Cattle were not native to North America ; bison were . So how did cattle come to what is now the United States ? They were brought here first by the explorers and then by the settlers . In the very early days of exploration , explorers , not knowing what they would find to feed their troops , brought their own food with them . Technology wasn ’ t what it is today and the best means of keeping food products , especially meat , edible was to bring the live animals with them . The explorers were trailed by herds of animals tended by herders . This allowed fresh , safe food for their men to eat as needed .
As the various countries explored the New World , they laid claim to different parts of North America . To help to hold those claims , the countries sent armies who were followed by their own herds to feed the troops and settlers who brought everything they would need to survive in this new world including their own cattle . Of course , some of these animals escaped and became the basis for the wild herds of cattle found in the New World , especially in the area of Texas .
It is believed that the first cattle to enter Colorado were brought here by the explorer Coronado in 1540 . Coronado may have brought cattle with him when he explored the southeast corner of what is now Colorado . Eventually , Great Britain held claims to the northern part of North America and Spain held the southern part with a large stretch of unexplored , unsettled , unclaimed land between them . The United States won independence from Great Britain in 1776 . Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821 . There was a large area of land between the two countries . The Mexican government wanted to expand its claim on this land in the southwest . The Mexican government awarded land grants to encourage Mexican citizens to settle the territory . One of these land grants , called the Sangre de Cristo Grant , led to the establishment of Colorado ’ s oldest permanent town , San Luis , in 1851 . The early settlers brought cattle and sheep with them . Trade began to grow between the United States and Mexico . Traders were some of the first people from the United States to settle in Colorado Territory . They built trading posts along traveling routes like the Santa Fe and Cherokee Trails . They traded with fur traders , Indians and Mexican settlers . For example , in 1832 Charles and William Bent built Bent ’ s Fort . It became the center for the fur trade in the southern Rockies . These traders , too , brought cattle and sheep into the area .
From what you have read on this page , describe what happened in these years :
1540 1776 1821 1832 1851