In 1842, French banker Henri Castro secured a colonization grant and recruited more than two thousand Europeans - from France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Hungary, and England - to immigrate to Texas and populate his colony. Bobby D. Weaver describes the empresario system under which this community, now known as Castroville, was formed and considers the life of its founder. He also examines the pioneers' struggles with frontier life - drought, disease, and Indian attacks.