traditions to develop their own political ideology, shaped by and tailored to the hard realities of the Texas frontier.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-02-1316 min
A New History of Old TexasSan Antonio RevoltsThe first decade of the 19th century brought more tumult to San Antonio than she had experienced in the entire century before. The missions were shuttered, a menacing new neighbor arrived on Texas's Eastern border, and a civil war erupted in town between republican and royalist factions, as San Antonio took on a tragically leading role in Mexico's War of Independence.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-02-0618 min
A New History of Old TexasSan Antonio StrongIn 1790, San Antonians finally won peace along the frontier from their old foes: the Apaches and the Comanches...though at a terrible cost.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-01-3016 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Capital of TexasWhen San Antonio became the capital of Texas in 1772, it was a recognition in law of something that was already true in fact. The new concentration of resources on the town and the opening of new lands led to a minor boom, particularly in the cattle business, which immediately ran afoul of Spanish royal authorities and their inflexible mercantile system.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-01-2320 min
A New History of Old TexasThe ComanchesThe Apaches just used horses...the Comanches were horseMEN. Had they lived in a different time and place, you might have sworn that they were the inspiration for the legend of the Centaur. And in 1759, San Antonians launched an expedition 400 miles into their territory...www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-01-1627 min
El Petroleo es Nuestro: A History of Oil in Mexico10,000 Listeners and a New Podcast!Thank you to everyone who supported El Petroleo es Nuestro, and please go check out my new podcast called a New History of Old San Antonio, which you can find at www.brandonseale.com
2018-01-0900 min
A New History of Old TexasThe ApachesAfter thirty years of constant harassment by the Apaches, San Antonians did what few other frontier peoples ever could: beat them and force them to seek peace.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-01-0717 min
A New History of Old TexasBuilding San AntonioDuring the fifty year period beginning in 1718 and ending around 1768, Spanish friars and Native American converts moved nearly 1 million metric tons of limestone around the San Antonio River valley and erected the UNESCO World Heritage San Antonio Missions, using only crude hand tools and native ingenuity.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-01-0539 min
A New History of Old TexasThe Canary IslandersWhen sixteen Canary Island families arrived in San Antonio in March of 1731, they quickly made an impression on the small town. Their first fourteen years in San Antonio would be marked by political conflict, as they formed the first civic government and used their political savvy to advance their vision for their new home.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-01-0423 min
A New History of Old TexasMissionary San AntonioBetween 1718 and 1731, San Antonio would grow to almost 300 "vecinos," thanks to the establishment of four new missions and the "entrepreneurialism" of the soldiers stationed there, who defied Spanish import restrictions to blaze the first trade routes between Spanish Texas and Eastern North America.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-01-0325 min
A New History of Old TexasFounding San AntonioOn June 13, 1691, Spanish explorers gave a name to the spring-fed river whose banks they crossed on that feast day of St. Anthony de Padua - San Antonio. It would take twenty-seven more years of political intrigue, religious zeal, and French incursions before they would be able to plant a permanent settlement there, seeding it with a hardy mix of soldiers, missionaries, and frontiersmen.www.BrandonSeale.com
2018-01-0227 min