From the Publisher: In 1513, when Ponce de Leon stepped ashore on a beach of what is now Florida, Spain gained its first foothold in North America. For the next three hundred years, Spaniards ranged through the continent building forts to defend strategic places, missions to proselytize Indians, and farms, ranches, and towns to reconstruct a familiar Iberian world. This engagingly written and well-illustrated book presents an up-to-date overview...

Describes the nineteenth century American gold rush, and includes information on gold rush "boomtowns," relations between Native Americans and gold rush pioneers, and the importance of the gold rush on American history.