1765 - Juan Maria Rivera leads Spanish expedition in search of gold and silver.

1775 - 1783 - The American Revolution creates the United States of America. The Revolution was due to the British burden of taxes and total power to legislate any laws governing the American colonies

July 4, 1776 - United States Declaration of Independence

July 10, 1778 - France declares war against Britain and makes an alliance with the American revolutionary forces

September 3, 1783 - The Treaty of Paris is signed by the victorious United States and the defeated Great Britain

Facts about the History of Colorado History - The Early 1800's

• Claimed by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase (1803)

• The Louisiana Purchase - In 1803, the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France. The U.S. Secretary of State, James Madison paid 15 million dollars for the land

• 1805 - 1806 - (Choctaw) and northern (Chickasaw and Cherokee) Indian cessions open up land to white settlement

• 1812 - 1815 - The War of 1812 between U.S. and Great Britain, ended in a stalemate but
  confirmed America's Independence

• 1848 - In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico cedes to United States most of that part of Colorado not acquired by Louisiana Purchase

• 1859 - Gold is found by George A. Jackson along Chicago Creek

• The Plains Indians including the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Ute, Kiowa, Lakota and Comanche nations fought bitter wars over the land during the 1800's led by chiefs such as Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, and Sitting Bull. One of the most famous battles was the defeat of General
  George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. Treaties were made and broken and there were bloody massacres. The tribes were forced to go to Indian Reservations

• 1869 - The final military engagement between whites and plains Indians in the eastern part of the territory took place at Summit Springs although in 1888 a band of Utes from Utah under Colorow make last Indian raid into Colorado

Facts about the History of Colorado History - The American Civil War

• 1861 - 1865 The American Civil War. In 1859 John Brown raided Harpers Ferry and set in motion events that led directly to the outbreak of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president and in 1861 the South Secedes. The initial Secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War. The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9 1865 signalled the end of the Confederacy.

• 1865 December 6 - The Abolishment of Slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S Constitution is ratified, thus officially abolishing slavery

• 1876 - Colorado is admitted to Union as 38th State

• 1898-1901 The Spanish American War. On December 10, 1898 the Treaty of Paris the US annexes Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines.

Origin of the name

• The name is the Spanish word for "red" in reference to the color of the water of the Colorado River.