The Social Implications Of Gold Discoveries
No metal, in fact no substance of any kind has been so lusted after, so loved, caused so much happiness and has been responsible for so much death and sorrow as has gold.
Gold is one of the first metals known to man and the word comes from an “Olde English” word – geolo which means yellow. It is a soft malleable metal with a mesmerizing glow to it. It is easy to work with, and the ancient Egyptians were expert goldsmiths who were able to create intricate pieces of jewelry from this metal. It can be drawn into a fine wire or hammered out into thin leaf – the Egyptians were able to hammer it so thin that it took over 350,000 leaves to make a pile one inch high.
Gold is both, rust and corrosion resistant which gives it many commercial uses, besides the best known one for being the base of great jewelry. Everyone from economists to historians to poets have tried to explain the allure of the metal, but no one has succeeded. Perhaps is just the perception of the beauty of the metal that makes it so wanted. Gold is seen as the “ultimate”, as in an Olympic gold medal (which is actually not made of gold).
Its rarity makes gold one of the most valuable of all metals. The sources of gold are few and far between and the discovery of gold has always had huge political and social implications. The California gold rush of the 19th century is an example of this – it led to the opening up of the western part of the continent. In 1851 gold was discovered in Australia and by 1860 the population of that country had tripled. The same kind of thing happened in New Zealand when gold was discovered there a few years later. The city of Johannesburg was founded when gold was discovered in South Africa. As a matter of fact, gold was the bedrock of the country’s economy for many years. The Yukon was opened up only after gold was discovered there at the end of the 19th century. Wherever gold has been discovered or even rumored to have been discovered, the effects on the society of the country and on the population densities of the region have been major.
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