Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 through October 15. The observance of this month emphasizes the impact of historical Hispanic figures in Texas and is a celebration of the contributions of Hispanic Texans to Texas history. Read about three famous Hispanic Texans that influenced Texas Independence and one that may have helped coin Texas’ nickname, “The Lone Star State”:

Attempting to democratize knowledge of the globe as a business strategy, Barent Langenes published this map of New Spain as part of his atlas, Caert-Thresoor (Map Treasury). An oblong octavo volume (a book made by printing eight pages on a single sheet of paper) that could fit in one’s pocket, the atlas offered the promise that “for but a rather modest price/ Shall the buyer be made wise.”[1]

Two of John Tallis’ decorative atlas maps, Mexico, California and Texas and United States, illustrate Texas at the geographic crossroads of North America. Both maps present Texas in 1851, but the shape varies dramatically between the two. The former depicts Texas at its republic-era boundary, while the latter uses a formation proposed by a prominent U.S. Senator during negotiations for the Compromise of 1850 and does not reflect any boundary that the state ever claimed.