Come And Take It

At the twilight of the Spanish empire, the province of Texas continued to experience periodic incursions by groups of freebooters known the filibusters. There were the privateers, including Louis Michel Aury and Jean Lafitte, who turned Galveston Island into a haven for revolution and piracy. There revolutionaries such as Mina and Perry, whose Texas incursions would spell their doom. The last of these was led by Dr. James Long, who would see little success in his endeavors, but the impact his and all the filibusters would be felt for years afterwards.

In the 1810s and 1820s, a motley mix of adventurers, revolutionaries, and freebooters known the filibusters staged a series of incursions and invasions into the Spanish territory of Texas. They came to liberate Mexico, to carve out an independent Texas, or just for personal profit and glory, but whatever their cause, they made a lasting mark on the history of Texas. In 1813, Augustus Magee and Bernardo Guiterrez led the most successful filibustering expedition into Texas, establishing the Republic of the North for a brief time before being crushed by Spanish colonial forces.

Before the Texas Revolution, before the Fredonia Revolt, indeed even before Mexico gained independence from Spain, an independent Texas was the goal of several groups of headstrong, brave, and perhaps foolhardy invasions by adventurers from America and other countries. These freebooters were known as the filibusters, and many consider Philip Nolan to be the first of many to make their indelible mark on Texas history.

William Barret Travis is one of the great icons of Texas history, but few realize that he experienced such failure and disappointment in his short life. Texas truly was a transformative place for this young man, and the fame and glory he sought in life came with his glorious death. This week we look at the life of Alamo hero William Barret Travis, on Come and Take It!

There are lots of classic movies about Texas and then there are movies about Texas to which time has not been so kind. Made in 1969, Viva Max! is one of these lesser films. It features an amazing cast of award winners and is based on the writings of one of the brightest minds of his generation. Today we are discussiong, Viva Max! a film about a Mexican general who re-takes the Alamo in a bid to prove his honor.

Covering over 800,000 acres of far west Texas, Big Bend National Park is the first and largest national park in Texas. Larger than the state of Rhode Island, Big Bend is a diverse and fascinating combination of striking geological formations, rich diversity in plants and wildlife, amazing discoveries from the fossil record, and the darkest skies in all of Texas. This week Come and Take It visits the truly amazing Big Bend National Park!

Jim Bowie was a man who lived many lives. He was a swindler, a fighter, a husband, an adventurer, a patriot, and a rebel. His years in Texas had brought him prosperity as well as heartbreak. In 1836, though, would find his ultimate fate and fame as one of the doomed defenders of the Alamo. This week we finish our look at the life and death of one of Texas greatest icons, Jim Bowie.

In 1828, Jim Bowie left behind his controversial life in Louisiana to start again in Texas, hoping to find his fortune. He found adventure, prosperity, and heartbreak as well. Most significantly, he found his ultimate fate and fame as one of the doomed defenders of the Alamo. This week we continue our look at the life and death of adventurer, rogue, and Texas icon Jim Bowie.

Soldier. Adventurer. Knife fighter. Land swindler. Smuggler. Rogue. Hero. All of these words were used to describe Jim Bowie, a man as famous and notorious as the deadly knife that bore his name. Words that paint the picture, but do no not tell the full story of the man who would one day meet his fate at the Alamo. This week we take a look at the early life of one of Texas greatest legends, Jim Bowie

The history of Texas is littered with great rivalries. The Spanish vs. the French. Texas Rangers vs. the Comanche. Santa Anna vs. Everyone. But today, as we approach the American Thanksgiving holiday, weʼre going to talk about what is, perhaps, the greatest rivalry in the history of the world: the Univeristy of Texas Longhorns vs. the Aggies of Texas A&M.

To many people, Texas is cowboys and cattle drives. The image of tough, independent men driving a massive herd of longhorns across desolate country while facing impossible odds is universally iconic. But cattle drives werenʼt just a bunch of cowboys getting together and aiming a herd of cows north. They were highly profitable and well organized business ventures that followed carefully crafted and scouted trails. One of the most famous of these was the Goodnight-Loving trail, named after two classic Texas characters: Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight, who forged an epic friendship that has become as legendary as their trail.

This week we return to the early part of the 20th century to the city of Galveston. In the years after the hurricanes of 1900 and 1915 devastated the town, the island worked hard to revive itself as a port and a tourist destination The acceptance of alcohol and other vices played a major part of the recovery of the city, and had an indellible affect on Galveston and Texas history. Today we talk about the Free State of Galveston, on Come and Take It!

It is that time of year again, when our minds turn to the strange, bewildering, and sometimes downright creepy parts of history. There is no shortage of ghost stories in Texas, and—perhaps strangely, perhaps conveniently—many of them revolve around places that are trying to attract people to spend their money. Today we are talking about Haunted Texas hotels.

In 1859, tensions between longtime Tejanos and newcomer Americans in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas exploded into a conflict that became known as the Cortina Troubles. These revolved around a Tejano named Juan Nepomuceno Cortina, the so called Red Robber of the Rio Grande. Unlike many of the conflicts in the Rio Grande Valley, the motivation behind the Cortina Troubles was not one of territory or borders but social equality and a clash of cultures still felt today.

Defeat at the hands of Texas rebels on the field of San Jacinto has left Mexican leader Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna disgraced and discredited, and his country mired in political and economic chaos. But he would rise from the ashes many times before his ambition finally overreached his usefulness.

No man dominated the political life of the first decades of Mexico's existence like Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. But from his earliest days as a Spanish soldier to the field of San Jacinto, Santa Anna's glory was tied to Texas as much as it was to Mexico. Today we look at the early life and rise to power of the infamous Santa Anna, the Napoleon of the West.

Today, Jefferson is a quiet little vacation community in the forests of East Texas. But not so long ago, it was the sort of rowdy saloon and riverboat town where Mark Twain would feel right at home. Cotton was king and this city—hundreds of miles from the coast—gained a reputation as a miniature New Orleans. This lasted until the Army Corps of Engineers opened up the Red River and turned what was once a thriving port city into just another out-of-the-way town. A classic boomtown, Jefferson went from nothing to a thriving metropolis to a near ghost town in less than 40 years.

The Texas Revolution was only one of many rebellions that caught fire during independent Mexico’s first turbulent decades. Even before 1835—and certainly after—there were different efforts within Texas itself to create separate republics. This week, we talk about two of those: the Republic of Fredonia and the Republic of the Rio Grande. These republics were both a cause to, and a result of, the Texas Revolution in some very surprising ways.

A little over one year ago, the first episode of Come and Take It was released to the world. Now, with 52 weekly episodes under our belt, we talk about the show's origins, how we got where we are today, and a little about where we want to go in the future.

One hundred fourteen years ago today, the Hurricane of 1900—sometimes known as Isaacs Storm or just the Galveston Hurricane—was and remains the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. A fifth of the population of the barrier island at the southern end of Galveston Bay was lost, and the true cost of this deadly storm is nearly impossible to measure. Why was it so deadly, and how did it become intrinsically linked with the name Isaac Cline?