US: Texas

Texas (IPA: /ˈtɛksəs/) is a state located in the southern and southwestern regions of the United States of America. more...

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With an area of 261,797 square miles (678,051 km²) and a population of 23,507,783 in 254 counties, the state is second-largest in both area and population. About half the state's population resides in either the Dallas/Fort Worth or Houston metropolitan areas.

The state's name derives from táyshaʔ, a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai, which means "friends" or "allies". Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and existed as the independent Republic of Texas for nearly a decade. In 1845, it joined the United States as the 28th state. It is one of only four states that was an independent nation before becoming a constituent state of the US.

Texas is internationally known for its energy and aeronautics industries, and for the ship channel at the Port of Houston—the largest in the U.S. in international commerce and the sixth-largest port in the world. The state is home to the most Fortune 500 companies in the United States and has the second-largest economy in the United States, behind California. The Texas Medical Center in Houston contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions.

History

In addition to its own state flag, Texas boasts that "Six Flags" have flown over its soil: the national flags of Spain, the Fleur-de-lis of France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America.

American Indian tribes who once lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Kiowa, Tonkawa, Wichita, Hueco and the Karankawa of Galveston. Currently, there are three federally recognized Native American tribes which reside in Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas.

On 6 November 1528, shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first known European in Texas. Most of Texas was immediately claimed by Spain as part of the Spanish dominions of New Spain. However, France took advantage of Spain's failure to settle the land and in 1685 established Fort St. Louis and claimed most of Texas. The first Spanish colonization did not come until a few years after Fort St. Louis, as Spain was spurred by France to enforce its claims. The French claim was inherited by the United States as they bought the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Spanish claim was later inherited by Mexico during the Mexican War of Independence of 1821, setting the stage for the Mexican–American War. The French settlement was massacred by American Indians, and Spain only started sparse settlements, so most permanent settlements by Europeans didn't start until long after the first explorer arrived in 1521.

Read more at Wikipedia.org