The
Consultation served as the provisional government of
Mexican Texas from November 1835 through March 1836 during the
Texas Revolution. Tensions rose in Texas during early 1835 as throughout Mexico
federalists began to oppose the increasingly
centralist policies of the government. In the summer, Texans elected delegates to a political convention to be held in
Gonzales in mid-October. Weeks before the convention began, settlers took up arms against Mexican soldiers at the
Battle of Gonzales. The convention was postponed until November 1 after many of the delegates joined the newly organized volunteer
Texan Army to initiate a
siege of the Mexican garrison at San Antonio de Bexar. On November 3, a quorum was reached in San Antonio. Within days, the delegates passed a resolution to define why
Texans were fighting. They expressed allegiance to the deposed
Constitution of 1824 and maintained their right to form an independent government while this document was not in effect.
Henry Smith was elected governor of the new provisional government and the remaining delegates formed a General Council. In the next weeks, the council authorized the creation of a new
regular army to be commanded by
Sam Houston. As Houston worked to establish an army independent from the existing volunteer army, the council repeatedly interfered in military matters.