List of territorial claims and designations in Colorado

The area currently occupied by the U.S. State of Colorado has undergone numerous changes in occupancy, territorial claims, and political designations. Paleoamericans entered the region about 11,500 BCE,Cassells, E. Steve. (1997). The Archeology of Colorado, Revised Edition. Boulder, Colorado: Johnson Books. pp. 53-54. . although new research indicates the region may have been visited much earlier. At least nine Native American nations have called the area home. Although Europeans may have entered the region as early as 1540, the first European fort was not constructed until 1819, and the first European town was not established until 1851, primarily due to the opposition of the Ute people. Spain, France, Mexico, and the Republic of Texas have all claimed areas of future state. The United States first claimed an eastern portion of the future state with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The United States surrendered the portion of the region south and west of the Arkansas River to the Spanish Empire with the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1821. The United States completed its acquisition of the region with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican–American War in 1848. The United States created the free Territory of Colorado in 1861 following the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. The Territory fought for the Union during the American Civil War despite many of its founders being natives of slave states or territories. The Territory of Colorado joined the Union as the State of Colorado in 1876, the centennial year of the United States. __TOC__

Indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples who have lived in the area of the present State of Colorado:

Paleoamericans Pre-Clovis cultureFisher, Jr., John W. N.D. Observations on the Late Pleistocene Bone Bed Assemblage from the Lamb Spring Site, Colorado. In Ice Age Hunters of the Rockies by Dennis Stanford and Jane S. Day, pp. 51–81. Denver Museum of Natural History; Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1992 Clovis culture Folsom culture Plano culturesWheat, J.B. (1972). "The Olsen-Chubbuck site: a paleo-Indian bison kill". Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology 26. Archaic Period Apex complexIrwin, Henry J. and Cynthia C. Irwin (1966) Excavations at Magic Mountain: A Diachronic Study of Plains-Southwest Relations. Denver Museum of Natural History Proceedings Number 12. October 20, 1966. Archaic–Early Basketmaker Era Mount Albion complexGunnerson, James H. Archaeology of the High Plains. Denver: United States Forest Service, 1987. p. 28. Post-Archaic Period Apishapa culture Dismal River cultureCassells, E. Steve. (1997). The Archaeology of Colorado, Revised Edition. Boulder, Colorado: Johnson Books. pp. 320. . Panhandle culture Sopris phase Plains-Woodland Ancestral PuebloansCordell, Linda S. Ancient Pueblo Peoples. St. Remy Press and Smithsonian Institution, 1994. Mesa Verde Native American Nations Apache Nation Jicarilla Apache Arapaho Nation Northern Arapaho Southern Arapaho Cheyenne Nation Comanche Nation Kiowa Nation Navajo Nation Pawnee Nation Shoshone Nation Eastern Shoshone Ute Nation Capote Ute band — native to the upper Rio Grande valley and the San Luis Valley. Mouache Ute band — native to the eastern slope of the Southern Rocky Mountains, from Denver south into New Mexico. Parianuche Ute band, later known as the Grand River or White River band — native to the upper Colorado River valley. Tabeguache Ute band, later known as the Uncompahgre band — native to the Gunnison River and Uncompahgre River valleys. Weeminuche Ute band — native to the San Juan River basin in Colorado and New Mexico. Yamparica Ute band, later known as the White River band — native to northwestern Colorado. Uintah Ute bands including the bands named Cumumba, Pahvant, San Pitch, Sheberetch, Tumpanawach, and Uinta-ats — native to eastern Utah.

Early European claims Early Iberian claims in the New World:

Christopher Columbus (Cristòffa Cómbo) leads his first voyage from August 3, 1492, to March 15, 1493. Columbus led the first southern European expedition to the Americas. Columbus substantially underestimated the circumference of the Earth and mistook the Lucayan Archipelago and the Greater Antilles for the southern islands of the Japanese archipelago. Nevertheless, this expedition became the basis for the Spanish claim to all of the Americas. Pope Alexander VI issues his papal bull Inter Caetera on May 4, 1493. After receiving accounts of the first voyage of Columbus, Valencian Pope Alexander VI issued this papal bull that split the non-Christian world into two halves for Christian exploration, conquest, conversion, and exploitation. The eastern half went to the King of Portugal and the western half (including almost all of the Americas) went to the Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon. The Treaty of Tordesillas is signed on June 7, 1494. This treaty signed by the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Empire established a new demarcation meridian farther west than the meridian established by the papal bull Inter Caetera. This gave Portugal a much greater portion of Brazil but kept the rest of the Americas under Spanish purview. Pope Julius II sanctioned the treaty with his papal bull Ea quae pro bono pacis issued on January 24, 1506. Vasco Núñez de Balboa claims the Mar del Sur (Pacific Ocean) and all adjacent lands for the Queen of Castile on September 29, 1513. The members of the Balboa expedition became the first Europeans to reach the eastern Pacific Ocean. The Balboa claim included all of the Americas west of the Continental Divide.

Spanish Empire 1492-1821 Territorial claims of the Spanish Empire in the area of the present State of Colorado:

Columbus claims San Salvador for the Catholic Monarchs of Spain on October 12, 1492. Spanish Empire, 1492-1821 Columbus landed on the Taíno island of Guanahani in the Bahamas which he renamed San Salvador and claimed for Queen Isabel I of Castile and the King Fernando II of Aragon. This claim became the founding basis for the Spanish Empire.

Hernán Cortés defeats Cuauhtémoc and seizes Tenochtitlán on August 13, 1521. Viceroyalty of New Spain, 1521-1821 Upon his conquest of the Aztec Empire, Cortés renamed Tenochtitlán as México and proclaimed the establishment of Nueva España (New Spain). Francisco Vázquez de Coronado leads an expedition north from Compostela on February 23, 1540. Coronado led an extensive expedition north from New Spain in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Gold. The expedition explored the future U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and possibly Colorado.

Juan de Oñate establishes the Spanish colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico on July 12, 1598. Santa Fé de Nuevo Méjico, 1598–1821 Oñate established the colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico at the village of San Juan de los Caballeros adjacent to the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo at the confluence of the río Bravo (Rio Grande) and the río Chama. At its greatest extent, the colony encompassed all of the present U.S. state of New Mexico and portions of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The Adams–Onís Treaty is signed on February 22, 1819, and takes effect on February 22, 1821. On February 22, 1819, the United States and the Spanish Empire signed the Treaty of Amity, Settlement, and Limits Between the United States of America and His Catholic Majesty. This treaty took effect two years later on February 22, 1821. The Spanish Empire ceded Florida, land east of the Sabine River, and claims north of the 41st parallel north to the United States. The United States ceded a southwestern portion of the Mississippi River basin to the Spanish Empire. The Treaty of Córdoba is signed on August 24, 1821. Santa Fe de Nuevo México 1821–1848 With this treaty signed at Córdoba on August 24, 1821, the Spanish Empire acknowledged the independence of the Mexican Empire.

Kingdom of France 1682-1764 Territorial claim of the Kingdom of France to the Mississippi River basin:

La Salle claims La Louisiane for King Louis XIV of France on April 9, 1682. La Louisiane, 1682–1762 Having descended the Mississippi River to its mouth, La Salle claimed the entire Mississippi River basin for the King of France on April 9, 1682. This claim ignored Native Americans living in the region. The Spanish Empire disputed the southwestern extent of this claim as encroaching upon its province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and later Texas. This dispute became moot with the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau on November 23, 1762, but arose again with the signing of the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso on October 1, 1800. With the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the question of the southwestern extent of Louisiana became a dispute between the United States and the Spanish Empire. The Treaty of Fontainebleau is signed on November 23, 1762, but not announced until September 30, 1764. La Luisiana, 1762-1801 Fearing the loss of all his North American territories as a result of the Seven Years' War (the French and Indian War in North America), King Louis XV of France made this secret pact transferring La Louisiane to his cousin King Carlos III of Spain. Despite the transfer to Spain, the region remained largely Francophone.

Kingdom of Spain 1762-1803 Territorial claims of the Kingdom of Spain in the Mississippi River basin:

The Treaty of Fontainebleau is signed on November 23, 1762, but not announced until September 30, 1764. La Luisiana, 1762-1801 King Louis XV of France transferred La Louisiane to King Carlos III of Spain with this secret pact. The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso is signed on October 1, 1800. Seeking to restore French presence in the Americas, French First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte pressured King Carlos IV of Spain to agree to this secret pact to transfer La Luisiana to the French Republic in exchange for French claims in Tuscany. The Treaty of Aranjuez is signed on March 21, 1801. La Louisiane, 1801–1803 This treaty between the French Republic and the Spanish Empire set the terms for the "restoration of La Louisiane to France." The Spanish Empire transfers control of La Luisiana to the French Republic on November 30, 1803. In a ceremony at Nueva Orleans (New Orleans) on November 30, 1803, Spanish Governor Juan Manuel de Salcedo transferred control of La Luisiana to French Governor Pierre Clement de Laussat. This formal transfer of power was made solely to accommodate the Louisiana Purchase. On March 9, 1804, a similar ceremony was held at San Luis (St. Louis).

French Republic 1800-1803 Territorial claims of the French Republic in the Mississippi River basin:

The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso is signed on October 1, 1800. Seeking to restore French presence in the Americas, French First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte pressured King Carlos IV of Spain to agree to this secret pact to transfer La Luisiana to the French Republic in exchange for French claims in Tuscany. The Treaty of Aranjuez is signed on March 21, 1801. La Louisiane, 1801–1803 This treaty between the French Republic and the Spanish Empire set the terms for the "restoration of La Louisiane to France." The Louisiana Purchase is signed on April 30, 1803, announced on July 4, 1803, ratified on October 20, 1803, and transferred on December 20, 1803. Louisiana Purchase, 1803 Wishing to guarantee American navigation rights on the Mississippi River, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson offered to purchase the Mississippi River port of New Orleans from the French Republic. Concerned with the potential cost of future campaigns, French First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte countered with an offer to sell the entire territory of La Louisiane to the United States. Agreeing to a price of 80 million French francs or $15 million U.S. dollars, A Treaty between the United States of America and the French Republic was signed on April 30, 1803. The Spanish Empire transfers control of La Luisiana to the French Republic on November 30, 1803.