EARLY BELGIAN COLONIAL EFFORTS - The University of Texas at ...

(Pirson estimated between 75,000 and 100,000) but with a continuing influx of
immigrants. 160 To Pirson’s mind, independent of its suitability as a Belgian colony,
Texas had excellent potential as a future market for Belgian goods. Increasing
population meant increasing market size.
He related that although the Republic provided access to all its records, there
were very few records to access, resulting in the constant need for him to gather
additional information on his own. This information was predominantly gleaned from
the foreign traders and consular officials in residence in the Republic. 161 Especially
useful to Pirson in the colonial and commercial aspects of his trip was Henri Castro, a
French diplomat, who had successfully negotiated the establishment of a colony
approximately twenty miles west of San Antonio, and Andre Mallaerts, a Belgian trader
in San Antonio, who provided detailed commercial information on that area of the
Republic based on his personal observations and the experiences of other resident
traders. 162
Pirson indicated that he was not able to visit the location of the proposed
Belgian colonies as a consequence of the Republic’s rescission of Hamilton’s authority
and the additional difficulties presented by the terrain, the Indians, 163 and the Mexican
capture of San Antonio. In fact, it was this later event that caused Pirson to shorten his
trip and return to Belgium. 164 Pirson’s failure to visit this area turned out to be
160
Moniteur Commerical, “Rapport Sur le Texas” VII (1843), 1. AMAE 2013.
161
Pirson to de Briey, 10 March 1842, AMAE 2013 and BL.
162
Samuel P. Nesmith, The Texians and Texans (Austin: The University of Texas Institute of
Texan Cultures, 1980), 3-5.
163
Pirson to de Briey, 15 January 1842, AMAE 2013 and BL.
164
Pirson to de Briey, 10 March 1842, AMAE 2013 and BL.
85