USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Overview. The 1848 discovery of gold in California set off a frenzied Gold Rush to the state the next year as hopeful prospectors, called “forty-niners, ” poured into the state. This massive migration to California transformed the state’s landscape and population.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Forty-niners Before the gold rush, there were only around 14, 000 non-Native Americans living in California. This soon changed. Around 6, 000 people arrived in 1848 and in 1849 around 90, 000 people arrived to hunt for gold. These people were called the Forty-niners.

Detailed explanation-3: -The first to arrive in 1848 were the Californios and the Mexicans, followed by those from the Pacific Rim as reports of gold spread via sailing ships. Following on their heels were the Forty-Niners from the Eastern States and Europe who had jumped aboard ships and launched overland treks in 1848 bound for California.