The same year, he traveled to Spain to convince the authorities of the importance of maintaining the territory and establishing new missions on the bank of the San Antonio River.

In 1716, Fray Antonio de Olivares wrote to the Viceroy of New Spain, telling of their hopes and plans for the future mission, and urged him to send families of settlers to found a town.

Fray Antonio's perseverance eventually paid off, and the Viceroyalty gave formal approval for the missions in late 1716, assigning responsibility for their establishment to Martín de Alarcón, the governor of Coahuila y Tejas.

[3] It was designed to protect the system of missions and civilian settlements in central Texas and to secure Spanish claims in the region against possible encroachment by other European powers.

As settlers concentrated around the presidio complex and mission, it began to form the town of Béjar or Béxar, which became the cornerstone of Spanish Tejas or Texas.

[3] On February 14, 1719, the Marquess of San Miguel de Aguayo made a report to the king of Spain, proposing that 400 families be transported from the Canary Islands, Galicia, or Habana to populate the province of Texas.

The group joined the military community resident since 1718, forming the first government of the city and taking as its headquarters the Presidio of San Antonio de Béxar.

In 1772, other forts in the area were closed; Presidio San Antonio de Béxar, however, was left open and became the principal defense in Texas, with a command of 80 soldiers.

The presidio officially ceased to exist when the Mexican Army presented their formal surrender in San Antonio on June 4, 1836, to Béxar Military Chief Juan Seguin.