Digital Repository

Martín De León

Empresario Martín De León founded the city of Victoria and played a key role in settling the Texas Coastal Bend. De León oversaw the only empresario grant to attract large numbers of settlers from Mexico rather than the United States. As tensions rose between Anglo American colonists and the Mexican government, De León’s life illustrates how complicated loyalty was for Tejanos during the struggle for Texas independence.

Image: Martín De León's grave at Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria. Photo courtesy of Museum of the Coastal Bend.

Audio: Houston Public Media

Photograph of Martín De León's grave in Victoria