A Spanish military fort was constructed and occupied in 1819 near Sangre de Cristo Pass in the present U.S. State of Colorado to protect the Spanish colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo México from a possible invasion from the United States. The fort was the only Spanish settlement in present-day Colorado. The site of this fort is known today as the Spanish Fort.

Background

When René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

and its entire

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

for

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

in 1682, he was unaware that the southwestern reaches of the basin extended into territory claimed by Charles II of Spain for the

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo Méjico. French and Spanish traders first encountered one another in 1739 along the Arkansas River. The conflicting claims of France and Spain to the upper Arkansas River basin were resolved in 1762 when Louis XV of France transferred the French colony of La Louisiane to Charles III of Spain with the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau.Herbermann, Charles. ''The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church''. Encyclopedia Press, 1913, p. 380 (Original from Harvard University). The conflict between France and Spain was reignited in 1800 when Napoléon Bonaparte demanded that Charles IV of Spain return the Spanish colony of Luisiana to the

French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with the secret Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. Napoléon then sold La Louisiane to the United States with the Louisiana Purchase Treaty of 1803. The United States maintained the claim of France to the entire Mississippi basin, while Spain asserted its claim to the southwestern portion of the basin. In 1806, a U.S. Army reconnaissance expedition led by Captain Zebulon Pike explored the upper Arkansas River. In January 1807, the expedition left the upper Arkansas Valley and crossed the treacherous snow-covered Sangre de Cristo Range into the San Luis Valley, the undisputed territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. On February 26, 1807, Pike and his expedition were arrested by Spanish cavalrymen from Santa Fe.

History

In 1819, Spanish Governor Facundo Melgares ordered the construction of a military fort near Sangre de Cristo Pass to block a possible invasion of Santa Fe de Nuevo México from the United States. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Sangre de Cristo Pass divide the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

basin from the Arkansas River basin, a part of the greater Mississippi River basin. The fort was occupied by a detachment of approximately one hundred soldiers who patrolled the area in search of

Ute Indians Ute () are an Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin, Indigenous people of the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau in present-day Utah, western Colorado, and northern New Mexico.Pritkzer''A Native American Encyclopedia'' p. 242 Historically, their t ...

and foreigners. The fort was abandoned in 1821 after the Adams–Onís Treaty took effect redefining the border between Louisiana and New Mexico. The new border was defined as the 100th meridian west from the Red River (the border between Spanish province of Tejas and the U.S. Territory of Arkansaw) north to the Arkansas River, then west along the river to its headwaters (at the Continental Divide of the Americas), thence directly north to the

42nd parallel north The 42nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 42 degree (angle), degrees true north, north of the Earth, Earth's equator, equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atla ...

, then west along the parallel to the Pacific Ocean. On August 24, 1821, Ferdinand VII of Spain finally recognized the independence of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba. Governor Melgares and other Spanish officials in New Mexico declared their allegiance to the new Mexican government. On January 12, 1828, the United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Limits affirming the boundaries set by the Adams–Onís Treaty. The region would remain at peace until May 13, 1846, when the United States declared war on Mexico.

References

{{Colorado Forts in Colorado Costilla County, Colorado Huerfano County, Colorado 1819 establishments in New Spain 1821 disestablishments Spanish-American culture in Colorado Spanish forts in the United States

Background

History

See also

References