The Pacifc Through An Outside lens by Joselyn Wyatt
In the 1800s, the Pacific Ocean became an important resource to the United States as they wanted to advance and develop their economy by becoming a leading trading partner. It is important to recognize that in that period it was more beneficial for Americans to use the West Coast to cross the Pacific and arrive in China, which was one of the biggest trading partners at that time. The trading route took less time and had fewer barriers in the way such as countries or islands. According to the class readings, China had become a more difficult trading partner, as they barely saw value in what others had to trade with them. As I did my research, I came across a short book, “From New England to the Pacific”; about a man, John Shalding, from New England. It went into detail about his journey and experience going to and being on the West Coast. This primary source reveals the point of view of an American, who hasn’t been to the Pacific, however, he mentions the sighting of native indigenous people, the nature in the Pacific, and his appreciation of historical events that took place. It is a little bit more modern compared to in class readings, however, it describes navigation and one’s personal experience while visiting the West Coast, allowing it to focus and give insight on a view we haven't heard much about.
As Shalding arrived in California for the first time, he noticed many things that weren’t as familiar on the east coast. For example, “Just west of the place last named the train halts at a large Indian village to enable us to observe the natives. They come flocking about the cars, nearly or quite a hundred of them, with pottery and turquoises to sell. They are nearly all s----s, old and young, wearing none too much clothing for the weather, or for decency's sake. One little girl, perhaps ten years old, attracted my attention by her dress, which was that of civilization and unlike the garb of her companions” (Hartford 73). This quote gives the reader background information about how the native indigenous groups are seen in the Pacific. It also demonstrates the evolution of native indigenous groups going from having more control of the Pacific than the settlers to a smaller number of them selling artifacts and owning more modern items. This relates to the Joshua Reid reading, “The Sea is My Country”, as it gives more insight into the prime stage, struggle, and decrease of the native indigenous groups. For instance, Reid states, “A deadly smallpox epidemic hammered a population already weakened from an earlier affliction of malaria, reducing the Makahs from about 2,500 individuals to several hundred. Adding to the devastation of death on such a massive scale, other Makahs temporarily fled the Cape Flattery villages, deepening their desolation. The epidemic, moreover, claimed the lives of the two most powerful chiefs, 0isi ̇t and Yelakub, and other ranking titleholders. The high disease mortality rate of 1853 contributed to a dramatic demographic shift as increasing numbers of non-Natives began arriving” (Reid 123). This explains why the native indigenous groups began to lose power and by the time that Shalding visited the West Coast, the number of native indigenous people had decreased and the number of non-natives had grown more than two times.
Although the number of native indigenous people on the West Coast had decreased it is important to recognize that they played a major role in the growth of the Pacific and the interest that was gained by the Non-Natives and the now Americans. With the amount of power that the Natives had before they were able to withhold a chance in the trading market as they traded with the settlers which also managed to be useful for trading in other countries especially the whaling and the hunting of marine animals which Reid goes into detail about in his book. It mentions, “At the time of the treaty negotiations, whites depended on the contributions the People of the Cape made to the settler-colonial economy. Makahs provided whale oil, fish, furs, information, and labor to the British colonies in the region and Washington Territory, a fact the treaty commissioners appreciated and respected” (Reid 129). It is very saddening to see how much of the indigenous contribution to the success of the migration to the West Coast is forgotten and replaced with judgment and shame.
Despite the fact that Shading doesn't acknowledge the history of the native indigenous groups, he does recognize the impact the gold rush had in the conquering of California. He is baffled by the idea that many of the people living and visiting California don't recognize the history that took place. He expressed, “when I come to San Francisco and find it a commercial city like Boston, and hear people say that all there is of interest to tourists in California is to be found right here, ignoring the old memories, and the old experiences, and all that, it seems to me as if there must be something wrong somewhere” (Hartford 109). He recognizes that the gold rush had a significant impact on the economy of the United States, as it brought up the value that was seen in the country. He goes in to say, “I want to get back into the gulches and among the foothills, and dig a little myself. It seems as if there should be a good many nuggets in California yet, for they don't pretend to claim that the State has been more than half dug over by squatters and prospectors. Whatever the present situation, as regards the importance of mining interests in this State, it is certain that San Francisco was born of the gold excitement of 1848 and 1849” (Hartford 109). His statement connects to Kevin Waite’s book, West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of Transcontinental Empire, as it includes the strive the United States had to gain California as a state in their country. The gold rush initiated and enlarged the need for power in the United States. For example, Waited writes, “Furthermore, who was to say that substantial quantities of gold would not be found in New Mexico, as it had been in California a year earlier? “This is the very kind of labor on which slaves, in all time, have been so extensively employed,” Mann argued. Indeed, unfree Native Americans, as well as coerced African and Asian laborers, had helped pull nearly 100 million pounds of silver from the mines of Mexico over the preceding centuries, turning the metal into the first global currency” (Waite 31). It shows how the West Coast was seen as a great resource for the United States on the board and how people recognize the success it brought to them. It was very interesting to see that Waits also stated, “miners bought, sold, beat, and killed Indigenous people with impunity. Murder, in fact, was often profitable. By killing Indians, other miners reduced competition in the diggings and seized the claims of their victims. The gold rush marked the beginning of what historians rightly regard as a genocide of California’s Indigenous people” (Waite 33). Looking back at the smaller number of indigenous people that Shalding saw when visiting California compared the thousands there were before, it can be seen that the migration and need for power caused the killings and death of many innocent and native lives.
While reading through the short book, the beauty and natural resources on the West Coast are painted very vividly. It states, “The fig, the apricot, the peach, the Japanese plum, the olive, the pomegranate, and scores of other fruit-bearing trees with less familiar names are all about us in fruit or boom. Indeed this drive of nearly 40 miles affords a view of the fauna and Flora of southern California as complete as it is entrancing and memorable” (Hartford 84). Realizing the beauty and natural resources that California can provide explains one of the many reasons why Americans wanted to make it a part of the US. Looking back to the scholarly source written by Kevin Waite in which talks about the need and process of the United States’ migration towards the West and making it their own. Waite’s book states, “Beginning with Jefferson and continuing through the antebellum period, southern states- men pursued a geopolitical agenda that set the United States on the path toward continental and Pacific empire. America built much of that empire in three great lunges—the Louisiana Purchase, the annexation of Texas, and the seizure of New Mexico and California—each of which was orches- trated by a president from the slave states. Another southern-born executive advanced America’s maritime interests by formalizing trade relations with China and protecting US access to the Hawaiian Islands” (Waite 14). This source explains how by moving across the continent to the Pacific the United States was able to gain an advantage in trading relations. With the natural resources that California has to provide, Americans can increase their trading markets as they will have more variety of goods that other countries may be interested in, and that will also give them an advantage.
John Shalding’s book brings together many ideas and events that happened in the Pacific and that should be remembered. It gave insight into how people viewed California many years later. It is intriguing to see how people thought only less than thirty years after the events that were stated above. As a reader living in the present day, we always see things in the light of how it was taught to us, which may cause our opinions to differ, however, seeing more insight and details about events can change one's perspective.
Works Cited
Shalding, John. “Home: Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.fromnewenglandto01spal/?sp=7&r=-0.406,0.091
,1.577,1.633,0. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024. Reid, Joshua L. The Sea Is My Country. Yale University Press, 2015.
Waite, Kevin. West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire. University of North Carolina Press, 2021.
