What year does "There Will Be Blood" begin?

There Will Be Blood begins in 1898. Its nearly wordless opening follows Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, as he prospectes for precious metals in a remote New Mexico mine. He finds silver, suffers a severe leg injury, and struggles to reach an assay office to register his claim.

The prologue then advances to 1902, when Plainview is working as an oilman and takes responsibility for the infant H.W. after the boy’s father dies in a drilling accident. This early section establishes Plainview’s toughness, isolation, ambition, and willingness to treat personal relationships as part of business.

The main conflict develops later, when Plainview travels to Little Boston after hearing about local oil deposits and encounters the preacher Eli Sunday. Viewers sometimes answer 2007, the film’s release year, or 1911, when the Sunday-family storyline begins. However, the first title card and opening events clearly place the film’s beginning in 1898.