Texas Was Almost named the new Philippines From Teyshas to Texas “Nueva Filipinas”
- Ishmael Bey
- Sep 7
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 11
Texas is a land built on legends, but few know that its very name carries centuries of layered history, cultural misunderstanding, and colonial reinvention. Before it became the “Lone Star State,” before the Alamo, before statehood Texas bore a name that connected it directly to the Spanish empire and even across the Pacific to Asia: “Nueva Filipinas” (New Philippines).
The Misheard Word That Became a Kingdom
In the 1540s, when Spanish explorers pushed into the lands north of Mexico, they encountered the Caddo people. The Caddo word teyshas meant “friends” or “allies.” But to the Spaniards, it sounded like a tribal name. They recorded it as “Teyas” or “Tejas,” transforming a greeting of friendship into the title of a “kingdom”—El Gran Reino de Tejas.
This misinterpretation would ripple through history. What began as a misunderstanding became the root of one of the most iconic names in American geography.
From Tejas to Texas
Over time, the spelling and pronunciation evolved Tejas in Spanish gradually anglicized into Texas as English-speaking settlers poured into the region. The word shifted from its Indigenous origins into a colonial label, and finally into a modern identity. Texas, then, is not simply a name it is a palimpsest of languages, cultures, and power.
Texas as “Nueva Filipinas”
Yet, buried in the archives of Spanish colonial history, Texas was also given another name: “Nueva Filipinas” (New Philippines).
In 1718, Spain, still reeling from rival colonial powers and looking to strengthen its northern frontier, began formally establishing missions and presidios in the region. To honor the faraway Spanish colony of the Philippines an ocean away but bound by the same empire Texas was baptized with this symbolic title.
The name “Nueva Filipinas” reveals how Spain saw its empire not as isolated territories, but as an interconnected global project. Texas was not just a frontier it was an echo of Asia planted in the soil of the Americas.
Why It Matters Today
The story of Texas’ naming isn’t just trivia it’s a lens into how history is written and re-written:
Indigenous roots: Teyshas meant “friendship,” a clue to how Native nations related to each other before conquest.
Colonial distortion: Spaniards turned a greeting into a tribal identity and later a kingdom.
Imperial projection: By calling Texas “Nueva Filipinas,” Spain tied its fate to a global empire stretching from Mexico to Manila.
Cultural reinvention: The English-speaking settlers who transformed Tejas into Texas gave the word yet another meaning, one now tied to independence and statehood.
Texas, then, is more than a state. Its very name is a story of friendship turned empire, empire turned frontier, and frontier turned myth.
Spanish Sources Calling the Region “Nueva Filipinas”
Antonio Margil de Jesús, July 20, 1716 In a letter to the Viceroy of New Spain, Margil expressed hopes that this new territory among the Hasinai might become “another New Philippines” for the glory of God and their Catholic monarch. TSHA Onlinephilippinenews.com
Franciscan Representation, July 1716 Just two days later, the Franciscan mission team sent a formal representation echoing similar hopes that “this province shall be a New Philippines,” seeking royal backing by aligning their work in Texas with their missions in the Philippine Islands. TSHA Onlinephilippinenews.com
First Official Use, March 11, 1718
The name officially appears in an instruction letter for Governor Martín de Alarcón’s expedition. It refers to the region as “Nuevas Filipinas, Nueva Extremadura”, distinguishing it from Coahuila and New Extremadura. TSHA OnlineWikipedia
Alarcón’s Title in Official Documents (1718)
In his capacity as governor, Alarcón signed documents using the title: "Governor and Lieutenant Captain General of the Provinces of Coahuila, New Kingdom of the Philippines, Province of the Texas." Later, he modified it to "Province of the Texas and New Philippines." TSHA OnlineWikipedia
The Caddo Word “Teyshas” and Spanish Misinterpretation
Caddo Origin of “Texas” The name "Texas" derives from the Caddo word teyshas, meaning “friends” or “allies.” Spanish explorers in the 1540s mistook this greeting for a tribal name and recorded it as Teyas or Tejas. State Symbols USAClassroom
Spanish Missionary Damián Massanet (17th Century) Friar Massanet recorded hearing the Caddo say teycha (friend/ally) and captured it as Tejas in his writings—what would later evolve into Texas. hppr.orgtexasstandard.org
Widespread Historical Acceptance This “friendship origin” narrative is the prevailing view among Texas historians, tying both the etymology and the state motto—Friendship—to the Caddo root. State Symbols USAKUT
Antonio Margil de Jesús, in a striking 1716 dispatch to the Viceroy, declared his hopes of transforming the frontier region into “another New Philippines” TSHA Onlinephilippinenews.com. Just two days later, Franciscans echoed this vision in a formal representation, seeking the king’s favor TSHA Onlinephilippinenews.com.
The name officially appeared on March 11, 1718, when a formal expedition letter referred to the territory as "Nuevas Filipinas, Nueva Extremadura" TSHA OnlineWikipedia. Governor Martín de Alarcón himself adopted the title: “Governor and Lieutenant Captain General of the Provinces of Coahuila, New Kingdom of the Philippines, Province of the Texas”,
later modifying it to include “New Philippines” TSHA OnlineWikipedia.
Meanwhile, centuries earlier, Spanish explorers misinterpreted the Caddo greeting teyshas—meaning “friend” or “ally”—as the name of the people, writing it as Teyas or Tejas. This misreading eventually morphed into the name Texas, a legacy now
immortalized in the state motto Friendship State Symbols USAClassroom. Friar Damián Massanet’s 17th-century mission records capture how he transcribed the word teycha as Tejas, laying the linguistic foundation for the modern name hppr.orgtexasstandard.org.
Texas Was Almost the New P hilippinesTexas Was Almost the New Philippines
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