SAN ANTONIO \u2013 A new exhibit at the City of San Antonio\u2019s Special Collections Museum is highlighting the often-overlooked role women played in shaping early Texas and supporting the American Revolution.<\/p>\n
The museum, which opened last November, debuted the \u201cRancheras\u201d exhibit in January. Curated by Special Collections Manager Marcus Flores, the display focuses on San Antonio\u2019s early women who owned large ranches and exercised legal rights uncommon for women in the English colonies. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey were influential in their communities,\u201d Flores said. \u201cThey had large land holdings in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under Spanish colonial law, women could own property, maintain land separately from their husbands and sue in court, Flores said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey had a lot more rights than a lot of the English women did on the East Coast,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Among those featured is Maria Robaina de Bethencourt, who arrived with the Canary Islanders in 1731. Flores said she became one of the area\u2019s most prominent landowners, operating large ranches before her death in 1779.<\/p>\n
The exhibit also connects those women to the American Revolution. When Spain declared war on Great Britain in 1779, it sought to weaken Britain while protecting its own empire. Rancheras supported the effort by supplying cattle to Spanish Governor Bernardo de G\u00e1lvez\u2019s military campaign. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey actually did send cattle to the cause,\u201d Flores said. \u201cThey had these large land holdings and a lot of cattle, so they sent that to G\u00e1lvez.\u201d<\/p>\n
A centerpiece of the exhibit is a 1779 census record of Leonor Delgado, identified as a patriot of the American Revolution. The document lists her household, horses and cattle, providing a rare glimpse into frontier life.<\/p>\n
For Flores, the research brought new appreciation for the women behind the records. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think just learning about the women, how much rights they actually wielded during that time period,\u201d he said, \u201cseeing it on paper gives a lot more depth to the story.\u201d<\/p>\n