<P> Spain had claimed ownership of the territory , which comprised part of the present - day U.S. state of Texas , including the land north of the Medina and Nueces Rivers , but did not attempt to colonize the area until after locating evidence of the failed French colony of Fort Saint Louis in 1689 . In 1690 , Alonso de León escorted several Catholic missionaries to east Texas , where they established the first mission in Texas . When native tribes resisted the Spanish invasion of their homeland , the missionaries returned to Mexico , abandoning Texas for the next two decades . </P>
<P> Spain had claimed ownership of the territory , which comprised part of the present - day U.S. state of Texas , including the land north of the Medina and Nueces Rivers , but did not attempt to colonize the area until after locating evidence of the failed French colony of Fort Saint Louis in 1689 . In 1690 , Alonso de León escorted several Catholic missionaries to east Texas , where they established the first mission in Texas . When native tribes resisted the Spanish invasion of their homeland , the missionaries returned to Mexico , abandoning Texas for the next two decades . </P>
when did spain first establish territorial claim in texas
when did spain first establish territorial claim in texas
1690
1690