Gold in the Middle Ages

Gold in the Middle Ages Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer that traveled all the way to China in 1271, managed to inspire the whole Europe with his book. "The travels of Marco Polo" presents tales about gold treasures that could be found in the remote parts of the world.

When Columbus left from Spain he was planning to reach the trade-rich Orient. Spreading Christianity was a major objective of Spain but so was obtaining gold and silver. The man who financed Columbus, King Ferdinand told the voyager to return with gold from his journey. In the 16th century, Spain had concentrated its powers in conquering Central and South America. They were also hoping to find El Dorado, the city where the yellow could be found everywhere. El Dorado was declared to be found some times. Each time explorers found the glittering metal, they said that they discovered the mythical city and started a gold rush. One of the most foremost rushes took place in Brazil's Minas Gerais region in 1700. Slaves were brought from Africa to do the mining. They used primitive methods to excerpt the gold such as panning. By 1720, Brazil became the largest gold producer in the world. Gold mining was the main operation in the area. The first U.S gold rush took place in North California. Until 1830, this state supplied the valuable domestic precious metal coined for currency by the U.S Mint in Philadelphia. But in 1848, John Marshal, a New-Jersey undertaker of a package deal and builder, discovered gold flakes while he was overseeing the building of a sawmill in Sacramento, California. By the end of 1848 the estimate of people prospecting for the glittering metal was about 5.000 people. And by the end of 1849 the estimate reached 40.000. People have always had a passion for this glittering metal. It was always determined to be a valuable asset and a good investment. Gold in the Middle Ages