Texas (Alternity)

Texas (TX) is a state located in the South Central United States. Texas was originally under Spanish colonial rule from the mid-1700s, a role that passed on to Mexico when the latter nation won its war of independence against Spain in 1821. In 1835, American settlers in Texas, discontent with Mexican rule under Santa Anna, launched a revolution against the Mexican government, and upon their success in 1836 (after the Alamo and the decisive Battle of San Jacinto) formed the independent Republic of Texas. The Republic existed for nine years before it was annexed to the United States and admitted to the Union as the 31st state on December 29, 1845. The state capital, San Antonio, was originally the capital of the Republic, while Texas' largest city of Galveston (pop. 2,087,000) is a major port and commercial center, as well as the location of NASA's Johnson Space Center. Texas is also a major center for the slowly declining oil industry, made outdated by the introduction of affordable electric vehicles in the early 1980s. The Dutch-owned Shellron Corporation (the largest of the remaining oil conglomerates) has its American headquarters just north of the small city of Houston.