Mexico had its hands full with Texas—the northern portion of its state Coahuila y Tejas—in 1835. Many Texas citizens wanted separate statehood from Coahuila within the Mexican confederation. This proved a dangerous position, because Texas’s first citizen of colonization, Stephen F. Austin, remained jailed in Mexico since the previous year for urging Texans to begin drawing up plans for separation. The issue also divided Texas. Some sought peaceful existence with the Mexican government. Others pushed for stronger action for statehood. These factions eventually separated into the “Peace” and “War” parties. Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna centralized his power in 1836 and kept an eye on Texas.

Stephen F. Austin, still in custody in Mexico, awaited passage of a new amnesty law that would ensure his freedom. He wrote letters to associates assuring them that Texas had friends among Mexican officials. Austin also praised Santa Anna’s friendship toward Texas and felt confident that it would soon become its own state within the confederation.

By the spring of 1835, Jim Bowie had shaken off his lethargy following the death of his wife and resumed his interest in land. The legislature of Monclova, capital of Coahuila y Tejas, appointed Bowie as a commissioner to oversee the distribution of 1,771,200 acres around Nacogdoches, Texas, with the money raised contributing to defense against Indians. Sweetening the deal, 420,660 acres of this land went to him, with other acreage going to his cronies at bargain prices before the land hit the market.

As tensions between Texas and Mexico increased, President Santa Anna sent General Martin Perfecto de Cós to Monclova to rein in the land speculators back off without bloodshed, but the general returned in late May and arrested Bowie and others before they crossed over into Texas. Bowie escaped with a companion several weeks later and returned to their state.