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The Opium War
"In 1839, when the Opium War between China and Great Britain broke out Tao Chi'en was sixteen years old"(145).
The Chinese government wanted to prohibit the British from importing opium, but the British tried to get China to open up and went to war against China in 1839, China was defeated and signed the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. Tao felt dishonored, the turmoil and the restrictions from his family made him feel hopeless about his life, so Tao decided to leave and start a new life in Hong Kong. -
Jacob Todd arrive in Chile
“Jacob Todd, a charismatic redhead with the most beautiful preacher's voice ever heard on those shores, disembarked in Valparaiso in 1843 with three hundred copies of the Bible in Spanish”(14).
This is when one of the major characters Jacob Todd arrived in Chile, we can see that he came to Chile to sell the Bible and have an understanding of this character, selling the Bible might be hard, and if he failed, will he go somewhere else and start a new business? -
Eliza meet Joaquin for the first time
“Eliza Sommers saw Joaquin Andieta for the first time one Friday in the May of I848 when he came to the house overseeing a cart pulled by several mules and loaded to the top with crates belonging to the British Import and Export Company, Ltd”(72).
This is when Eliza Sommers first meets Joaquin Andieta, and when their love story begins -
Santa Cruz left his wife at home and started journey with 5 workers that he trusts
He decided to leave immediately with five of his best and most loyal miners, promising them a reward as an incentive to get them to leave their families and jump into such a risky enterprise.
Between 1883 and 1906 Tierra del Fuego experienced a gold rush attracting many Chileans, When Spanish-speaking people gathered together to the cause of mistreating, Chileans usually took a leading part. -
Gold was found in San Francisco
The news of the gold discovered in California reached Chile in August. First, it was a wild rumor from the mouths of drunken sailors in the brothels of El Almendral, but a few days later the captain of the schooner Adelaida announced that half his crew had deserted in San Francisco.
"There's gold everywhere, you can shovel it up, they say there are nuggets the size of oranges! Anyone with a lick of gumption can be a millionaire!" he reported, choked with excitement. -
Tao moves back to San Francisco
Tao moves from Sacramento to San Francisco in April 1850.
As the news that California has been admitted as a state to the Union arrives, he watches the patriotic jubilation.
A large number of poor miners are sailing home after being discouraged by the challenges of building a fast fortune.
San Francisco is now a well-planned metropolis rather than a camp for travelers.
Tao intends to work as a doctor in Chinatown in order to pay for trips back to Hong Kong or to see Dr. Hobbs in London. -
Chinese girl's trafficking in San Francisco
One day, Tao gets a message telling him to go right away to a brothel's address.
Tao's sister was sold as a kid, and the "singsong" girls, make him think of her.
“I can’t forget them, they haunt me like souls in pain.” (339)
Tao decided to investigate the trafficking of Chinese girls in San Francisco and he discovers in "The Queen's Room," fresh females are auctioned off. In order to acquire some of them and keep their lives, he saves money and offers them an opportunity to live a new life. -
Eliza stayed in San Francisco because of love
Eliza began looking for Joaqun once more in the summer of 1852, but she gave up after five weeks because she couldn't stand to be apart from Tao.
Eliza and Tao work together in Chinatown, “as close in spirit as an old married couple” (359).
Eliza continues to dress as a man since it makes it easier for her to blend in while on missions to rescue "singsong" girls.
Both Eliza and Tao are haunted by their unresolved connections to Joaquin and Lin's spirits, respectively.