gold rush, gold rushes
A gold rush occurs when there is a discovery of gold in an area, and it attracts people to migrate to there to try their luck. Gold rushes have been experienced in a number of countries like United States, Canada, Australia and Brazil.
The gold rush was a time of great optimism in which many people tried their luck in order to become wealthy. It was also a competitive time, with people trying to out run each other in the prospect of finding gold. They also helped spur cultures in the cities by initiating economic growth.
The usual start of any gold rush was always a famous gold discovery by a certain individual. Gold is typically found in streambeds, or mixed with sand and even gravel. Initial mining used to be easier, and could be done with basic tools like pans, and it did not even require a lot of skills. But, this was just in the beginning; on later stages, more sophisticated machinery and techniques like hydraulic mining were used to mine on an industrial scale.
Many people travelled to areas where gold was discovered, to try their hand at it. People left behind families and loved ones in search of wealth. During the California Gold Rush, which was one of the most famous gold rushes in history, around 300,000 gold prospectors travelled to California. Many faced serious hardships on the way as there were no modern methods of travelling, and some even died during the journey. Some of them even faced various deadly diseases on their way, such as cholera and chicken pox.
This gold rush came with all the problems they are normally associated with, in fact even bigger ones. The sudden rush of miners increased the population to what was not planned for. Most of them had to come with empty pockets, and this only made the situation worse; people were even living in tents. They would help each other to build camps around any area with a gold discovery. Basic living facilities like toilets, sanitation or garbage disposal systems were unheard of, and the living standards were shocking.
The situation in these camps was a mess as suggested by all the available data for these times. No one had any money so, stealing and looting was a common behaviour. Drinking and gambling were other social problems faced by this community. There used to be a lot of fights eventually resulting in death. Prices for everything were so high that a person could hardly afford to eat, let alone enjoy anything luxurious.
Gold mining did not bring in a steady pay cheque, and so many women were left with no choice but to find work while their husbands were off to discover gold. Women of those times were banned from becoming miners and most of them had to settle for low-level jobs. Many of them lost their husbands to mining accidents which were very common.
The gold rush came as a good time for some people and bad for others. A few people were able to earn a fortune, and became wealthy; many ended with only a little more than what they had started with.
