The Fredonian Rebellion or Texan revolt of 1826 (December 21, 1826 – January 31, 1827) was the first attempt by Texans to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the Republic of Fredonia near Nacogdoches. The short-lived republic encompassed the land the Mexican government had granted to Edwards in 1825 and included areas that had been previously settled. Edwards's actions soon alienated the established residents, and the increasing hostilities between them and settlers recruited by Edwards led Víctor Blanco of the Mexican government to revoke Edwards's contract.
In late December 1826, a group of Edwards's supporters took control of the region by arresting and removing from office several municipality officials affiliated with the established residents. Supporters declared their independence from Mexico. Although the nearby Cherokee tribe initially
signed a treaty to support the new republic because a prior agreement with the Mexican government negotiated by Chief Richard Fields was ignored, overtures from Mexican authorities and respected empresario, Stephen F. Austin, convinced tribal leaders to repudiate the rebellion. On January 31, 1827, a force of over 100 Mexican soldiers and 275 Texian Militia marched into Nacogdoches to restore order. Haden Edwards and his brother Benjamin Edwards fled to the United States. Chief Fields was killed by his own tribe. A local merchant was arrested and sentenced to death but later paroled.
The rebellion led Mexican president Guadalupe Victoria to increase the military presence in the area. As a result, several hostile tribes in the area halted their raids on settlements and agreed to a peace treaty. The Comanche abided by this treaty for many years. Fearing that, through the rebellion, the United States hoped to gain control of Texas, the Mexican government severely curtailed immigration to the region from the US. The new immigration law was bitterly opposed by colonists and caused increasing dissatisfaction with Mexican rule. Some historians consider the Fredonian Rebellion to be the beginning of the Texas Revolution. In the words of one historian, the rebellion was "premature, but it sparked the powder for later success".
Background
After winning independence in 1821, several of Spain's colonies in the New World joined together to create a new country, Mexico. The country divided itself into several states, and the area known as Mexican Texas became part of the border state Coahuila y Tejas. To assist in governing the large area, the state created several departments; all of Texas was included in the Department of Béxar. The department was further subdivided into municipalities, which were each governed by an alcalde, similar to a modern-day mayor. A large portion of East Texas, ranging from the Sabine to the Trinity rivers and from the Gulf Coast to the Red River, became part of the municipality of Nacogdoches. Most residents of the municipality were Spanish-speaking families who had occupied their land for generations. An increasing number were English-speaking residents who had immigrated illegally during the Mexican War of Independence. Many of the immigrants were adventurers who had arrived as part of various military filibustering groups, which had attempted to create independent republics within Texas during Spanish rule.
For better control of the sparsely populated border region, in 1824 the Mexican federal government passed the General Colonization Law to allow legal immigration into Texas. Under the law, each state would set its own requirements for immigration. After some debate, on March 24, 1825, Coahuila y Tejas authorized a system granting land to empresarios, who would each recruit settlers for their particular colony. Despite his abrasiveness, Edwards was granted a colonization contract on April 14 allowing him to settle 800 families in East Texas. The contract contained standard language requiring Edwards to recognize all pre-existing Spanish and Mexican land titles in his grant area, to raise a militia to protect the settlers in the area and to allow the state land commissioner to certify all deeds awarded. The boundaries of the new colony and the municipality of Nacogdoches partially overlapped, leading to uncertainty over who had jurisdiction over which function. Edwards demanded written proof of ownership in September or the land would be forfeited and sold at auction. Most of the Spanish-speaking landowners had lived on grants made to their families 70 or more years previously and were unable to produce any paperwork.
By December 1825, Edwards had recruited 50 families to emigrate from the United States. Two men were nominated for the position—Edwards's son-in-law, Chichester Chaplin, seen as the representative for the newly-arrived immigrants, Rumors that Haden Edwards had returned to the United States to raise an army and not just to recruit settlers likely influenced the government's action. Unwilling to abandon his $50,000 (about $ as of ) investment in the colony, Haden Edwards rejoined his brother in Nacogdoches in late October, continuing their business affairs despite the cancellation of his colonization contract.
Conflict
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| It appears as tho. the people in your quarter have run mad or worse.
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| colspan=3 style="text-align: center;" |excerpt from a letter Stephen F. Austin wrote to Haden Edwards, after some of Edwards's men invaded Nacogdoches
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In October, Norris ruled that Edwards had improperly taken land from an existing settler to give to a new immigrant. Norris evicted the immigrant, angering many of the colonists. Later that month, another new immigrant was arrested and ordered to leave the country after refusing to purchase a merchant license before trading with the Indian tribes. On November 22, 1826, local Texian Militia colonel Martin Parmer and 39 other Edwards colonists entered Nacogdoches and arrested Norris, Sepulveda, and the commander of the small Mexican garrison, charging them with oppression and corruption. The actions benefitted Parmer personally; several weeks earlier, after Parmer killed a man in a dispute, Norris had issued a warrant for Parmer's arrest. With Norris removed from office, the arrest warrant was voided.
Throughout the fall, Benjamin Edwards had tried to gather support from the Edwards colonists for a potential armed revolt against Mexican authority. Largely unsuccessful, he approached the nearby Cherokee tribe for assistance.
On December 16, the Edwards brothers invaded Nacogdoches with only 30 settlers, seizing one building in town, the Old Stone Fort. On December 21, they declared the former Edwards colony to be a new republic, named Fredonia. In recognition of the agreement, above the Old Stone Fort flew a new flag containing two stripes (one red, one white) representing the two races. Inscribed on the banner was the motto, "Independence, Liberty, and Justice."
On news of the November arrest of the alcalde, the Mexican government began preparing to retaliate. Much of his colony immediately volunteered to assist in quelling the rebellion. On January 31, Bean, accompanied by 70 Texian Militia from Austin's colony, rode into Nacogdoches. By now, Parmer and Edwards had learned that the Cherokee had abandoned any intention of waging war against Mexico. Ahumada and his soldiers, accompanied by political chief Saucedo, entered Nacogdoches on February 8 to restore order.
Although the Cherokee had not raised arms against Mexico, their treaty with the Fredonian revolutionaries caused Mexican authorities to question the tribe's loyalty. To demonstrate loyalty to Mexico, the Cherokee council ordered both Fields and Hunter to be executed. Under tribal law, certain offenses such as aiding an enemy of the tribe were punishable by death. By sentencing Fields and Hunter to death for that reason, the Cherokee affirmed that Edwards and his cohorts were their enemies. Both men fled but were soon captured and executed. When the executions were reported to Mexican authorities on February 28, the commandant general of the Eastern Interior Provinces, Anastasio Bustamante, praised the Cherokee for their prompt action.