| Conventional Long Name: | New Santander |
| Common Name: | New Santander |
| Era: | Colonial era |
| Status: | Colony |
| Empire: | Spain |
| Government Type: | Monarchy |
| Year Start: | 1746 |
| Year End: | 1821 |
| S1: | First Mexican Empire |
| Capital: | Santander Jiménez |
| Common Languages: | Spanish |
| Religion: | Roman Catholicism |
| Currency: | Spanish colonial real |
| Title Leader: | King of Spain |
| Leader1: | Ferdinand VI |
| Year Leader1: | July 9, 1746 – August 10, 1759 |
| Leader2: | Ferdinand VII |
| Year Leader2: | December 11, 1813 – September 29, 1833 |
| Title Deputy2: | Viceroy |
| Deputy1: | Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza |
| Year Deputy1: | November 5, 1568 — October 3, 1580 |
| Deputy2: | Juan O'Donojú |
| Year Deputy2: | July – Sept 1821--> |
| Title Deputy: | Royal Governor |
| Deputy1: | José de Escandón |
| Year Deputy1: | May 31, 1748 - April 8, 1767 |
| Deputy2: | Felipe de la Garza Cisneros |
| Year Deputy2: | July 7, 1821 - September 22, 1822 |
| Stat Year1: | 1582 |
| Stat Year2: | 1790 |
| Stat Pop2: | 43,739 |
| Today: | Mexico (Nuevo León & Tamaulipas) United States (Texas) |
Nuevo Santander (New Santander) was a region of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, covering the modern Mexican state of Tamaulipas and extending into modern-day southern Texas in the United States.[1]
Nuevo Santander was named after Santander, Cantabria, Spain, and settled by Spanish American colonists in a concerted settlement campaign peaking in 1748–1750. It fell under the jurisdiction of the Real Audiencia of Guadalajara in judicial matters, and in 1776, Nuevo Santander became part of the semi-autonomous Provincias Internas.
José de Escandón founded the colony in 1747. In 1755, Jiménez was founded, which became the major town and capital of the colony. The state was subsequently renamed to Tamaulipas once Mexico gained its independence in 1821.[2]