Glossary Terms

California Gold Rush: The discovery of gold in California in the late 1840s stimulated a rapid in-migration of prospectors from Europe and the eastern United States who were interested gaining quick wealth. The discovery of diamonds in Kimberly, South Africa in 1864 and the subsequent discovery of gold the southern Transvaal in 1886 resulted in similar “rushes” of immigrants from Europe who sought to take advantage of the economic opportunities that resulted for the exploitation of these mineral resources.

Royal Charter: a royal charter is grant or license given to a commercial company that provides a monopoly control over commercial activities in a given colony or territory. For example, the charter granted to the British South African Company gave them them the control of mineral and land rights in what became the colonies of Southern and Northern Rhodesia. The charter granted to the British East Africa Company gave the company control over most commercial activities in colonial Kenya and Uganda.