Although they were not the first Asians to arrive to the United States (a minor population of Filipinos arrived in America with Spanish explorers in the late 16th century), the Chinese were the first to immigrate to the United States in a large population. When gold was discovered in California in 1848, it attracted many people throughout and outside the country in search of a fortune. Gold seekers from China traveled to America in pursuit of gold. So many had arrived the soon enough, Chinese workers had become about a fifth of the entire population in gold mining areas.