History of Mexican Americans in Texas

Indigenous peoples lived in the area now known as Texas long before Spanish explorers arrived in the area. However, once Spaniards arrived and claimed the area for Spain, a process known as mestizaje occurred, in which Spaniards and Native Americans had mestizo children who had both Spanish and indigenous blood. Texas was ruled by Spain as part of its New Spain territory from 1520, when Spaniards first arrived in Mexico in 1520, until Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, which led to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848). In 1830, the Mexican population fell to 20 percent and in 1840 down to 10 percent. When Spanish rule in Texas ended, Mexicans in Texas numbered 5,000. In 1850 over 14,000 Texas residents had Mexican origin. During the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) had brought in a lot of movement of Mexicans into Texas, passing through the Rio Grande. Most working opportunities for the Mexicans was working on a ranch or a farm starting from South Texas and ending up in the Panhandle in Northwest Texas to cotton lands. By (1930) the Mexican population grew to approximately 700,000.

In the 2020 Census, 33.3% of Texans identified as "Mexican, Mexican Am., or Chicano".