Founding of Georgia

SS8H2 The student will analyze the colonial period of Georgia’s

history. A) Important people and reasons for settlement

B) The Trustee periodC) Development of Georgia as a Royal Colony

2

In the 1600s, the English began permanent settlements along the coast of the New World. Their first permanent settlement

was Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.

3

By the close of the 1600s, England had established 12 colonies long the

Atlantic coastline.

4

Although Spain moved out of Guale by 1686, more than one country claimed the

land. France was establishing colonies along the

Gulf Coast and in northern Alabama.

5

Both the French and the Spanish posed a threat to the British colonies. Settlers in South Carolina asked

that a fort be built at the mouth of

the Altamaha River to serve

as a “warning point” for invaders.

6

In 1721, Fort King George was completed. The fort established the English presence in Georgia.

Georgia’s first civilian settlement, Savannah. How did it start?

James Oglethorpe and a group of trustees were given a charter by King George II for this new colony in 1732 1. To provide safety for the port of Charleston from the Spanish in Florida and French Louisiana (defense)2. Provide economic gain for England by producing raw materials (mercantilism)3. Become a colony for the worthy poor (charity)

Follow the link below to investigate Georgia’s charter

• Establishing the Georgia Colony - For Teachers (Library of Congress)

Oglethorpe’s translators had a trading post on the Savannah River. See the link below for more

information on John and Mary Musgrove, Oglethorpe’s translators

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6utWkHZvtIk

Charter rules for the new colony

1. No trading with Natives2. No Hard Liquor (rum)3. No Slavery

4. No Lawyers5. No Catholics(Papists)

6. Must work your land, (home in Savannah, 5 acre garden plot on the edge of town and 45 acre farm in the country

7. Must plant mulberry trees8. Must defend colony against all

enemies9. Must obey all regulations10.Could not sell your land, or borrow

against it11.Could only pass their land to male

heirs

In exchange for this, the trustees promised to…

• Give each household 50 acres, more if they paid their own passage (up too 500 acres)

• Give each settler tools to work the land• Give each settler food for one year• They (trustees) would not own land in the

new colony• They (trustees) would not hold political

office in the new colony• They would not personally profit from the

new colony

Silk worm and Mulberry trees

• Who? Chief Tomochichi and his nephew, Toonahawi

• Why? He gave Oglethorpe Yamacraw Bluff to start the settlement, Savannah

Early settlers

• Salzburgers- Ebenezer and New Ebenezer

escaped religious persecution in Germany

• Highland Scots-Darienhelped defend the colony, great

soldiers

• In 1733, Dr. Samuel Nunis and 41 other Jews arrived in Savannah and helped the first settlers survive a medical crisis

Would this be easy to clear and farm?

Must be able to defend the colony

Highland Scots of Darien

Battle of Bloody Marsh

• 1739 War of Jenkin’s Ear- between Spain and Great Britain

• Tried to take St. Augustine in 1740• Spanish troops came to St. Simons

Island and were surprised and forced back across the Florida border by Oglethorpe and the Highland Scots

• Spanish finally left for good

Malcontents

• Those settlers unhappy (discontent) with the trustee’s restrictions called themselves Malcontents– Unhappy about not being able to grow

hemp, flax, indigo or grapes– Unhappy with the economic hardships– Unhappy with inheritance restrictions–Wanted to sell land or own more than

restrictions allowed– Some wanted slavery and hard liquor (rum)

End of Trustee PeriodBeginning of Royal Colonial Period

• President of the colony, James Oglethorpe, leaves colony in 1743

• Charter period begins to run out (20 yrs) 1752

• Trustees return Georgia’s authority back to the crown

King George the II appoints several royal governors.

John ReynoldsCreated bicameral legislature, a court

system and helped the colony prosper

Captain Henry Ellisconsulted neighboring governor of SC

for advice and depended on wealthy citizens to lead colony

Last Royal Governor

James Wrightcolony prospers with new settlers from

SC and the West Indies; he believed in large farms; rice and indigo become cash crops; forts were made stronger; agrees with the self-government program which Gov. Reynolds started

Indigo

•Observe- look carefully and describe what you see•Reflect- analyze what you see and reflect what it could mean•Question- decide if there is anything else you should investigate

Georgia Colony begins to prosper

• By 1760’s Georgia grows from 1 million acres of land owned to 7 million

• Crops include rice and indigo as well as timber and naval stores

• Many ports grow with ships arriving from other colonies and countries

• Merchants bring various items to sell which could not be grown or manufactured in GA

Review

• Georgia’s colonial period begins in 1732 with the charter and is governed by the trustees

• James Oglethorpe, trustee, founder and first president of the colony

• The last and 13th colony has a diverse group of settlers

• Prosperity reaches Georgia, it has weathered many hardships but with its farms and shipping ports grows steadily