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Juan Antonio María de Rivera

Juan Antonio María de Rivera (1738–?) was a Spaniard and the first Euro-American to intensively explore the territory that eventually became the state of Colorado. In 1765 he made two trips into western Colorado from New Mexico, traveling as far as the…

Spanish Exploration in Southeastern Colorado, 1590–1790

The Spanish effort to conquer and control the lands that would eventually become southeastern Colorado tended to be slow and methodical. The lands claimed by New Spain extended from Panama to the Arctic, although the capital was located in Mexico City…