With immigration at the forefront of issues facing the presidential candidates, we thought it was worth a reminder that the state of Colorado once belonged to Mexico. We also thought worth a reminder that Colorado was once land that belonged to Native Americans. Here is a bit more of information about Colorado’s history.

An aptly named state, Colorado or Colorada (red, ruddy, to redden to blush).

Colorado describes the Native American people of the great Cliff Dwelling Civilization in the Mesa Verde region from prehistoric times to the 14th century. Colorado describes the Garden of Gods sandstone formation and Colorado describes the dawn and setting sun reflected on magnificent mountain ranges. By any standards and all comparison, Colorado’s natural beauty inspires awe. Indeed, Katherine Bates wrote America the Beautiful as a poem on a trip to Pikes Peak in 1893.

200 years before a "red" territory denoted dominance by a political party, and 150 years before becoming the 36th state, Colorado perfectly described this magnificent and varied territory of northernmost Mexico.

A historical primer…

Recorded interest by non-natives of the red territory surfaced in the mid 16th century. Spaniard explorers were followed by missionaries, in search of gold, silver, and souls and the French to appropriate new lands for their king. Some significant occurrences in history from 1540 – 1776:

1541 - Coronado, famed Spanish explorers, may have crossed the southeastern corner of present Colorado on his return march to Mexico after vain hunt for the golden Seven Cities of Cebolla.

1682 - Explorer La Salle appropriates for France all of the area now known as Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains.

1765 - Juan Maria Rivera leads Spanish “expedition” into San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains in search of gold and silver.

1776 - Friars Escalante and Dominguez seeking route from Santa Fe to California missions, traverse what is now western Colorado as far north as the White River in Rio Blanco County.

The U.S. claims northern Mexican territories and lands appropriated by France were finalized through war, dollars and a conviction of “manifest destiny”: An absolute belief that the United States was destined to expand from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean.

1803 - Through the Louisiana Purchase, the United States acquires a vast area from France, which included what is now most of eastern Colorado.

1848 - By Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement, Mexico ends the Mexican-American war and cedes to United States most of that part of Colorado not acquired by Louisiana Purchase.

1858 - A small placer gold deposits is discovered. The “Gold Rush” is on!

1876 – Colorado is adopted as the 38th state in the union.

Fast forward to Denver 2008…

Notwithstanding it’s rough and tumble beginnings, roots of government corruption, and disasters that might have left a ghost town, the sun figuratively and literally (300 day a year) shines brightly on Denver.

And, by the way, DNC National Conventions are not new to Denver. Did you know that exactly 100 years ago, in 1908 Denver hosted the Democratic National Convention?

And so follow Denver and Colorado politics…

Colorado remains one of 25 states that have never elected an African American to the US Legislature. And, given its historically large Latino, population the state has only recently began electing them to national office:

(D) Congressman John Salazar, Elected 2005

(D) Senator Ken Salazar, Elected 2006

To be continued?

BBN invites you to share Colorado and Denver facts and history, impression, experience, memory, etc. Not necessarily major or politically significant, just real. We also want to hear what you know about Minnesota and Minneapolis-Saint Paul.


(various sources. BBN thanks member Sylvia for submitting this information)

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