Jose de Escandon, a native of northern Spain, came to New Spain at age fifteen and joined a cavalry force in the Yucatan as a cadet. He built a military career and in 1734 pacified an uprising of 10,000 Indians at Queretaro. His achievements led the highest court in New Spain to appoint him governor of a large unexplored Gulf Coast province extending from Tampico, Mexico, to the San Antonio River in present-day Texas. Spain sought to christianize native peoples and block English and French entry into the region. After completing exploration in 1747, Escandon began colonization in December 1748, named the new province Nuevo Santander after his birthplace, and quickly founded twenty-one settlements. Colonizers of Camargo, Reynosa, Revilla, Mier, Rancho Dolores, and Laredo received large land grants in what is now South Texas. These hardy settlers, aided by their vaqueros, introduced the ranching industry to the United States, and the American cowboy adopted the vaquero's skills, attire, equipment, and many trade words. The ranching and vaquero legacies became symbols of the American West, and descendants of Escandon's pioneers became ranchers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and political leaders across Texas and beyond.