The Gold Crusades

A Social History of Gold Rushes, 1849-1929

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Mining, History, Modern, 19th Century
Cover of the book The Gold Crusades by Douglas Fetherling, University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Douglas Fetherling ISBN: 9781442655393
Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division Publication: December 15, 1997
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Douglas Fetherling
ISBN: 9781442655393
Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Publication: December 15, 1997
Imprint:
Language: English

Among the hordes of starry-eyed 'argonauts' who flocked to the California gold rush of 1849 was an Australian named Edward Hargraves. He left America empty-handed, only to find gold in his own backyard. The result was the great Australian rush of the 1850s, which also attracted participants from around the world. A South African named P.J. Marais was one of them. Marais too returned home in defeat – only to set in motion the diamond and gold rushes that transformed southern Africa. And so it went.

Most previous historians of the gold rushes have tended to view them as acts of spontaneous nationalism. Each country likes to see its own gold rush as the one that either shaped those that followed or epitomized all the rest. In The Gold Crusades: A Social History of Gold Rushes, 1849-1929, Douglas Fetherling takes a different approach.

Fetherling argues that the gold rushes in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa shared the same causes and results, the same characters and characteristics. He posits that they were in fact a single discontinuous event, an expression of the British imperial experience and nineteenth-century liberalism. He does so with dash and style and with a sharp eye for the telling anecdote, the out-of-the-way document, and the bold connection between seemingly unrelated disciplines.

Originally published by Macmillan of Canada, 1988.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Among the hordes of starry-eyed 'argonauts' who flocked to the California gold rush of 1849 was an Australian named Edward Hargraves. He left America empty-handed, only to find gold in his own backyard. The result was the great Australian rush of the 1850s, which also attracted participants from around the world. A South African named P.J. Marais was one of them. Marais too returned home in defeat – only to set in motion the diamond and gold rushes that transformed southern Africa. And so it went.

Most previous historians of the gold rushes have tended to view them as acts of spontaneous nationalism. Each country likes to see its own gold rush as the one that either shaped those that followed or epitomized all the rest. In The Gold Crusades: A Social History of Gold Rushes, 1849-1929, Douglas Fetherling takes a different approach.

Fetherling argues that the gold rushes in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa shared the same causes and results, the same characters and characteristics. He posits that they were in fact a single discontinuous event, an expression of the British imperial experience and nineteenth-century liberalism. He does so with dash and style and with a sharp eye for the telling anecdote, the out-of-the-way document, and the bold connection between seemingly unrelated disciplines.

Originally published by Macmillan of Canada, 1988.

More books from University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division

Cover of the book The Art of Objects by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Colour-Coded by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Northrop Frye's Notebooks on Renaissance Literature by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Collected Poems by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book The Technoscientific Witness of Rape by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Bensley's Practical Anatomy of the Rabbit by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Sounding Objects by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book The Myth of the Born Criminal by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Canadian Studies in the New Millennium, Second Edition by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Contemporary Canadian Federalism by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Industrial Ruination, Community and Place by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Portfolio to Go by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Independent Filmmaking Around the Globe by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Our Own Master Race by Douglas Fetherling
Cover of the book Schoolteaching in Canada by Douglas Fetherling
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy