The Port of Galveston | The port that built Texas

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👂Listen: The Texas Navy
👂Listen: Pelican Island
👂Listen: The Battle of Galveston
👂Listen: Pier 21

Interested in information covered in this episode? Dive deeper into the links below! :
The Port of Galveston - Galveston Wharves
Jean Lafitte
Slave Trade
Cotton

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Transcript:
The port that built Texas, the Port of Galveston, was established in 1825 by an act of the Mexican Congress when Texas was still a part of Mexico. Galveston Bay and the north side of Galveston Island, however, have been utilized as a safe, natural harbor for sailors long before 1825, before the east end of Galveston Island was expanded to its current location in the late 1800s.

The island had a deep natural inlet. This natural harbor had been used by French and Spanish explorers and even pirates hiding from authorities. In the early 1800s, a pirate named Jean Lafite used this natural harbor as headquarters for an illicit smuggling operation after he was kicked out of New Orleans.

In 1820, the United States Navy forced him out of Galveston. The Port of Galveston was officially established in 1825. The Port of Galveston was home to the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution. After the Texas Revolution and into the 1850s, Galveston steadily became the center of trade in Texas and was imperative for the United States expansion West.

A United States Customs House was first completed in 1861. Although the Port of Galveston has seen almost any type of cargo that you can fit on a ship, the three principle shipments that built the Port of Galveston throughout the 1800s were cotton, immigrants, and enslaved people. Fifty years before Ellis Island opened, Galveston was a major immigration port immigrants from all over the world came to the United States through Galveston.

Many Texans, especially Galvestonians, can trace their ancestors' immigration records back through the Port of Galveston. Slavery in Texas did not completely cease until June 19th, 1865, also known as Juneteenth. Galveston was one of the largest slave trading ports west of New Orleans. At the end of the Civil War, over 250,000 enslaved people were in Texas. Although Galveston was a slave trading port, records indicate that fewer than 1% of enslaved people lived in Galveston County. 

Many types of cargo were shipped in and out of Galveston. However, cotton was king as the demand for cotton around the world grew exponentially. In the

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