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In 1821, Spain opened Texas to America settlement, and the policy was continued by the newly independent government of Mexico the following year. An American, Hayden Edwards, secured a charter from Mexico and established a colony of about 200 families near Nacogdoches in eastern Texas. The land had already been claimed by some Mexican settlers, who however, could not show clear title to it. An angry dispute arose, causing the Mexican government to revoke Edwards' charter and to order him out of Texas. He and some followers then seized Nacogdoches, proclaimed the independent republic of Fredonia, and adopted a constitution on December 21, 1826.
Edwars' 200-man army, allied with some Cherokee Indians, was overwhelmed by a larger Mexican force in January 1827, and the Fredonian government was ended.
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