The flag of Colorado dates back to 1911, but was not defined in detail in its current form until 31st of March in 1964. It shows three horizontal stripes in blue, white and blue. In the centre of the flag, shifted towards the mast, is a red letter 'C', which stands for "Colorado" and it is backed with a yellow disc. This structure is 2/3 of the height of the flag, the yellow disc in the centre is exactly the same size as the width of the white stripe, 1/3 of the height of the flag. The choice of colours supposedly goes back to the country's history: yellow and red are the colours of Spain, the former colonial power, while blue, white and red are the colours of the USA. However, there is no evidence of this. The symbolism today has the following meaning: the letter 'C' stands for Colorado, gold stands for the abundant sunshine (but also for the gold itself and for the country's other natural resources), blue stands for the sky, white stands for the snow-capped mountains of the Rocky Mountains, red stands for the country's characteristic soil. When Colorado became a federal state of the USA on 1st of August in 1876, a flag was also adopted. It was plain blue with the coloured seal of the state in the middle. However, it never became official and was never used. In 1907, another attempt was made to establish a flag, which was also blue and showed central elements of the seal in colour in the middle. This flag also never became official, was never used and fell into oblivion. In 1910, a new initiative was launched on the assumption that the country had no flag. The result was a horizontal red-white-red flag with the coloured seal of the country in the middle. Despite a parliamentary resolution, this flag did not find favour and was rejected. Senator Andrew Carlisle Carson then created a new flag in the current design, with three horizontal stripes in blue, white and blue, with a red 'C' and a golden disc within the 'C', centred but slightly shifted towards the mast. This design met with great approval and passed the final parliamentary hurdle on 6th of May in 1911. The corresponding law was insufficiently formulated, so that various arrangements could be derived from the text, which were also used in this way. Nevertheless, in 1929 it was stipulated that the red and blue should correspond to the colours of the US national flag and in 1964 the size of the 'C' was precisely defined.
1540–1542 · the Spaniard Francisco Vásquez de Coronado crosses the territory of today's Colorado in southwestern direction
1600 · the Spaniard Juan de Oñate reaches today's Colorado from the southwest
1706 · Spain takes the West and the land south of the Arkansas River in possession
1763 · Peace of Paris, France has to cede its Louisiana colony to Spain
and Britain, vast areas (including Colorado) to the Mississippi River become
Spanish possessions, but Florida is ceded to United Kingdom
1st of October 1800 · Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain has to return its Louisiana territory to France and to withdraw to the borders of 1763
1803 · France sells Louisiana to the U.S.
1819 · Adams-Onis Treaty, border-treaty between the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the United States
1821 · the north of New Spain (Colorado is a part) becomes as Mexico independent from Spain
1830 · beginning of the settlement, in the part Mexican by farmers, in the part of the USA by dealers and hunters
1846–1848 · war of the United States against Mexico, annexation of Mexican territory (the today's states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and parts of Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico)
1854 · formation of the Utah Territory (with the western parts of today's Colorado), formation of the Kansas Territory (with the eastern parts of today's Colorado), formation of the Nebraska Territory (with the north-eastern parts of today's Colorado), the southwestern regions of today's Colorado become annexed to New Mexico
1858 · gold finds
28th of February 1861 · formation of the Colorado Territory with its capital Colorado City
1862 · Golden becomes capital
1867 · Denver becomes capital
1st of August 1876 · Colorado becomes the 38th State of the USA
1874–1880 · Expulsion of Indians (Cheyenne, Arapaho and Ute)
The name "Colorado" means "The Coloured" and refers to the same river that runs through the country in a southwesterly direction. He was given to the river because of its color due to the eroded sandstone.
