The gold rush is generally considered an event of singular importance to California and, on a larger level, the United States as a nation. But there are other ways of assessing its historical and geographic significance. Recent work in Pacific history has presented many new ways of understanding historical and geographic connections in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Pacific islands. How did events in California resonate throughout the Pacific Ocean? In what ways did different communities around the Pacific participate in and change as a result of California’s gold rush? Finally, does this event offer a perspective on the “Pacific World” as a place of connections, migrations, and transits?