The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the Republic of Fredonia near Nacogdoches.

In late December 1826, a group of Edwards's supporters took control of the region by arresting and removing from office several municipality officials affiliated with the established residents.

Fearing that, through the rebellion, the United States hoped to gain control of Texas, the Mexican government severely curtailed immigration to the region from the US.

Many of the immigrants were adventurers who had arrived as part of various military filibustering groups, which had attempted to create independent republics within Texas during Spanish rule.

[5][Note 1] For better control of the sparsely populated border region, in 1824 the Mexican federal government passed the General Colonization Law to allow legal immigration into Texas.

[12] Two men were nominated for the position—Edwards's son-in-law, Chichester Chaplin, seen as the representative for the newly-arrived immigrants,[5] and Samuel Norris, an American who had married the daughter of a long-time resident and was sympathetic to the more-established landowners.

[12] After Chaplin's victory, many settlers alleged vote-stacking in an appeal to Juan Antonio Saucedo, the political chief of the Department of Béxar.

[4] Shortly after Saucedo's ruling, Edwards left to recruit more settlers from the United States, leaving his younger brother, Benjamin, in charge of the colony.

Unhappy with his tone and the increasing tension, Mexican authorities revoked the land grant in October and instructed the Edwards brothers to leave Mexico.

[4][13] Rumors that Haden Edwards had returned to the United States to raise an army and not just to recruit settlers likely influenced the government's action.

[14] Unwilling to abandon his $50,000 (about $1,300,000 as of 2025) investment in the colony, Haden Edwards rejoined his brother in Nacogdoches in late October, continuing their business affairs despite the cancellation of his colonization contract.

Later that month, another new immigrant was arrested and ordered to leave the country after refusing to purchase a merchant license before trading with the Indian tribes.

[17] On November 22, 1826, local Texian Militia colonel Martin Parmer and 39 other Edwards colonists entered Nacogdoches and arrested Norris, Sepulveda, and the commander of the small Mexican garrison, charging them with oppression and corruption.

[4][15] Haden Edwards was also arrested for violating his expulsion order but was immediately paroled, possibly as a ploy to disguise his own involvement in the plot.

Benjamin Edwards offered the tribe clear title to all of Texas north of Nacogdoches in exchange for armed support for his plans.

[22] Within hours of the announcement, the Fredonians signed a peace treaty with the Cherokee, represented by Chief Richard Fields and John Dunn Hunter.

[23] In recognition of the agreement, above the Old Stone Fort flew a new flag containing two stripes (one red, one white) representing the two races.

[22] Another emissary sent to invite Stephen F. Austin and his colonists to join the rebellion garnered the rebuke: "You are deluding yourselves and this delusion will ruin you.

[18] On December 11, Lieutenant Colonel Mateo Ahumada, the military commander in Texas, marched from San Antonio de Béxar with 110 members of the infantry[18] and initially stopped in Austin's colony to assess the loyalty of his settlers.

[29] Although the Cherokee had not raised arms against Mexico, their treaty with the Fredonian revolutionaries caused Mexican authorities to question the tribe's loyalty.

When the executions were reported to Mexican authorities on February 28, the commandant general of the Eastern Interior Provinces, Anastasio Bustamante, praised the Cherokee for their prompt action.

[30] Bustamante ultimately offered a general amnesty for all who participated in the conflict except for Haden and Benjamin Edwards, Parmer, and Adolphus Sterne, a local merchant who had provided supplies to the rebel force.

Sterne remained and was sentenced to death for treason but was paroled if he swore allegiance to Mexico and never again took up arms against the Mexican government.

In preceding years, the Tawakoni and Waco tribes, allied with various Comanche bands, had regularly raided Texas settlements.

To help protect the region, a new, larger garrison was established in Nacogdoches, to be commanded by Colonel Jose de las Piedras.

Mier y Teran's reports led to the Law of April 6, 1830, which severely restricted immigration into Texas and stopped the import of slaves.