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Terrible conditions in China
“...To compete for customers, dealers lowered their selling price, which made it easier for more people in China to buy opium, thus spreading further use and addiction” (https://asiapacificcurriculum.ca/). “It was a year of typhoons, bad harvests, and famine; the vast land of China was overrun with beggars and bandits” (Allende 187). Allende uses imagery to describe the terrible conditions of China during 1834. Photo by History/Granger NYC -
Large discovery of silver and gold in Chile
“Between 1830 and 1850 Chilean silver mining grew at an unprecedented pace which transformed mining into one of the country's principal sources of wealth”(dbpedia.org). “The country basked in good weather, political tranquility, and an economic boom… to top it off, rich veins of silver and gold were discovered in the north” (Allende 65). Allende uses imagery to depict the conditions of Chile and the immense amount of gold and silver found in Chile. Photo by (Jacob C. Ward) -
Chaplains sentenced to Valparaiso
“It was on December 25, 1845 that David Trumbull, serving as a missionary under the auspices of the Foreign Evangelical Society and the American Seamen's Friend Society, landed at Valparaiso, Chile”(logcollegepress.com). “...the end of I845 when the commercial maritime fleet of Great Britain assigned a chaplain in Valparaiso to attend to the spiritual needs of the Protestants” (Allende 76). Allende states how and why chaplains were sent to Valparaiso in 1845 from Great Britain. Photo by 1st Dibs -
Discovery of Silver Mines in Chanarcillo
“Chile was producing more than ten thousand kilograms of silver” (read.dukeupress.edu). "The Chañarcillo mines had been discovered by chance only a few years before, but since then the barren hills had become a field of tents and small huts, populated by miners who had flocked from all over the world" (Allende). Allende uses descriptive language allowing readers to imagine the scene of the silver rush and the people who were drawn to it. Photo by Thomas P. Moore -
Beginning of Gold Rush
“The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848 unleashed the largest migration in United States history” (www.pbs.org). "The gold rush was on, and there was no time to lose. People from all over the world were converging on California, carrying their dreams and their vices, their hopes for a new beginning or their desperation” (Allende). Allende creates a vivid image in the reader's mind by describing the scene of the gold rush and the people it attracted. Photo by USLC -
San Francisco fire of 1851
“In 1851, during the City’s second great fire anniversary, a catastrophic fire known as the sixth great fire damaged most of San Francisco, California.” (www.sfmuseum.net/hist1/fire.html). “Firemen pulling water carts by hand ran uphill and down, but before they reached a burning building, flames would be leaping from the one beside it.”(Allende 408) Allende employs imagery to illustrate the fire's destruction. Image from Early History of the San Francisco Fire Department -
The peak of the Gold Rush
“People were desperate for gold in San Francisco during 1848, and it came to the end of its era in 1852 but began to grow with many newcomers” (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). "Gold had attracted..., but the fever had passed…the city did not turn back into a wide spot in the road…it kept growing, with aspirations to refinement and culture." (Allende 431) Allende illustrates how immigration to the city was unaffected by the gold rush.
Photo from Wikipedia -
California Famous Bandit Joaquin Murrieta
“In 1853, Gov. Bigler authorized a group of California Rangers to kill the "Five Joaquins"– a band of cattle rustlers and robbers (www.laits.utexas.edu/jaime/cwp4/JMG/man.html). "In 1853, ...Joaquin Murieta and his follower' Three-Finger Jack attacked a camp of six peaceful Chinese...they had strung the heads from a tree, like a cluster of melons."(Allende 466). Allende uses a simile to depict the murderous nature of Joaquin and his gang. Image from Wikimedia Commons