What really happened during the California Gold Rush?
The people who got richest never picked up a pan.
The answer
The California Gold Rush began in January 1848 when James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill. By 1849, roughly 300,000 people had flooded into California from around the world. However, most prospectors barely broke even - it was the merchants who struck it rich. Levi Strauss made his fortune selling durable work pants, and Samuel Brannan became California's first millionaire by buying up every pickaxe and pan before announcing the gold discovery. The rush also devastated Native American populations, which declined from 150,000 to 30,000 by 1870.
Source: History.com
- United States
- gold
- migration
More from History & Civilization
- Who built the first known computer, and when?
- What were the Egyptian pyramids really built for, and who built them?
- How much knowledge was lost when the Library of Alexandria was destroyed?
- How did Genghis Khan shape the genetics of an entire continent?
- When did humans start cooking food, and how did it change us?
- What was the deadliest pandemic in human history?