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Giles The Cartoonist And The Giles Family

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

Ronald ‘Carl’ Giles was one of the most well-known British post war cartoonists whose work appeared in the British newspapers The Daily Express and its sister paper The Sunday Express between the dates of 1943 and 1991.

He was born Ronald Giles in Islington, London in 1916. His school-friends nicknamed him ?Karlo? after the actor Boris Karloff to whom they believed he bore a resemblance. This was later shortened to Carl and it remained with him for the remainder of his life.

He left school when he was 14 years old and started work as an office boy for a Wardour Street film firm where he was later promoted to an animator for cartoon pictures. This led in 1935 to his working for the famous producer and director Alexander Korda on the first full-length British sound-tracked colour cartoon film, The Fox Hunt.

After a spell working in Ipswich, he joined Fleet Street in 1937. He worked as a cartoonist on the weekly newspaper Reynolds News where his work came to the attention of the editor of the Sunday Express and he was offered a job working for both the Daily Express and Sunday Express at the not petty salary of 20 guineas a week. His first cartoon for his new employers appeared in the Sunday Express in October 1943.

The 20 guineas a week proved a portent of greater fortunes to come as by 1955 he was being paid no less than 8,060 GBP a week for producing three cartoons. He was now a wealthy man.

In 1959 he was given the OBE and among his greatest admirers and fans were members of the Royal family who often received originals of his wit.

His most famous character creations were The Giles Family who first appeared in August 1945. They were a family from the more well off side of the British working class living in a suburban semi-detached house. The head of the family was Grandma a real battle axe of a woman who anyone crossed at their peril. She is now immortalised as a bronze statue standing in Queen St Ipswich looking up at the office where Giles used to do his work.

They were used by Giles to comment on a topical event in the news of the day and proved to be highly patriotic although cautious of authority. One amazing attribute of the family was that although their homes, pastimes and clothes reflected the changing values of the day, their ages remained unchanged although the cartoons ran for 46 years.

Today any middle-aged, middle class Englishman ( or woman) will have fond memories of the Giles Annual. This was a very welcome addition to the Christmas stocking and contained a assortment of Gile’s work for the previous year. For many years this compilation was chosen by Giles himself.

Carl Giles passed away in 1995 and in 2000 he was voted ‘Britain’s Favourite Cartoonist of the 20th Century’.

If you want one of our unique, hand-painted, custom cartoons or caricatures from photos suppled by you please click on one of these links History of Golf. If you want to know more, please go to website at Custom Cartoons.

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Facts About Chocolate’s Origins

Friday, November 5th, 2010

The Theobroma Cacao or ‘the food of the Gods’ is what we all know as the cocoa tree. It’s origins can be traced back to South America’s rain forests, particularly to Central America, although historians are still at variance over certain facts surrounding this tree.

It is suggested that the Mayans first grew the cacao tree in 300 AD, although others point to inadequate evidence that it was grown or at least harvested in around 3,000 BC. The Aztecs also used the cacao, but from about 1100 AD.

The chocolate (drink) that we all know today was called ‘xocoatl’. It was a very special beverage that was made out of cacao, chilies, anise seed, vanilla, corn meal and some other spices. It is said that only royalty were permitted to drink it and then only from golden chalices, which were to be used for the purpose only once.

The cacao tree is very sensitive to its environment and it most frequently grows in the shade of the rain forest canopy. If only for this reason alone, chocolate lovers should join forces with the environmentalists to save the rain forests so that the cacaos will continue to exist.

This tree is unusual because its fruits grow directly on its branches and trunk; midges cause the pollination of the flowers during the night time.

The cacao tree is very prolific, but not very fruitful. It can have approximately 10,000 blossoms, but only about 10 to 50 of those will mature into fruits or pods. This is thought to be because the cacao tree can regulate the number of blossoms that will mature according to its ability to handle the energy loss of bearing fruit or pods.

The cacao tree regulates itself in this way to preserve its health. Too many pods might exhaust its energy so much that it could not survive a viral or insect attack or too many ripe pods might snap off its branches.

The cocoa beans grow within the pod, the fruit of the blossom. Harvesters wait for the pod to ripen. They will then crack open the pods and take out the seeds, which are surrounded by a white pulp. This is thrown away these days, but it is thought that many years ago it was fermented into an alcoholic drink for ceremonial purposes. The beans are the source of chocolate, although there is lots to do yet..

The seeds are very bitter at this point and it is for this reason that they will go through a process of fermentation for between three and seven days. This causes the seeds to go through chemical as well as physical changes. The result of this was used for the royal drink, the ‘xocoatl’.

However, to turn it into what we recognize as chocolate, the fermented beans need to go through several more procedures. Processes by the name of: drying, cleaning, roasting, grading, opening, separation, grinding and liquefying.

After liquefying, you have pure chocolate in the form of chocolate liquor. This is sold to chocolate producers and the good ones make high-class chocolate from it and the bad ones adulterate it so much that it is scarcely chocolate any more.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Gourmet Chocolate Candy. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts: Ideas

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Choose Your Wedding Ring Carefully

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

There is a very large number of wedding rings available in the shops these days. In fact, you have the world of wedding rings to choose from. The high street shops in a large town have a very good selection, but the Internet lays the best jewellers and the best styles out for your inspection.

So, it is very important that you take your time when selecting one. Maybe the enormous range of wedding rings makes that more difficult not easier. Diamond wedding rings have been the most popular since ordinary working people could afford them, before that a plain band of gold had to suffice, for people who could afford that much.

Nowadays, Western people have become more daring and they are selecting other stones like the strikingly beautiful blue sapphire. Some even choosing not to have a stone at all, going back to tradition, so to speak. However, there are plenty of examples of not so simple bands of gold too.

There is the Irish Claddagh ring with its characteristic two hands holding a crowned heart symbolizing love, friendship and loyalty; and there is the Celtic Knot with its intricately interwoven strands twisting and turning without end, standing for eternity and eternal love despite the twists and turns and difficulties of daily life.

So, selecting a wedding ring is not just a question of picking a beautiful wedding ring, you should be choosing one that says what you want it to say. You could look up on the Internet what the different metals and various stones indicate traditionally. If you cannot find a ring that says what you want, consider having one made. It is not as expensive as you might think.

Tradition is a good thing when it comes to wedding rings. After all, you want your ring to express your eternal love and devotion for the person you are giving it to and your marriage could last fifty or sixty years, especially with people living longer these days. Hopefully, you will wear this ring for the rest of your life, so select a style that seems timeless to you.

Picking a wedding ring is not as straightforward as it looks, because you are going to be wearing your ring every day for the rest of your life, so it should be something that you will not get tired of in a couple years. You should look at and try on many rings in order to get one that feels comfortable. You will want a ring that does not look out of date in ten years time. The simplest method of doing that is to go for a traditional style, because those styles have already stood the test of time.

One last piece of advice is to ask the jeweller to attest to the total carat weight of the stones in the ring and the weight of each individual stone and the quality and weight of the metal (although it should be hallmarked) on paper, then if it gets lost or stolen you have something to show the insurance company.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the Celtic knot wedding ring. If you have an interest in gold rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

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Romantic Cruises In Paris

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

If you are feeling romantic and you want to be alone with your loved one in a romantic place far from humdrum distractions, why not go to Paris and take a cruise? The cruise ships are gorgeous and offer haute cuisine with fine wines and a wide range of dishes. Service on board is superb and if they know that it is a special trip for you, they will go out of their way to make it even more special.

Just by selecting the city of Paris as your venue, you will be conveying the impression of romance, because as everybody knows, Paris has the reputation of being the capital of the world of romance.

So, how do you go about booking one of these cruises? Well, clearly, first of all, you have to be in Paris. This is not a difficulty, if you live in Europe as there are flights and sleeper trains. If you are American, you will have to take the longer-term view and start saving for next year.

Once in your hotel in Paris, you can either ask reception for details or go to one of the many Tourist Information Centres, where everyone speaks English. The cruise line staff will pick you up from your hotel on the chosen day, so that you will not have the aggravation of having to find your way through a strange, busy city alone.

Once on board, the pampering starts with your welcoming on board and a complimentary drink to ignite the fires of romance. You will enjoy four or more hours of this, depending on which cruise you decide on, but they are all wonderfully romantic voyages aboard beautiful cruise liners.

Generally speaking, the cruise will begin on the left bank of the river Seine, usually in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower. Some of these boats are made of a type of plastic glass, so that your view of the streets and monuments is unimpeded. And of course, all the sights are lit up at night and in quite a spectacular manner too. You will also be able to see downwards into the water itself.

As you cruise on this glass boat you will be entertained by some of the finest musicians that Paris can offer you. Solo instrumentalists; quartets; classical music; solo artiste singers or a duet. There are also cruises with more modern music as well, but I don’t find them as romantic as the more traditional stuff. However, you can take all these details into account when you book your romantic cruise in Paris.

You will not only pass by celebrated landmarks, you will also pass very close by them and even underneath them. Famous bridges; Notre Dame; the Louvre, and many more. Not only that, but you will see all these fantastic historical monuments while being pampered by the best hosts that Paris has to offer and drinking fine wines and champagne, seated at the bow of the cruiser in luxury.

Once your romantic cruise and your meal are over, you will be taken to a lavish show on the Champs Elysees, where you will be given a half bottle of champagne on entry. There is no need to worry about driving, so let your hair down and enjoy yourselves.

When you have had enough of the high life, you will be taken back to your hotel, in the same manner that you were picked up. However, there are other options too. You may want to go back to the hotel on a romantic horse and carriage, it will sustain that romantic mood.

Once you get back to your hotel, why not both get in the bath together? Light a few scented candles, open another bottle of wine and play some soft music. It will be an evening you will both remember for the rest of your lives, I promise you.

Owen Jones writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Valentine’s Day Gift Baskets. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts Ideas This article, Romantic Cruises In Paris is available for free reprint.

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A History Of Stained Glass

Monday, October 25th, 2010

No one actually knows when stained glass was first invented because it happened before people started recording history. However, some historians think that it was first used as a luxury in the homes of affluent Romans in the first century AD. Stained glass was eventually recognized as an art form in the fourth century as Christians began to worship openly and to construct intricate churches in which to celebrate their religion.

On the other hand, some historians demonstrate that there are signs in pre-Christian ruins that suggest that pagans used stained glass in their rites. Although we will probably never really know the start of stained glass, it is fairly clear that the spread of Christianity is directly related to the spread of use of stained glass.

The Gothic Era commenced in the 12th Century and stained glass windows became an essential element in the design of cathedrals. It really all started with the pioneering style of the St. Denis, France, where stained glass windows were used to convey light into the church itself and into the minds of its worshipers. Sadly, most of the stained glass in the St. Denis Cathedral was destroyed in the course of the French Revolution, but there are a few pieces left and even some complete windows on exhibit in Europe.

Gothic style stained glass was made up of strong lines, but these gradually went out of fashion as the Renaissance began. During the Renaissance, artisans depicted greater detail and more subtle colouring in order to add to the realism. Stained glass windows became more like paintings on glass than architectural elements and some of the prominent features such as lead lines disappeared. Because of the problems in expressing the great detail essential to the Renaissance period, the old style, which was original stained glass more or less died out.

Since stained glass was used by and large by the Catholic Church, much of the work was smashed during the reign of King Henry VIII after his break with the Pope. However, not only old stained glass windows were destroyed, but many of the glass making works were sabotaged too. However, religious strife was not the only cause of the wane of stained glass.

The style of the Baroque period was for more elaborate murals, which necessitated the use of clear glass. Therefore, many of the remaining stained glass windows were allowed to decay, and furthermore not many new stained glass windows were made. In the late 17th century, fashion returned to the Gothic style of architecture, which created a renewed interest in stained glass windows.

Artisans continued to paint directly onto the glass at first, but later tried to imitate the old leaden frames of medieval times. However, since the original techniques had not been used for such a long time, they had become forgotten and the artisans of the period were unable to recreate the exact styles prevailing in Gothic stained glass.

During the 19th century, La Farge and Tiffany created new kinds of stained glass. La Farge was interested in window designs, while Tiffany went into new areas like the Tiffany lamp shade.

Nowadays, stained glass makers are not restricted by religious styles, although much of the work they do involves restoration. Modern stained glass is also used as the centre pane in front doors, especially uPVC doors, by rich and poor equally in the West.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with Waterford crystal vases. If you have an interest in Irish crystal or wedding rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

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Ideas For St Valentine’s Day Gifts

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

Without any shadow of a doubt at all, St Valentine’s Day is the most important day of the year for couples. Although many people contend that St Valentine’s Day is only a commercialized festival created for the purpose of encouraging people to buy cards, flowers and presents. However, there are others who do not care how St Valentine’s Day started and are just happy to have a day when they can plan a romantic day with the one they adore.

For many people, this day involves giving a gift of some sort, whether this is a token present or an expensive gift, working out what to give your loved one for St Valentine’s Day can be a difficult decision. This piece will offer a few suggestions for presents on St Valentine’s Day.

1] One of the simplest, and most prevalent St Valentine’s Day gifts is a card. It may not seem like a lot, but many people, women in particular, say that a card is one of the best presents they can receive on St Valentine’s Day. However, you cannot give just any old card, the best cards express your feelings about your loved one and your relationship.

You can find cards with a pre-printed rhyme, but can also get cards which are blank inside, so that you can write your own sentiments and if you cannot find a card that looks like you want it to, you can even try creating your own card.

2] Jewelry is another terrific present for St Valentine’s Day. Simple earrings might be suitable for a new relationship, while a more expensive present would be appropriate for a relationship, which is more deeply rooted. Despite the price of the gift, the jewelry you give to your partner on St Valentine’s Day will be something she will really appreciate.

3] A weekend away is another great gift for St Valentine’s Day. This type of gift is more fitting for couples who have been together for a while or who are married. If you and your partner have never traveled together before, you might want to discuss the gift with your companion beforehand instead of surprising him or her with the gift.

4] What would St Valentine’s Day be without candy? The most traditional gifts on St Valentine’s Day are flowers and candy. While these gifts are very much appreciated, most women would agree that candy is their favourite part of the duo. Flowers are beautiful and are always treasured, but chocolates, and especially gourmet chocolates are the number one.

5] Finally, there is no reason why Valentine’s Day gifts have to be any different than gifts you would give for other occasions such as a birthday or Christmas. You can give things such as clothing, DVDs, CDs, electronic gadgets or anything else that you know your partner will appreciate. As long as you are giving your companion a gift you know he or she will like, it will make a good gift for St Valentine’s Day.

Owen Jones writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with romantic men’s perfume. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts Ideas This article, Ideas For St Valentine’s Day Gifts is available for free reprint.

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Appropriate Retirement Gifts For Golfers

Saturday, October 9th, 2010

There is a commonly-held notion that golf is a pastime and sport of big shot entrepreneurs and businessmen. It also has the reputation of being an exclusive, elite sport that is not accessible to regular blue collared employees. However, this is not really the case as modernization and commercialization have brought this so called elite sport into the reach of the common worker.

This is because you don’t need to buy expensive equipment to play. Unlike big game fishing or polo which require a lot of resources – a boat or a horse respectively – golfers just require a set of golf clubs, which are reasonably affordable these days. Bearing this in mind, retirement gifts for golfers and aspiring ones are more pretty thought of.

Personally made retirement gifts to personalize golfing equipment is quite easy as you could easily make it personal by embroidering such items as golf club pouches or caddy covers. These can be knitted, if you are a knitter or by any similar craft which may require other materials.

A good idea is to think about the fashions of golfing which means to focus on the things worn by golfers. You may even be able to set a new trend in golfing apparel by using your lively imagination and an interesting design for your retiree.

Common gifts. The most usual way of acquiring a retirement gift for golfers is to go to the closest sports shop and get your retiree something sold there. It may sound a bit impersonal to give the retiree a commercially available gift, but then this may actually be very useful, if the retiree is still a novice golfer – you might want to get him a set of golf clubs since it is the basic requirement to be able to play golf.

Moreover, you may find other accessories there that your retiree golfer still needs, but then perhaps you could also contribute your imagination and think about what you can make to enhance the golfing equipment he may already have.

Commercially made golfing equipment is also a good idea, if you want to make your retiree feel professional by giving him a famous set of clubs, making him look like a pro.

Gags and Jokes The fun part of choosing to give a gag gift instead is the humour such items can create. It also adds to the lighter side of the golf-playing retiree’s party and his friends will be able to join in with smiles, laughs and jokey comments too.

The gag present should be chosen quite carefully as the gag present may represent a sensitive matter for the retiree, especially if he is still a beginner. Joke gift for golfers may be misunderstood and discourage their golfing education if they are disturbed by the idea represented by the joke present you have given to them.

However, to veteran players who already know the game inside out, the gift of a good gag gift on their retirement day would be very funny as they would already see golfing not only as a way to reduce their stress and get some exercise but to actually just have a laugh as well.

People ought to see retirement presents for golfers as just a easy method of encouraging your golfing friend to appreciate the funny side of life after his working life has ended.

Good luck if you are going to or planning a Golfer’s Retirement Party, but if you want to get a deeper understanding of retirement, please go to our web site Retirement Planning. This article, Appropriate Retirement Gifts For Golfers is released under a creative commons attribution licence.

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St. Valentine’s Day Presents For Your Girlfriend

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

It is a fact that a lot of men become extremely stressed out when the time comes to go looking for a Valentine’s Day gift for their girlfriends. This is usually because they are concerned about choosing an inappropriate present. They are worried about giving a present that will be misinterpreted for the present phase of the relationship.

If they have just started dating their girlfriend, they may be worried that an expensive gift may be improper, but at the same time, do not want to risk giving a gift that will make their girlfriend think that they are stingy.

This dilemma makes getting a present for your girlfriend for St. Valentine’s Day a difficult task. I will endeavor to give a few essential pointers below to help you get started selecting a fitting present for your girlfriend for St. Valentine’s Day.

The first thing you need to do when attempting to settle on a Valentine?s Day present for your girlfriend is to mull over what stage of the relationship you are currently in. This is very important because it will dictate which type of gift you can give to your girlfriend. If you and your girlfriend have been going out with each other for a long time and you are quite certain that you are both committed to each other, you can contemplate an extravagant present.

However, if you have only been going out for a short time and you are not certain where the relationship is going, you might want to consider a less elaborate gift. There are no two ways about it, you have to weigh up your relationship, but you must also keep in mind that she might not reason the same way as you.

You may believe that everything is going well and that the two of you are strongly committed, but she may feel as though the relationship is going nowhere. If you are having difficulties working out where you both stand, talk to your girlfriend about it. She will like that anyway and it will help to assure the two of you that you feel the same way about each other.

Flowers are the old stand-by and are an ideal gift for a man to give his girlfriend on St. Valentine’s Day, whether it is a new relationship or not. It is also such an easy gift because it is so widely associated with Valentine’s Day that it is not likely to misinterpretation. A gift of a dozen red roses is considered a romantic gift but it is also familiar enough that your girlfriend is not likely to read too much into it.

However, there is a common blunder associated with roses on Valentine’s Day. For example, your girlfriend may be hurt and saddened by a gift of yellow roses because yellow roses are usually meant to be a symbol of friendship and not romantic love, so speak to the florist.

Jewelry is an apt gift to give to your girlfriend on Valentine’s Day so long as the cost and type of the present is proportionate to the current phase of your relationship. This is not so complicated, it is black and white really. Ask yourself the question: ‘Is she worth $100?’.

However, a good middle of the road, romantic gift would be a box of expensive gourmet chocolates. It shows that you care enough to have sought out such a rare present, to have spent more than a few dollars and that you think she is sophisticated enough to appreciate them. She will love them, even if she is on a diet.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Gourmet Chocolate Gifts. If you have an interest in romantic gifts, please go over to our website now at Romantic Gifts Ideas

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Lead Crystal Corporate Gifts

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

It can be very difficult to find beautiful and memorable corporate gifts. Many corporate gifts are just rubbish, especially the less expensive ones. However, there is a class of gift that is always treasured and can be thought of as useful too.

Have you always given a calendar or a letter opener? Or a key ring, just like every other business does? Or a bottle of wine that is forgotten the day after it was opened? Well, there is hope yet. What about glass crystal? Everybody loves lead crystal, do they not?

Lead crystal items really are the bees’ knees of gifts, corporate gifts or not. People always need ashtrays, paper weights, and pen holders and made of lead crystal they look expensive and stylish adding to the image of your company.

Lead crystal goods come in many kinds. They make fruit bowls, vases, glasses, paper weights, pen trays, ashtrays, picture frames and carriage clocks along with a dozen other items. When selecting a lead crystal corporate gift, you might like to bear the following points in mind:

If you are presenting these corporate gifts to your staff, you may like to distinguish between your employees or give everyone the same gift. You can on grounds of sex, length of service, marital status or input to the company’s profits. There again, you may know the longest serving personnel very well and want to get them something that will suit them personally. You can do this in terms of price or style or both.

For example, office staff might like a lead crystal paperweight, pen-holder or picture frame. Blue collar workers may rather a lead crystal vase or bowl. Single people might play golf or sail and like an item etched with a golfing or sailing motif. Married people might love a picture frame or a vase. Long-serving personnel or high-earners might appreciate a carriage clock.

Cost is obviously an important issue, but usually corporate gifts are tax-deducible and glass crystal items vary greatly in price depending on the manufacturer. For example, you can get a nice lead crystal goblet set for $15, but if you want to give Waterford lead crystal, you can expect to pay three times as much.

Are you presenting these corporate gifts to clients or / and prospective clients? In this case, you will have to have them inscribed with your business’s contact information. You will also require the corporate gift to stay in the client’s office, so it should be office orientated, not home orientated. Something like a heavy paperweight fashioned like a rock or a desk tidy shaped like a boat.

This is the best mode of advertising after word-of-mouth and sign-written vehicles and should be taken seriously by any company that needs clients. Giving a well-thought of gift like lead crystal is a way of enhancing your status and that of the beneficiary.

The only other thing to bear in mind is that corporate gifts in lead crystal are precious and need to be handled with care, so if you are having them inscribed, which you must do, then you will need to know how long it will take to get your consignment done and delivered.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Waterford crystal vases. If you have an interest in Irish crystal or wedding rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

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The Growth Of California And Gold Fever

Friday, September 17th, 2010

In January 1848, James Marshall was overseeing the building of a saw mill for his employer, when he noticed an odd rock glinting in the upturned soil.

He was not certain whether it was gold or not and did not want to get people’s aspirations up. So Marshall attempted to break the yellow rock with a hammer. It did not split, but it did dent. just like gold would. The woman who was cooking meals for the saw mill construction team, tried another test by boiling the rock in lye.

They boiled it all day, but it did not change colour. So, they passed the rock over to the mill’s owner, Mr. John Sutter, who also carried out a few tests. Eventually, everyone agreed that this rock was indeed gold.

It seems that the Sierra Nevada Mountains held huge hordes of gold, but that over tens of thousands of years, erosion had loosened up gold nuggets and the mountain streams flushed them down to the bottom of the mountains. Sutter’s property was situated between two rivers and so was likely to generate great wealth.

Sutter had ideas to build an agricultural empire on his 39,000 acres of land, so he asked his employees to keep stum about the find. However, as is to be anticipated, word leaked out. In due course news of the gold strike reached the small town of San Francisco.

There, a newspaper publisher shouted around the streets: “Gold from the American River!” and within three days of the news arriving, 400 of the 600 inhabitants had set out for Sutter’s land. It was a groundswell and by the end of the year, gold prospectors had traveled to California from as far afield as Mexico and Chile.

When word of the gold strike got to the east coast, President Polk confirmed the finding. It was December 1848 and ‘The Gold Rush’ became a national and even a global phenomenon. The gold prospectors of 1849 and later years became known as forty-niners.

What has to be borne in mind is though, that most people, who came from Canada, Mexico and the eastern United States came by wagon train, as there were not locomotive! This meant a arduous trek of between six and nine months

Nonetheless, at least 32,000 people actually walked to California in 1849, and about 44,000 more got there in 1850. Others, such as South Americans, faced an awful journey by sea. They underwent storms, shipwrecks, hunger and thirst, disease, and overcrowding and after all that, some still had to undergo mule rides through jungles and deserts! In spite of everything, in under a year, about 40,000 people arrived in San Francisco from overseas.

The new arrivals caused a dramatic change in California’s populace, because in 1848, California had had about 100,000 inhabitants, most of whom were Native Americans, but within two years, the state population more than doubled but the variety of backgrounds increased tens of times.

Some people found gold and made a lot of money in the Californian riverbeds, but most people did not become rich in the Gold Rush. When gold was found, the hoard was usually cleared quickly. James Marshall had little success as a miner, and he died impoverished. John Sutter, who had once owned 39,000 acres, left California in heavy debt after miners flattened his land.

In fact, it was simpler to make money selling spades and other supplies to the miners. Most people lost everything they had, so they stayed to work the vast expanse called California or to set up businesses. By 1856, San Francisco had a very multi-ethnic population of over 50,000 people and California had become the most exhilarating state in the nation.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with Celtic knot rings. If you have an interest in gold rings, please go to our website now at White Gold Claddagh Ring

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