General Colonization Law

The Colonization Law of August 18, 1824 was a Mexican statute allowing foreigners to immigrate to the country.

Under Spanish rule, New Spain was populated almost solely with native peoples or Spanish settlers. Foreign immigration was forbidden for much of the country. Few settlers chose to journey to the economically stagnant northern frontier, leaving provinces like Spanish Texas and Alta California chronically underpopulated. Despite multiple efforts to increase the population along the frontier, by 1821 there were only 3,200 settlers in Alta California, and only 2,500 in Texas.

In 1819, after the United States abandoned its claims to Texas, Spain implemented a new immigration policy. In January 1821, Spanish authorities gave Moses Austin, a former Spanish subject from Louisiana, a land grant and permission to bring families from Louisiana to Texas. Austin died before bringing any families. Several months later, at the urging of Mexican delegates, the Spanish Cortes granted permission for foreigners to live on public lands along the northern frontier of the colony. The lack of a formal policy had not stopped many immigrants - a number of people had left the United States to settle in the Mexican northern provinces. Local officials were not eager to expel potentially productive settlers who could help improve the colonies, and the squatters were generally left alone.

Shortly thereafter, Mexico gained independence from Spain. The new country was very sparsely populated. Approximately 6.2 million people lived in an area that spanned from what is now the United States state of Oregon to what is now Guatemala. Almost 10% of the population - primarily young men - had been killed during the Mexican War of Independence, leaving the young nation with a shortage of laborers.

Many Mexicans believed that a new method for increasing population along the frontiers was necessary. The sparse settlements were vulnerable to attacks from native tribes and for encroachment by foreign powers. The most vulnerable was Texas; early in 1821 the town of Goliad had been captured by American filibusters as part of the Long Expedition. By 1823, approximately 3,000 Americans from the United States were living illegally in Texas. The roughly 200 Mexican troops garrisoned in the province were unable to effectively patrol the borders to keep out additional squatters, nor were they powerful enough to evict the squatters already there. Proponents of immigration reform argued that legalizing these settlers would help to turn their loyalty towards Mexico.

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