The nineteenth century became one of the most spectacular periods in the history of gold. Major discoveries triggered enormous migrations of people and capital. The California Gold Rush began in January 1848 after gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill near Coloma. News of the discovery spread rapidly, and tens of thousands of prospectors arrived in California from the United States and abroad. California's population and economy expanded dramatically, and the territory became a state in 1850.
California was only the beginning. Important gold rushes followed in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Alaska, and other regions. Mining changed from individual prospectors using pans and simple tools into large-scale industrial operations requiring machinery, engineers, capital, transportation, and organized labor. New technologies allowed miners to process enormous quantities of rock and sediment. Gold production became increasingly connected to railways, banks, corporations, international investment, and growing cities.
The nineteenth century also saw the rise of the Classical Gold Standard. During the second half of the century, many major economies fixed their currencies to specific quantities of gold. The system expanded particularly rapidly after Germany adopted the gold standard in the 1870s, and by around 1900 most major countries had adopted gold or currencies linked to it. Gold therefore occupied an extraordinary position: it was simultaneously mined from the earth, held in central-bank reserves, used in coins, and treated as the foundation of international monetary stability.
