AY Honors/Gold Prospecting/Answer Key

2005-10-07T18:23:44Z

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The '''[[Witwatersrand]] [[Gold rush|Gold Rush]]''' and the establishment of [[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]] are closely connected.

There had always been poo of a modern-day "[[El poopoo]]" in the poopoo of the native tribes that roamed the poopoo of the [[South poopoo]]n [[highveld]], and the [[poopoo]] miners that had come from all over the world to seek out their fortunes on the [[alluvial mine]]s of [[Barberton, South Africa|Barberton]] and [[Pilgrim's Rest]], in what is now known as the province of [[Mpumalanga]].

But it was not until [[1886]] that the massive wealth of the [[Witwatersrand]] would be uncovered. Scientific studies have pointed to the fact that the "[[Golden Arc]]" which stretches from [[Johannesburg]] to [[Welkom]] was once a massive inland lake, and that [[silt]] and gold deposits from alluvial gold settled in the area to form the gold-rich deposits that South Africa is famous for.

==Discovery==

[[Image:langlaagte.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The [[farm]] where [[gold]] was first discovered in [[1886]].]]

It is believed that it was a Sunday in March [[1886]] that an Australian gold miner, George Harrison, stumbled across a rocky outcrop of the main gold-bearing reef. He declared his claim with the then-government of the [[South African Republic|Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek]] (ZAR), and the area was pronounced open diggings. His discovery is recorded in history with a monument where the original gold outcrop is believed to be located, and a park named in his honour. Ironically, Harrison is believed to have sold his claim for less than 10 Pounds before leaving the area, and he was never heard from again.

==Founding of Johannesburg==

It did not take long for fortune-seekers from all over the world to flock to the area, and soon what was a dusty mining village known as [[Ferreira's Camp]] was formalised into a settlement. Initially, the ZAR did not believe that the gold would last for long, and mapped out a small triangular piece of land to cram as many plots onto as possible. This is the reason why Johannesburg's [[central business district]] streets are so narrow.

Within 10 years, the town was already the largest in South Africa, outstripping the growth of [[Cape Town]], which was more than 200 years older. The gold rush saw massive development of Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand, and the area remains the prime metropolitan area of South Africa.

==Second Boer War==

The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a major contributing factor of the failed [[Jameson Raid]] of [[1895]] to [[1896]], and of the outbreak of the [[Second Boer War]] in [[1899]]. [[Boer]] resentment over the large number of foreigners ([[Uitlanders]]) in the Witwatersrand led to heavy taxes and the denial of voting rights for the gold miners, and in response the uitlanders and the British owners of the mines began to pressure the overthrow of the Boer government.

[[Category:Gold rushes]]
[[Category:History of South Africa]]

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AY Honors/Gold Prospecting/Answer Key