The Rush for Resources Flashcards
Where did Europeans acquire gold from prior to crossing the Atlantic?
Africa- in part because it could be used to puchase other commodities in Europe
Where did the first gold from the Americas come from?
Spain’s central America
- Much of this was in possession of the indigenous peoples, and was not mined
- Stories of melting down artifiacts from across the americas (for wealth)
- Much of the wealth that came out of the spanish colonies of north america was silver, not gold
When was the first “big” gold rush in north America?
California 1848
- found in a stream by a millwright looking to redirect the river to build a water powerd mill
- This was placer gold
Placer Gold
- comprised of flakes and nuggets found in gravel
- eroded from mountians and travels slowly down rivers and accumulates in certain locations due to its heavy weight
- retreived by panning
Characteristics of the Gold Rush
- largly made up of people going out with pans seeking gold.
- The key was to get there early and be the first person to a new site
-One person may strike gold while somone else a few meters away may find nothing. - was easiest when gold was in existing water way
- sometimes “old” rivers had gold (dried or covered up)
- Eventually people started using hydraulic mining
- never happened on quite the same scale in Canada
Hydraulic mining
- an eight inch monitor could throw 185,000 cubic feet of water in an hour at a high velocity
- could kill a man from 200 feet away
- North Bloomfield mine used sixty million gallons of water a day
-destroyed so many Californian river beds and nearby fisheries and farms - led to a change in how we view property rights and regulations regarding environmental impact
Human Migration during Gold Rush
- by 1849 people were travelling from all over the world
- within a few years more than 100,000 (more than 90% men) came to califronia
- it was tempting to go south to death valley but was deadly (obviously)
- earnings could be as much as $500 per day over (aprox $10M taken out in 1848)
-Latecomers prospects were much lower - People peaced tf out to Straya in 1851 cause there was a major gold rush after finding gold in Melbourne, Victoria and on the gold coast in Queensland
- Straya got less shrecked than the US because “british expereince”. More regualtion was imposed than in the US and the crown had already seen a godl rush in Canada
When did the gold rush begin in BC?
- Gold was founf in the Oakanagan but was mostly unnoticed
- in 1850 gold bearing quartz veins was found in Haida Gwaii but the haida let the europeans blast it then stole the rocks lol
- Vancouver Isalnd changed forever when gold was found in the 1850s in the fraser river (well after california gold rush)
- All the sad boy post-gold-rush miners in San Fran were told of godl in the Fraser and they all got on a boat and hauled ass to Victoria
- The commadore arrived on april 25 1858 450 minors showed up in Victoria (doubling the white population in oner day) and they kept flowing in after that (up to 30,000 minors)
How did the gold rush affect Victoria
- Vic blew tf up
- 300 builings built in 6 weeks
-HBC was selling land, a lot of it land that was sold for $75 could be flipped for $3000 (reaestate boom) - gold was and extremly liquid product
When did miners harvest gold in the fraser?
- For only a few weeks in the fall after the water levels fall and before they rise again.
Where did prospectors go once the Fraser was picked over?
- the interior, aided by indigenous infomants
- Found some placer gold in the Kootenays
What did Douglas to to ensure that resources moved toward the coast?
- The first attempt was to build Harrison Lillooet Road
- He encouraged people in Victoria to build a “caraboo road” that ran along the Fraser Canyon this road for their own benefit
- The Cariboo Road went up the Quenelle river. This made many rich strikes
Who were the overlanders?
Those who took the “all british route” UK-East Coast Canada- Cariboo Road
How did Cariboo road affect prices?
- Shipping costs went down but prices for things like flour and salt skyrocketed
- Food needed to be shipped up plus like demand
- people were………. sad
What were the political consequences of the Gold Rush?
- Infrastructure, transportation, and commercial investments all rose.
-As the Gold Rush ended, the infrastructure was left in its wake, and it was no longer a Colony just based on HBC and its presence. - Debt was also left in its wake
- in 1858 BC became a separate British colony
- BC united with Vancouver Island in 1866
- BC entered Canada in 1871
