1850 American Gold Baron

Early the next morning, the Cape Town arrived at the Port of Panama.

This is a busy port with numerous merchant ships coming and going.

Gran Colombia, which Bolivar worked so hard to build, lasted only thirteen years before falling apart.

At this time, Panama was affiliated with the Republic of New Granada, which later became Colombia. However, Panama did not become independent from Colombia until 1903, under the intervention of the United States.

After completing the weighing work, Liang Yao felt relieved and took the time to go ashore to purchase supplies.

Captain Frank was dissatisfied because he purchased too many supplies. Finally, with the gentle talk of the third mate, Frank reluctantly agreed to ship Liang Yao's supplies, but he had to pay five shillings for transportation.

In Panama, Frank accepted a new group of gold diggers. This made the already overcrowded Cape Town even more crowded.

There are three gold mining routes in the United States to California. One is all the way west to Independence, Missouri to complete the final supplies and then complete the last 1,900 kilometers to California.

This route spans the entire North American continent. If everything goes well, it will only take half a year to reach California.

If you have some money, you can afford a boat ticket, which is equivalent to 60,000 to 80,000 US dollars in later generations, or you can choose to take a boat in the eastern United States and sail 13,000 kilometers from South America to California, which takes about two months. This

This is the second route, and it is also a relatively safe and fast route.

As for the third route, it is more compromise. First, take a boat from the eastern United States to eastern Panama, then cross the plague-ridden isthmus of Central America, and then go to the west coast of Panama to take a downwind boat to California.

These three routes are extremely dangerous, but for the sake of gold, humans are willing to take greater risks.

In the small port of San Francisco, Sam Brannan, a man who had just turned 30, was standing on the lighthouse looking down at the emerging city below him.

It was he who single-handedly ignited the gold rush in the entire United States.

In 1848, before the gold rush, the non-Indian population of California, which covered an area of ​​410,000 square kilometers, was only 14,000. The population of San Francisco, later San Francisco, was only 500 or 600.

Of California's 14,000 non-Indian population, 7,000 were Mexicans before 1848.

In just two years, California's population exploded fourteen times, and San Francisco quickly grew into a city of nearly 20,000 people.

And he, Sam Brannan, went from being a poor grocer to becoming the veritable King of California and the first millionaire west of the Mississippi River.

Brannan's purpose of boarding the port lighthouse was not to enjoy the pleasure of seeing the small mountains at a glance, but to ensure that he knew what cargo was carried on every merchant ship sailing into San Francisco to ensure that he

California monopoly status.

The mast of the Cape Town soon appeared on the skyline not far away. Brannan stepped down from the lighthouse, boarded the boat that had been prepared, and ordered his men to sail to the Cape Town.

"Is this your first time in California, Captain?"

Brannan boarded the Cape Town carrying a heavy box and asked Frank with a cheerful face.

"If you have any questions, we can wait until the ship comes into port and anchors."

Frank seemed very unhappy that his voyage was interrupted, and he did not welcome this strange and uninvited guest.

"This is a specialty of California. My name is Sam Brannan. Nice to meet you. What kind of cargo is on your ship? In the future, when your merchant ship comes to California, please contact me as soon as possible."

Brannan spoke with such confidence that he seemed to be able to eat the entire cargo of the Cape Town.

Of course, as long as the merchant ship has the goods he wants, he is fully capable of buying it including the goods and the ship. There will never be anyone richer than him west of the Mississippi River.

Frank felt a little disgusted with this nouveau riche Western barbarian, but after opening the box of specialties presented by Brannan, Frank, even though he had seen the world, couldn't help but lose his composure.

"Oh my God! This is gold?!"

Frank couldn't believe his eyes.

"100 ounces of gold is a bit heavy. Captain, if your hands are sore, you can put it down and talk about it later."

Brannan has long been used to this kind of situation. Frank is not the first captain to lose his temper in front of gold, and he will not be the last.

Liang Yao was also dumbfounded as he looked at it. It was indeed no fault of Frank's gaffe. What was the concept of 100 ounces of gold?

One ounce is equal to 31.1034768 grams. After the United Kingdom officially adopted the gold standard in 1821, it was stipulated that each pound contained 7.32238 grams of pure gold.

In other words, Frank is holding 425 pounds in his hand.

What was the concept of £425 in the 19th century?

The annual salary of sailors on the Cape Town ranges from 8 to 13 pounds.

The annual salary of high-end butlers in the British aristocracy is about 20 to 35 pounds. The annual salary of chefs is generally slightly lower than that of high-end butlers. As for the highest-paid supervisor, the annual salary is only about 50 pounds.

These people are already high-income people who live a very decent life in this era.

What's even more frightening is that this is not the first time that Brannan has become so skillful in bribery. Judging from his ability to spend 100 ounces of gold as 100 cents, it seems that this huge sum of 100 ounces of gold is nothing to him.

Not even the tip of the iceberg of his wealth.

"Not heavy, not heavy at all." Frank's voice was as trembling as his hands holding the gold, "California's specialty is really great, dear Mr. Brannan, there is also cocoa on the Cape Town,

Tobacco, cane sugar and some cloth, what do you need?"

Brannan shook his head in disappointment, these were not what he needed most.

"I want all the cloth. Are there pans, shovels, picks, boots, oil lamps, wine, whale oil and other things on the ship? Of course, it would be great if there are sexy women." Brannan said directly.

Named the goods he wanted most.

Liang Yao had a vague premonition. Of course these things were on the ship, and Frank had personally seen the supplies he purchased in Panama.

"Yes, of course."

Frank looked at Liang Yao and Sven, the third officer on the ship.

Liang Yao and Si Wen both knew that the price Brannan gave was definitely much lower than what they would have sold it on shore.

However, they have different mentality. As long as he can make a fortune, no matter how much, he can accept it.

Liang Yao is different. He wants to stay in California to pan for gold. How much profit he can make will directly affect his initial development in California.

"Sir, how many of these do you have?"

Brannan first asked Sven, but he only cared about the quantity and kept silent about the price. I guess he was very confident in coming up with a price that satisfied Sven.

"500 pans, 200 picks, 200 shovels." He answered Brannan's question politely.

In order to bring these things on board, he had a private quarrel with Frank. Now it seems that it was worth it.

"A pan is fifty cents, a pick is a dollar, a shovel is a dollar, I want them all. Is the gentleman satisfied with the price? If the gentleman doesn't like dollars, I can pay in gold." Brannan.

He showed a relaxed and comfortable smile.

"Of course, I also like California specialties."

Sven is very satisfied with Brannan's quotation. After excluding the purchase cost, he can earn at least 500 US dollars, which is equivalent to 85 pounds. This is also a very considerable sum of money for him.

"Lady, how many goods do you have that I need?"

Brannan had never met anyone from the Qing Dynasty and knew very little about the Qing Dynasty. Liang Yaosheng had a delicate face and a thin body. He was wearing a robe and had a long braid hanging from the back of his head.

Liang Yao's attire, which is very strange in the eyes of Americans, made Brannan mistakenly think that Liang Yao was a woman.

"He is a gentleman, a gentleman from the down-and-out nobles of the East." Sven stepped forward to help Liang Yao.

"It turned out to be a gentleman from the East. I'm sorry for my presumptuous behavior."

Brannan took off his hat and bowed his head slightly to apologize to Liang Yao. Seeing that Liang Yao's attitude was not as gentle as that of Sven, he saw through Liang Yao's thoughts at a glance and warned Liang Yao in a tone that could not be refused: "Sir, I know what you are thinking.

What, but I have to tell you that in California, especially in San Francisco, you can't sell these things without my permission."

People under the eaves had to bow their heads. Although Liang Yao was unwilling to do so, he had to accept this reality. He could never afford to offend the smiling tiger-headed snake in front of him, at least he couldn't afford to offend him now.

"Two hundred and thirty pans, ninety-five picks, and one hundred and twenty-three shovels." Liang Yao had to agree to sell these things to Brannan, but he also put forward a condition, "We want

Keep some tools for your own use and sell the rest to you.”

Brannan frowned slightly, glanced at the group of Qing people behind Liang Yao who had braids and wore very different clothes from white people, and asked: "How many of you are there?"

"Nine people."

Hearing that there were only nine people in Liang Yao, Brannan's frown immediately relaxed: "No problem, it's still the same price. I've always been a generous person. I'll suffer a little loss. According to two hundred and thirty pans,

The quantity of ninety-five picks and one hundred and twenty-three shovels purchased from you is a total of 333 US dollars, which is 13 ounces of gold. Congratulations, sir, you are rich."

"Thank you, Mr. Brannan. Like the gentle second mate, I also prefer California's specialties." Liang Yao clenched the fists hidden in his sleeves and forced a smile on his face.

During this period, there was nothing comparable to the U.S. dollar of later generations. At this time, the domestic currency system in the United States was relatively chaotic, and there were no banknotes in the legal sense. The so-called banknotes and U.S. dollars circulating in the market should strictly speaking be called bank notes or U.S. dollar bills. They were controlled by the central government

Issued by the First Bank of the United States and commercial banks chartered by state legislative bodies, their value is extremely unstable. Whether they can be exchanged for coins depends entirely on the credibility and gold reserves of these private banks.

Naturally, Liang Yao would not accept this kind of thing. Gold is the best currency, so it would be more practical to receive gold directly.

The Chinese workers on the ship looked at Sven who took 20 ounces of gold from Brannan and showed no emotion at all. On the contrary, they were very angry at Liang Yaoyan who only got 13 ounces of gold. They jealously pointed at Liang Yao and talked a lot.

"It's a pleasure to work with you. Sir and your compatriots are welcome to take care of Brannan's grocery store in the future."

At the end of the transaction, Liang Yao walked off the Cape Town with the 13 ounces of gold and his luggage and set foot on the simple port.

After circling half of the earth for three months and eighteen days, Liang Yao finally arrived in California in 1850.

California, the place where countless gold diggers dreamed of and where gold was everywhere, began his gold mining journey.

Unlike the later Chinese workers who were tricked into building railroads in the western United States by signing contracts of betrayal, most of the Chinese who came to California in the early days were free laborers and businessmen.

Moreover, the United States is currently out of reach of this land that was just snatched from the Mexican government two years ago. Without excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, this place is still a paradise for individual gold diggers and small gold mining organizations.

At the port, Liang Yao saw the outrageous prices in California. An egg was two dollars, a pound of rice was nine dollars, a pound of butter was $14, a pound of beer was $10, a blanket was $150, a pair of boots was $11, and a shirt was $11.

$60…

Damn it, that means 9 pounds and 15 pence can't buy a shirt here?

Not to mention the U.S. dollar in the mid-19th century, even the U.S. dollar in the 21st century is sky-high. His lunch in the 21st century, a cheap Subway sandwich and a bottle of Happy Water, only costs seven or eight dollars.

Liang Yao made a rough estimate. If he and his compatriots wanted to survive in this place, they would have to dig out at least one ounce of gold from the ground every day. Of course, considering that the Chinese people are more tolerant of hardship, maybe only half an ounce per day.

Gold can survive, but that requires digging half an ounce of gold out of the ground every day.

In addition, there is an even more terrifying thing, that is, almost the entire San Francisco is owned by Sam Brannan, which means that he monopolizes everything here alone, and he can do whatever he wants with the prices of these daily necessities.

Land pricing is the scariest thing.