Chinese Immigrants Before the Gold Rush
Prior to the California Gold Rush the Chinese immigrants, of course, lived in China. In the late 1840s, before gold was discovered, China was going through an extremely difficult time. One of the major reasons for this was that China was having economic troubles. For multiple years, China had been shipping tea and silk to Britain in exchange for opium, an addictive drug. However, Chinese authorities eventually banned this addictive drug in China, leading Britain to become furious. For this reason, the British began, and won, the Opium War of 1839. This war had several negative effects on China, including weakened trade relationships with foreign countries. Because of these economic problems, the taxes in China became extremely high, and many farmers and peasants were forced off of their land (Brands 62-63 , "Chinese Immigrants and Gold Rush").
In addition to it's economic issues, China possessed a great deal of other problems prior to the gold rush. For example, the population of China was steadily increasing. In fact, in 1840, the population of China was over 400 million. As the number of people in China increased, it became extremely overpopulated, and there was a lack of space for Chinese families to live. The Taiping Rebellion was also a significant issue, as it was a war that took place in an enormous region in China. It killed tens of millions of people, and increased the growing concerns in China. Finally, the weather in China was very poor prior to the Gold Rush. There had been several years of both floods and droughts, causing most farmers to have unsuccessful harvests, and struggle to survive (Brands 62-63, "Chinese Immigrants and Gold Rush").
In addition to it's economic issues, China possessed a great deal of other problems prior to the gold rush. For example, the population of China was steadily increasing. In fact, in 1840, the population of China was over 400 million. As the number of people in China increased, it became extremely overpopulated, and there was a lack of space for Chinese families to live. The Taiping Rebellion was also a significant issue, as it was a war that took place in an enormous region in China. It killed tens of millions of people, and increased the growing concerns in China. Finally, the weather in China was very poor prior to the Gold Rush. There had been several years of both floods and droughts, causing most farmers to have unsuccessful harvests, and struggle to survive (Brands 62-63, "Chinese Immigrants and Gold Rush").
All of these factors led many Chinese families to feel desperate, and consider leaving their home country. However, in China, people typically worshipped their ancestors. They possessed a strong belief that it was best to stay "tied" to the place of their ancestors death; thus migrating was usually frowned upon unless it was necessary. Despite this, when they heard the news that gold had been discovered in California, many decided that leaving China truly would improve their life. In fact, the masters of vessels in China took advantage of the fact that gold was discovered in California at the same time China was having problems. They distributed maps and pamphlets of California in Chinese ports, hoping to encourage many Chinese people to travel to California (Brands 61-62, Norton).