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The Opium War
During the 1830s large amounts of opium was being smuggled into China by Britain. This would lead to many Chinese people becoming addicted and poor. Due to this China would go into war with Britain creating the Opium Wars. In this quote the narrator explains how the Opium war hurt China“ In 1839 when the Opium war between China and Great Britain broke out, Tao Chi’en was sixteen years old. At that point the country was overrun with beggars”(Narrator 200). -
European Immigration to Chile
During the 1840s, European colonists had been emigrating from their home countries and immigrating to Chile, other South American countries, and especially North America. In 1845, a law was passed to try to get settlers from Europe to immigrate by providing the passage to Chile and an amount of land with supplies on their arrivals. “The government is trying to improve the race by importing European immigrants. Did you know, Mr Todd, that in the south they are giving away land to colonists?” (23) -
1848 Chileans arrive in San Francisco
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American Dream
As people from around the world come to California in search for a better life, they share their ambitions of getting rich in California as stated in the following quote, " as she told Eliza sad tales about her life as a whore and of her fantasy of getting rich and returning to Chile as a lady" (Allende 260). The previous quote is just one example of how people from around the world came to SF/CA in search of riches so that they could take care of their family. -
Women During the Gold Rush
During the Gold Rush, very few women made their way to California, specifically San Francisco during the Gold Rush. "besides, very few women were going to San Francisco, and all of them of light morals, with the exception of an occasional captain's or businessman's wife."(Allende 308) As seen in the quote, not many women came to San Francisco during the Gold Rush, but there were outliers such as Eliza that make the adventure to California. -
Gold Rush in San Francisco
During the Gold Rush in San Francisco, many people were desperate for gold which led in an uptick in theft specifically for gold. "Until a few months ago we had a code of honor, and even the worst ruffians behaved with decency. You could leave your gold in a tent with no guard and no one would touch it, but now all that has changed." This quote shows how when the Gold Rush started, people had a mutual respect people had for ones belongings, but changed when more people came in search for gold.