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San Antonio (pronounced /ˌsænænˈtoʊnioʊ/)
is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the
seventh largest city in the United States. Located in the
northern part of South Texas, the city is a cultural gateway
into the American Southwest. San Antonio is the seat of
Bexar County with a population just under 1.3 million as
of the 2006 U.S. Census estimate, as well as the 4th fastest
growing large city in the nation from 2000-2006 in terms
of percentage.[1] Its metropolitan area has a population
of over 1.9 million and is the 29th-largest metropolitan
area in the U.S.
San Antonio was named for the Italian
Saint Anthony of Padua, whose feast day it was (June
13) when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in
1691. The city has a strong military presence—it
is home to Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base,
Randolph Air Force Base, and Brooks City-Base, with Camp
Bullis and Camp Stanley right outside the city. San Antonio
is home to the South Texas Medical Center, the only medical
research and care provider in the South Texas region.
Famous for its River Walk, the Alamo,
Tejano culture, and home to the SeaWorld San Antonio
and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited
by 20 million tourists per year. San Antonio is also
home to the first museum of modern art in Texas—the
Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum, as well as one of the
more successful National Basketball Association teams
in league history, the San Antonio Spurs.
History
Native Americans originally lived
in the San Antonio River valley in the San Pedro Springs
area, calling the vicinity "Yanaguana," meaning "refreshing
waters."
In 1536, Álvar Núñez
Cabeza de Vaca, a shipwrecked captive of Native Americans,
visited the interior of what would later be called Texas.
He saw and described the river later to be named the
San Antonio.[2]
In 1691, a group of Spanish explorers
and missionaries came upon the river and Native American
settlement (located in the area of present-day La Villita)
on June 13, the feast day of St. Anthony, and named the
place and river "San
Antonio" in his honor.
In 1716, The Spanish Council of War
approved a site on the San Antonio River for construction
of a fortified presidio (fort). The Domingo Ramón
expedition, accompanied by the trader St. Denis from
Louisiana (who had come to the site two years previous)
established a presidio on the river. That council also
approved a request by Father Olivares to establish a
Catholic Mission at the site.[2]
In 1718, Martin de Alarcón, then Governor of Texas,
reinforced the presidio and the ten soldiers and their
families were recognized officially as the beginning of
the villa. Alarcón named the presidio San Antonio
de Béjar in honor of the Duke of Béjar, in
Spain, the viceroy's brother, who died what was considered
a hero's death defending Budapest from the Ottoman Empire
in 1686.[2]
That same year, the Mission of San
Francisco de Solano was moved from the Rio Grande to
merge with Mission San Antonio de Padua. Father Olivares
renamed his merged mission Mission San Antonio de Valero.
The presidio, the villa and the mission comprised the
municipality named San Antonio de los Llanos (of the
Plains) by Governor Alarcón.
One year later, in 1719, Mission San Antonio moved to its
second site on the east bank near the present day St. Joseph's
Church on Commerce.[2]
In 1721, The Marquis de Aguayo moved
the presidio San Antonio de Béjar to its present
site on the Plaza de Armas, where permanent quarters
were constructed for the soldiers. In 1726 the official
settlement population was 200, including 45 military
and their families.[2]
The Mission San Antonio was moved to its third and final
site on Alamo Plaza in 1724 due to hurricane flooding at
the previous location.[2]
On eleven o'clock on the morning
of March 9th, 1731, sixteen families (56 people) from
the Canary Islands, often referred to as the "Canary Islanders," arrived
at the Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar in the Province
of Texas. By royal decree of the King of Spain, they
founded La Villa de San Fernando and established the
first civil government in Texas.[3] The Marquis of Casafuerte,
Viceroy of Spain, (King of Spain) bestowed upon each
Canary Island family titles of nobility. [4] Many descendants
of these first settlers still reside in San Antonio.
[5]
The Battle of the Alamo took place
in 1836, and eventually the town would grow to encompass
the mission where the battle took place, a mile to the
east. This was where 189 defenders comprised of both
Mexicans and settlers, were besieged in the old mission
against 4,000 Mexican troops led by Antonio López de Santa Anna for 13 days.
The defenders were all killed in the final assault on the
garrison. Some recent evidence suggests there might have
been a few prisoners, Colonel Davy Crocket perhaps among
them, that were executed after the battle had ended. The
cry "Remember the Alamo" became the rallying
point of the Texas Revolution. Texas independence was finally
attained at the subsequent Battle of San Jacinto the following
April.
Like many municipalities in the American Southwest, San
Antonio experiences a steady population growth. The city's
population has nearly doubled in 35 years, from just over
650,000 in the 1970 census to an estimated 1.2 million
in 2005.
The city has also grown substantially in area. Unlike
most large cities in the U.S., San Antonio is not completely
surrounded by independent suburban cities, and under Texas
law exercises extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) over
much of the surrounding unincorporated land, including
directing growth and zoning.[3] It pursues an aggressive
annexation policy and opposes the creation of other municipalities
within its ETJ.[4] This is the reason the city is the 7th
largest in the U.S. but its metropolitan area is just 29th
largest. Nearly three-fourths of its current land area
has been annexed since 1960.[5] In recent years, the city
has annexed several long narrow corridors along major thoroughfares
to facilitate eventual annexation of growth developing
along the routes. The city plans to annex nearly forty
additional square miles by 2009.[6]
As of 2007, the Alamo is a shrine
and museum located in the heart of downtown, and is surrounded
by many hotels and tourist attractions. It is clearly
San Antonio's most well-known landmark, and is featured
in its flag and seal and in the city's nickname, "Alamo City." Also
right by the Alamo is the world famous Crockett Hotel.
It is named after the legendary pioneer Davy Crockett
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