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The French were the first Europeans to attempt colonizing part of Texas, setting up Fort Saint Louis in 1684, near what is now Victoria, Texas. The fort lasted only four years before being destroyed by local Indians. Despite the failure of their colony, the French continued to claim Texas, even after the Spanish arrived. The French period of Texan history is memorialized in the Texas state seal and as the first of the traditional "six flags over Texas."

For most of Spanish Texas history, the area assumed an importance vastly disproportionate to its place in the Spanish Empire. During the initial period of expansion into Texas, the Empire moved to establish a string of missions to establish a toehold in the frontier land. Spanish expansion was as much about claiming their territory as actually settling the area. Towards the end of the 18th century Texas remained a sparsely settled territory, heavily dependent on the military and continually exposed to Indian attacks. The population remained a mixture of hispanized Indians centered on the missions, Spanish soldiers with their families, colonial officials, and various foreign settlers who had been assimilated into the Spanish system. Napoleon's acquisition of Louisiana in 1800 and his sale of the territory to the United States in 1803 left Spanish North America divided and vulnerable.

In 1821, Mexico defeated Spanish forces to gain its independence. Mexico had difficulty convincing its own population to settle in Texas, and sought European and American settlers. Following fifteen years of rule from distant Mexico City, these foreign settlers, and the Mexican population as well, declared indepence at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, creating the Republic of Texas.

Four days later, the two-week long Battle of the Alamo ended as Mexican General Santa Anna's forces defeated the nearly 200 Texans defending the small mission of the Alamo. The Battle of San Jacinto was fought on April 21, where Santa Anna's entire force of 1,600 men was killed or captured. This decisive battle resulted in Texas's independence from Mexico. In October of 1845, Texas voters approved a state constitution and annexation into the United States

Texas seceded from the United and joined the Confederate States of America in 1861. Texas was mainly a "supply state" for the Confederate forces until mid 1863, when the Union capture of the Mississippi River made large movements of men, horses or cattle impossible. Texas regiments fought in every major battle throughout the war. The last battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Palmito Ranch, was fought in Texas on May 12, 1865. When the news arrived in Galveston, on June 19, 1865, of the Confederate collapse, the freed slaves rejoiced, creating the celebration of Juneteenth.