At the same time, the Spanish faced a new threat to their control of their northern frontier. The French operating form the Mississippi Valley expanded their trade influence well onto the Great Plains, giving Indians an alternative commercial outlet for their goods and an additional source of supply. The Spanish countered by establishing the province of Tejas, designed as a wedge of Imperial control on the Southern Great Plains. Using mission settlements supported by a few presidios, the Spanish hoped to colonize the Caddos, Tonkawas, and Coahuilatecan inhabitants of the region and, like New Mexico, turn these natives into acculturated citizens and allies against the French and their Indians. While the capital of this new entity was at the frontier outpost of Los Adeas in the Caddo country of present-day Louisiana, the center of gravity was at the village, presidio, and mission complex of San Antonio de Béxar.