Houston is incorporated by the Republic of Texas.

Houston is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in the United States with a population of 2.3 million at the 2020 census, while the Greater Houston metropolitan area at 7.8 million residents is the fifth-most populous metropolitan area in the nation and second-most populous in Texas. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County. Covering a total area of 640.4 square miles (1,659 km²), Houston is the ninth-most expansive city in the country and the largest whose municipal government is not consolidated with a county, parish, or borough. Although primarily located within Harris County, portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. Houston also functions as the southeastern anchor of the Texas Triangle megaregion.

The Republic of Texas, or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, and the United States. The Republic declared its independence from Mexico with the proclamation of the Texas Declaration of Independence, subsequently beginning the Texas Revolution. The proclamation was established after the Centralist Republic of Mexico abolished autonomy from states of the Mexican federal republic. The revolution lasted for six months, with major fighting ending on April 21, 1836, securing independence.