Introduction (CH 1)

Welcome to San Antonio, TX

San Antonio (Spanish for "Saint Anthony") is the seventh most populous city in the United States of America and the second most populous city in the state of Texas, with a population of 1.3 million. It was the fastest growing of the top 10 largest cities in the United States from 2000-2010, and the second from 1990-2000. The city is located in the American Southwest, the south–central part of Texas, and the southwestern corner of an urban region known as the Texas Triangle.

San Antonio was named for Saint Anthony of Padua, whose feast day is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. Famous for Spanish missions, the Alamo, the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, the Alamo Bowl and host to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by approximately 26 million tourists per year according to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city is home to the four-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, one of the largest in the country.

San Antonio was once part of Mexico until February 28, 1845, when the U.S. Congress passed a bill that authorized the United States to annex the Republic of Texas, and on March 1 U.S. President John Tyler signed the bill.  All this after Texas gained its independence from Mexico.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio