forty-niners

E6139

The forty-niners were the prospectors and fortune-seekers who rushed to California in 1849, sparking rapid population growth and economic change in the region.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf fortune seekers
gold prospectors
group of people
historical population group
activeInPeriod early 1850s
late 1840s
activeInYear 1849
associatedWith frontier settlements
mining camps
panning for gold
placer mining
caused boomtown development in mining regions
economic change in California
expansion of transportation networks to California
increased demand for goods and services in California
influx of international migrants to California
rapid population growth in California
urban growth in San Francisco
countryOfDestination United States
demographicComposition immigrants from China
immigrants from Europe
immigrants from Latin America
people from the eastern United States
primarily young men
hasNameOrigin year 1849
historicalContext 19th-century gold rushes
westward expansion of the United States
languageUsed English
mainDestinationCity San Francisco
mainDestinationRegion Sacramento Valley
Sierra Nevada
motivatedBy economic opportunity
gold discovery at Sutter's Mill
prospect of quick wealth
notableImpact accelerated California statehood
displacement of Indigenous peoples in California
environmental degradation in mining areas
transformed California economy from pastoral to mining-based
participatedIn California Gold Rush
regionOfActivity California
relatedConcept American frontier
boom-and-bust mining towns
gold rush migration
relatedEvent admission of California as a U.S. state in 1850
timeLocatedInCentury 19th century
travelRoutes overland trails across North America
sea and land route via Panama Isthmus
sea route around Cape Horn

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
California Gold Rush
participants

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