One consequence of the gold rush was the construction of the first railway lines in this part of Africa. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution. : Seit dem Goldrausch von 1886 war das Witwatersrand-Becken ein bedeutendes Bergbaugebiet. For a number of years all went well, but then President Paul Kruger of the South African Republic (ZAR) began getting worried so many foreigners would soon outnumber the Boers, and the first of certain "measures" were put into place. He sold £600 of gold to the Transvaal Treasury and was subsequently ordered to leave the country. 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. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a range of hills in the Gauteng province South Africa that contains most of the worlds gold reserves.. [7][8][9][10], The discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand also created a super wealthy class of miners and industrialists known as Randlords. Harrison declared his claim with the then-government of the Suid Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR), and the area was pronounced open. This is the reason why Johannesburg's central business district streets are so narrow. This was the first working railway line in the Transvaal. 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. As a result of the rapid development of the goldfields on the Witwatersrand in the 1880s and the demand for coal by the growing industry, a concession was granted by the ZAR government to the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM) on July 20, 1888, to construct a 25 kilometres (16 mi) railway line from Johannesburg to Boksburg. Er ist Teil der kontinentalen Wasserscheide zwischen Atlantik und Indischem Ozean. The first recorded discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand was made by Jan Gerrit Bantjes in June 1884, on the farm Vogelstruisfontein, and was followed soon thereafter, in September, by the Struben brothers who uncovered the Confidence Reef on the farm Wilgespruit, near present-day Roodepoort. News spread around the world and prospectors from Australia to California began arriving in masses and the first lanterns of a soon to be Johannesburg began flickering along dusty streets. This at the time was a British attempt to give credit for the discovery to the Anglo sector in an attempt to justify claiming the Witwatersrand fields as British. William Knight registered the first mining company on the Witwatersrand, the Witwatersrand Gold Mining Company, in September 1886. This discovery started the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and attracted 1000’s of early settlers. These early diamond surface mining activity photographs were taken by Weber & Sederstrom at New Rush (Kimberley). Bantjes, whose father Jan Gerritze Bantjes had educated Kruger when he was a boy during the Great Trek, had discussions with Kruger regarding those "measures." The line was opened on March 17, 1890 with the first train being hauled by a 14 Tonner locomotive, became known as the "Randtram", even though it was actually a railway in every aspect and not singularly dedicated to tram traffic. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. rush und deutsch Rausch sind falsche Freunde), seltener auch Goldfieber, ist eine Periode der verstärkten Einwanderung in ein Gebiet, in dem es entweder verwertbare Mengen Gold oder zumindest Gerüchte über solche Vorkommen gibt. Witwatersrand Gold Rush The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. Davis, an English miner. Although legends of a South African “El Dorado” existed among the natives of the area, it was not until 1886, when a poor Australian prospector named George Harrison staked the first claim, that the vast riches of the “Rand” were discovered. There are however remarkable exceptions. Ever since the gold rush of 1886, the Witwatersrand basin has been a major mining site. This move was one of the factors leading to the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902. He sold £600 of gold to the Transvaal Treasury and was subsequently ordered to leave the country. One of them was to place heavy taxes on the sale of dynamite to the foreigners so as to slow the momentum. But it was not until 1886 that the massive wealth of the Witwatersrand would be uncovered. The disastrous Jameson Raid followed which put Cecil Rhodes in the spotlight. There were 500 men who took part in the uprising; 21 were killed and many arrested, tried and sentenced. [3], Explorer and prospector Jan Gerrit Bantjes [af] (1840-1914) was the first and original discoverer of a Witwatersrand gold reef in June 1884 having prospected the area since the early 1880s, as well as co-operating the Kromdraai Gold Mine in 1883 to the NW of present-day Johannesburg together with his partner Johannes Stephanus Minnaar in an area known today as "The Cradle of Humankind". Rhodes and his partner Robinson with a team of companions were curious and rode over 400 km to Bantjes' camp at Vogelstruisfontein and stayed with him for two nights near what would later become Roodepoort. Many Randlords built large estates and mansions on the Parktown Ridge.[11]. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution. London: James Currey Witwatersrand Gold Rush The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. These rich gold bearing reefs stretch from 40 miles east of Johannesburg to 90 miles west and even further into the province of the Free State. This is the reason why Johannesburg's central business district streets are so narrow. The disastrous Jameson Raid followed which put Cecil Rhodes in the spotlight. In mining terms, the Pilbara is synonymous with iron ore.It is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of seaborne ore and has played a large part in establishing the fortunes of the big miners BHP and Rio Tinto and in more recent times Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Fortescue.Famously, Lang Hancock and his partner Peter Wright discovered the massive iron ore deposits later called Hope Downs in 1952, although government geologist Harr… Today, this region, which roughly corresponds to Gauteng province, is home to more than 10 million people. The source of the huge amount of gold in the Witwatersrand is thought to be the entire greenstone-dominated Archaean cratonic surface, which was subjected to intensive chemical weathering permitting large-scale leaching of gold by contemporaneous surface waters. News spread around the world and prospectors from Australia to California began arriving in masses and the first lanterns of a soon to be Johannesburg began flickering along dusty streets. There is some dispute as to the origin of the name Johannesburg and to which Johannes, a common Dutch name, the city was named after. Currently, the greater Johannesburg area has just over 8 million residents, making it the largest city of South Africa. Bantjes, whose father Jan Gerritze Bantjes had educated Kruger when he was a boy during the Great Trek, had discussions with Kruger regarding those "measures." This page was last edited on 7 June 2018, at 16:28. Obwohl der etwa 200 Kilometer lange Höhenzug bis 1.779 Meter über dem Meeresspiegel aufragt, überragt er die umliegenden Landschaften nur um bis zu 300 Meter. 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. Goch founded the George Goch Gold Mining Company in 1886 and the Wemmer Gold Mining Company in 1887. : Über den Goldrausch berichtete die Bangkok Post. This purchase would be the first transaction of the newly formed company Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa. [citation needed], News of gold spread rapidly and reached Cecil Rhodes in Kimberley. It was part of the Mineral Revolution. 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. There had always been rumours of a modern-day "El Dorado" in the folklore of the native tribes that roamed the plains of the South African highveld and in that of the gold miners who had come from all over the world to seek out their fortunes on the alluvial mines of Barberton and Pilgrim's Rest, in what is now known as the province of Mpumalanga. 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. The Witwatersrand is a word in Afrikaans which means “The Ridge of white waters”. Its intent was to overthrow the Transvaal government and turn the region into a British colony. The Jameson Raid was supported by Rhodes and led by Sir Leander Starr Jameson. There is some dispute as to the origin of the name Johannesburg and to which Johannes, a common Dutch name, the city was named after. However, these were minor reefs, and today the general consensus falsely holds that credit for the discovery of the main gold reef must be attributed to George Harrison, whose findings on the farm Langlaagte were made in July 1886, either through accident or systematic prospecting. The first discovery of gold in the region is recorded as being in 1852 in the Pardekraal farm[1] by J.H. [7][8][9][10], The discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand also created a super wealthy class of miners and industrialists known as Randlords. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush initiated South Africa’s domination of world gold production. The province is initially owned by Transvaal, and the nations affected will most likely be either Oranje or Transvaal. Its intent was to overthrow the Transvaal government and turn the region into a British colony. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush, which began in 1886, also increased the economic development of the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as Lourenço Marques served as the closest seaport for the export of gold from South Africa. The gold rush saw massive development of Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand, and the area remains the prime metropolitan area of South Africa. Es war ein wichtiger Teil der Mineralrevolution. At the core of southern Africa's industrial revolution were the gold mines of the Witwatersrand. This only agitated the miners and gave the British another reason to make a grab for the gold fields and take the lot for themselves. It is thought to be named after two state surveyors who were sent to choose an area for the layout of the new town, Johann Rissik and Christiaan Johannes Joubert. Rhodes purchased the first batch of Witwatersrand gold from Bantjes for £3000. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution. Towards a people's history [3], Explorer and prospector Jan Gerrit Bantjes [af] (1840-1914) was the first and original discoverer of a Witwatersrand gold reef in June 1884 having prospected the area since the early 1880s, as well as co-operating the Kromdraai Gold Mine in 1883 to the NW of present-day Johannesburg together with his partner Johannes Stephanus Minnaar in an area known today as "The Cradle of Humankind". [5], 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. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution. Man gliedert ihn in einen westlichen (West Rand), einen mittleren (Central Rand) um Johannesburg und einen östlichen Teil (East Rand). Ph.D. thesis, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. Cammack, Diana (1990) "The Rand at War: the Witwatersrand and the Anglo-Boer war 1899–1902. Contribute. Johannesburg in South Africa has one of the world's largest gold deposits. Gold-Ansturm; engl. Another find by Pieter Jacob Marais was recorded in 1853 on the Jukskei River, but was subject to similar secrecy. But it was not until 1886 that the massive wealth of the Witwatersrand would be uncovered. 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. This was the first working railway line in the Transvaal. 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. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. This move was one of the factors leading to the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902. Davis, an English miner. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the Creative Commons CC0 License; all unstructured text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. One consequence of the gold rush was the construction of the first railway lines in this part of Africa. Harrison is believed to have sold his claim for less than 10 Pounds before leaving the area. www.wikipedian.net Witwatersrand Gold Rush Witwatersrand Gold Rush, https://www.wits.ac.za/media/migration/files/EGRI%20274.pdf, The South African Railways - Historical Survey (Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd, Circa 1978), Netherlands-South African Railway Company, List of mayors of Santa Clarita, California, Jalisco Cartel New Generation-Los Caballeros Templarios Cartel War, Scientific Workgroup for Rocketry and Spaceflight, World's largest gold rush ever led to the eventual. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution. Like the diamond discoveries before, the gold rush caused thousands of foreign expatriates to prospect and mine the region. Witwatersrand Gold Rush; Further reading. For a number of years all went well, but then President Paul Kruger of the South African Republic (ZAR) began getting worried so many foreigners would soon outnumber the Boers, and the first of certain "measures" were put into place. It is thought to be named after two state surveyors who were sent to choose an area for the layout of the new town, Johann Rissik and Christiaan Johannes Joubert. The gold rush was reported by the Bangkok Post. 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. The line was opened on March 17, 1890 with the first train being hauled by a 14 Tonner locomotive, became known as the "Randtram", even though it was actually a railway in every aspect and not singularly dedicated to tram traffic. 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