Final answer:
The first missions in East Texas were part of a larger strategy by the Mexican government to settle and develop the region, particularly following Mexico's independence from Spain. They served to promote conversion and assimilation among the local Native populations, also functioning as part of the clash between American settlers and Mexican laws, which led to the Texas Revolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Why the First Missions Were Built in East Texas
The first missions in East Texas were constructed as part of a broader strategy to populate and control the region. During the 1820s, after Mexico gained independence from Spain, the Mexican government invited settlers, particularly from the United States, to come to the Mexican province of Coahuila y Texas to encourage settlement and development of the area. The Mexican government sought to populate the region with the expectation that settlers would abide by Mexican laws, including the abolition of slavery, something that later became a point of contention.
Religious missions were an integral part of this colonization process. These missions, like the architecture represented in Figure 6-1: San Gabriel, CA - Mission Church, served as a tool for converting and assimilating the local Native American populations to Christianity and the Spanish way of life. This strategy was not only used in Texas but also in California and other parts of the New World.
However, the influx of American settlers into the territory, many of whom were slaveholders and brought with them enslaved Africans, created tensions. The differences in culture, religious views, and the utilization of slave labor led to strained relationships between the Americans and the Mexican government, which culminated in the Texas Revolution and the eventual independence of Texas as the Lone Star Republic in 1836.