Texas. Zavala had known Burnet in New York. Both men had been given Empresario Grants in prior years. These grants were designed by the Mexican Government to encourage new settlers to come to Texas from around the world, the hope being to create a buffer zone between Mexico and the U.S. and also to help deal with the hostile Indians in the region. The owner of a grant was given immense tracts of Texas land in exchange for recruiting and being responsible for a certain quota of new settlers—in Zavala's case, 500 families. Zavala and Burnet had sold their grants to groups of investors in New York. The previous summer, Zavala had bought a home on 177 acres (equal to one labor, a Spanish term of land measurement) north of Buffalo Bayou in Harris County, called Zavala Point. This border area contained many immigrants from the United States who were accustomed to a democratic government and individual rights. Animosity against López de Santa Anna's rule was common and rebellion was brewing. López de Santa Anna was angered by what he perceived to be U.S. interference in Mexican affairs, and set about to stop the rebellion by dispatching troops. At this point, Zavala's hope was to overthrow the existing Mexican government and restore Mexico to a democracy and to have Texas be one of the Mexican states. Before long, he realized that this was not going to happen. A pragmatic realist, he gradually changed his viewpoint and began advocating for Texas independence from Mexico. Despite orders from López de Santa Anna for Zavala to be captured and deported from Texas, Zavala was never in real danger—he had become a valuable ally with influential Texans seeking independence. His legislative experience, linguistic skills, and diplomatic experience made him ideally suited for drafting the new Constitution of the Republic of Texas, not to mention that he was the only one among them with actual experience in drafting such a document. In March 1836, a meeting of delegates was held in a Texas settlement known as "Washington-on-the-Brazos" where the Declaration of Independence for the Republic of Texas was drafted and signed. Zavala personally designed the flag of the new republic, helped write the new constitution, and served as vice president under the provisional government. While working, the delegates received a message that the Alamo was under siege. After the Alamo fell, López de Santa Anna's