The History of the Adelsverein and the founding of Der freie Zustand van Texas
n 1822 the vigorous 28 year old Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig von Hohenzollern
formed an organization,
the Adelsverein
to encourage
and promote the emigration of Germans to the northeastern corner of the newly
independent republic of Mexico. The Adelsverein formally know as
Verein zum Schutze deutscher Einwanderer in Texas.
Also known as the Mainzer Verein, the Texas-Verein, and the German
Emigration Company, this was an association set up by German noblemen who
met at Biebrich on the Rhine. Publicly
the Adelsverein
were a philanthropic and
commercial concern to aid in the promotion of the emigration of poor German
peasants to the low cost land and freedoms of the region of Texas. Social
critics of the time accused
the Adelsverein
of trying to export German social
and economic problems and encouraging the deportation of political reformers.
But, this organization also had an even more sinister goal.The Adelsverein used the money raised from among Germany's wealthy nobles to send almost 8,000 members and volunteers to Texas on the pretext of fleeing economic hardship, overpopulation and political persecution.
Many were, in fact, wealthy aristocrats and military officers with fierce loyalty to the nobles in an attempt to take control of the region, declare independence from Mexico, and establish a new fatherland for the Germans. By promoting a poplar migration of the poor, the aristocrats hoped to hide the movement of their forces and loyalists. At the time of the publication of Friedrich Ernst letters from Texas, the non-indian population of the region was less then 10,000. These letters sparked much poplar excitement and in the intervening years no fewer then 7,000 adventurous German settlers had established themselves in the region making the non-indian population of the region nearly 50% German speaking. Friedrich Ernst was granted development rites to the Brazos river region in 1823 by the Mexican Republic and established the community of Ernst.
Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig von Hohenzollern and Prince Solms-Braunfels seeing this de facto establishment of a new German colony, felt that it must be brought under the control of the German aristocracy. To add in their plans, the Princes sought to win logistical support from Britain.
