From the Annals of New Spain  – In 1691, the Conde de Gálvez appointed Domingo Terán de los Ríos as the first governor of the Spanish province of Coahuila and Texas.  This was the first recognition of Texas as a governmental entity. Terán was instructed to establish seven missions among the Tejas Indians; to investigate the possible existence of foreign settlements on the coast; and record the geography, natives, flora and fauna of the region.  Terán and his small army crossed into present day Texas in May and explored  as far as the Caddo settlements on the Red River until December. Terán returned to Matagorda Bay by March of 1692.  His further explorations were curtailed by bad weather and he returned to Veracruz in April.  This first serious attempt at colonization was considered to be a complete failure. Terán  did not found any missions and his explorations added little new information about the region.