Pilares was a village located in northwest Presidio County, Texas, United States, on the southern boundary of the Sierra Vieja near the Rio Grande.[1] The river village was 1.25 miles (2.01 km) south of the confluence of Quinn Creek and the Rio Grande while bearing 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Porvenir, Texas. The uninhabited site is in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas with a southern panorama of the Chihuahuan Desert and northern Mexico.[2]

Pilares, Texas
Pilares, Texas is located in Texas
Pilares, Texas
Pilares, Texas
Location within Texas
Pilares, Texas is located in the United States
Pilares, Texas
Pilares, Texas
Pilares, Texas (the United States)
Coordinates: 30°26′11″N 104°51′07″W / 30.43639°N 104.85194°W / 30.43639; -104.85194
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyPresidio
Elevation
3,022 ft (921 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
79854
Area code432
GNIS feature ID1376919

Presidio of Pilares

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Presidio de Pilares, also known as El Principe, was established along the southern boundaries of the Rio Grande basin in the northern Chihuahua territory of New Spain in 1774.[3][4] The Spanish Presidio provided a defensive wall against the native plains inhabitants during the Mexican Indian Wars in Spanish Texas.

 
Spanish Missions in Texas, 1659–1795

History of Rio Grande presidios

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In the mid-18th century, Charles III of Spain appointed Marquis of Rubí and José de Gálvez to fulfill expeditions and observations of the America frontier presidios in the northern regions of New Spain.[5][6]

On September 10, 1772, the Spanish Empire issued new regulations for presidios constructed in New Spain near the Rio Grande in the Northern Mexico territories.[7][8] In 1776, the Viceroyalty of New Spain established Spanish provinces in the Spanish America frontier through the governance of the Provincias Internas serving as a supplemental article to the Bourbon Reforms. The Spanish Presidio coerced the territorial development of New Spain in the Chihuahua territory of the Spanish America colonies while fortifying the Spanish missions in Texas.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Smith, Julia Cauble. "Pilares, TX". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
  2. ^ "Pilares, Texas - Chihuahua, Mexico Aerial Map", Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, The University of Texas at Austin
  3. ^ "Missions, Presidios, and Settlements of Spanish Texas" [El Paso Missions] (PDF). Texas Beyond History. University of Texas at Austin.
  4. ^ Jones, Oakah L. (1991). "Settlements and Settlers at La Junta del los Rios, 1759–1822" [The Journal of Big Bend Studies, Vol. III] (PDF). Texas Beyond History. University of Texas at Austin.
  5. ^ Haskell, Marion L. (January 1, 1918). "Review Of Rubí's Inspection of the Frontier Presidios of New Spain, 1766–1768". Annual Publication of the Historical Society of Southern California. 11 (1). Historical Society of Southern California: 33–43. doi:10.2307/41168757. JSTOR 41168757 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Priestley, Herbert Ingram (1916). "José de Gálvez, Visitor-General of New Spain (1765–1771)". Berkeley, California: University of California Press. OCLC 903573202 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Chipman, Donald E. "New Regulations For Presidios". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
  8. ^ Faulk, Odie B. "Presidios". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
  9. ^ "Spanish Frontier 1715–1821" [La Junta de los Rios (The Meeting of the Rivers)]. Texas Beyond History. University of Texas at Austin.

Audiobook Bibliography

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Bibliography

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