Los Adaes may have been the official capital of Spanish Texas throughout much of the 18th century but many aspects of life there were far different from that at other provincial capitals. Being at the official end of Camino Real, Los Adaes was a rather forlorn outpost far from Spanish supplies and other Spanish peoples and all but invisible to the eyes of most colonial officials. It was also a place ill-chosen for self sufficiency—poor soils, inadequate drinking water, and no direct access to water transportation routes. The only officially allowed and viable means of subsistence was raising livestock, and that meant carving out small ranches from the forests, most of which were reached only by riding for hours from Los Adaes.
