In order to settle Texas in the 1820s, the Mexican government allowed speculators, called empresarios, to acquire large tracts of land if they promised to bring in settlers to populate the region and make it profitable.
The new Mexican government passed the General Colonization Law. This statute allowed foreigners to gain title to land that was not within 20 leagues of the border of another country or within 10 leagues of the coast. Settlers would be exempt from taxes for ten years.
First, Mexico feared that they would lose Texas to the United States, so they started enforcing laws that had been ignored. Then, Santa Anna gained power and became a dictator. There were rumors that Santa Anna wanted to drive Americans out of Texas.