Texas history overview and key developments

Galveston

David G. McComb is a historian who focuses primarily upon the history of Texas and regions there within. He was born in Houston, Texas and spent virtually all of his childhood there. Periodically, he made trips to Galveston with his Boy Scout troop, his family, and with his friends -- today it is a popular local tourist location. McComb attained a bachelor's and then a Ph.D. In History, and began teaching history at the University of Houston. Currently, he is a professor emeritus of history at Colorado State University. Although most of his published works have in some way related to the history of Texas, he also possesses an interest in broader historical topics, such as the history of technology. Within his Galveston: a History he attempts to bring these two interests together by explaining how technology, in particular, has played a role in the vast transformation of Galveston from the wilderness the first European explorers encountered to the bustling vacation spot it is today. The books that McComb has published include, Sports in World History, Texas, a Modern History, Big Thompson: Profile of a Natural Disaster, Houston, a History, and Travels with Joe.

Overall, Galveston: a History is a linear chronicle of the development of the city. As such, McComb is largely concerned with contrasting different periods of time in the city's history with earlier periods of time, as well as identifying the cause and effect correlations that have transformed to city through the years. He admits that since one of his areas of expertise is the history of technology, some of these aspects of the tale of Galveston have been emphasized perhaps more than if they had been handled by another author: "The history of Galveston, therefore, is a narration about the development of the city. There is a bias toward technological events, but there is also an attempt to explain how people working in the Gulf Coast environment gave Galveston its distinct character," (McComb 3). Essentially, this book is about the transformation of this once remote and sparsely inhabited island -- prior to European colonization -- over several centuries and many generations. Although the book is certainly about change, McComb attempts to emphasize the notion that the city of Galveston has retained a character very unique to it and, accordingly, this characteristic of the island remains a key component of its appeal today. Another apparent theme of the book is that Galveston's history has been varied. It is a small island off the coast of Texas, and because of its natural geographic configuration, it has received a taste of virtually every bit of American history. From Native Americans who covered themselves in tattoos, to French and Spanish explorers, to pirates, to American traders, to abolitionists, to the modern day inhabitants, Galveston has been touched by virtually every major group of people who made their lives in the New World. This variety, perhaps more than anything else, according to McComb has been the basis of the island's identity.

McComb runs with this general theme of transformation from the beginning of his history of Galveston onward. To accomplish this, he starts by describing the island in geographical terms; yet, he does not simply provide a topographical map for the reader to ponder; instead, McComb supplies the very first map ever written of the island, and attempts to generate a picture of how the island itself was formed, and how the first explorers and Native Americans who found it might have seen it. This is an appropriate technique considering, according to McComb, that some of the first Europeans to land on the island were a crew of shipwrecked Spaniards. However, as increased trade and warfare eventually came to the region, the island of Galveston began to reveal its practical utility. At first, it was used as a camp for prisoners of war, but gradually transformed into a small town. Of course, as McComb's story progresses, it becomes important that he build upon the ongoing rivalry between Galveston and Houston -- a rivalry that has arguably been won by Houston. McComb attempts to demonstrate how advances in technology influenced advances in trade, which, in turn, brought these two cities into direct competition with one another: "Railroad building had several secondary effects for Galvestonians. It created, for instance, a forty-two-year bitter argument with Houston over the 'differential,'" (McComb 53). In this way, the building of railroads increased land trade, which began to work to Houston's advantage and detract from Galveston. McComb uses this method repeatedly to both identify the city as a place of transformation and also emphasize its unique struggle for survival on the Gulf Coast; he uses this most effectively when he discusses the massive hurricane of 1900.