13 ENGLISH COLONIES

Mr. Betts

Trustee Georgia1730-1761

James Oglethorpe• Oglethorpe was a wealthy, intellectual member of

England’s Parliament.• He felt strongly about the terrible conditions of

those living in debtor’s prisons in England.• He became particularly interested in the cause

when his friend, Robert Castell, died from smallpox in a debtor’s prison.

• The idea of creating a new colony was appealing to him so that he could help Britain’s poor, or “worthy poor.”

• Oglethorpe’s importance to the colony is highlighted by the fact that he was the only trustee to travel to the new colony.

Trustees• The appointed Trustees would serve for the next

21 years, after which it would change from a trustee colony to a royal colony.

• Trustees are not supposed to benefit personally from decisions they make.

• To assure that the trustees would not act out of self-interest, Georgia’s charter prohibited several activities.

• Trustees could not receive a salary, own land in the colony, or hold public office.

Reasons for Settlement• Philanthropy (Charity): Trustees would pay the way for

debtors to settle in Georgia.• Economics: Trustees believed the settlers could

produce silk and wine, even though hard liquor was prohibited. They would plant Mulberry trees to attract silkworms.

• Defense: Georgia would serve as a “buffer colony” between the Spanish in Florida and the colony of South Carolina in order to protect the other colonies from Spanish invasion.

• Of the three, the only true success of the colony under the Trustees was the pursuit of defense.

The 3 Reasons for a new colony (in short)

Philanthropy (Charitable)Economic Defensive

• For these philanthropy (charitable), defensive, and economic reasons, James Oglethorpe and his associates received the Charter of 1732, which was the document that granted the territory to the trustees and set up rules under which the trust would work. Trustees are people who hold responsibility and act on behalf of others.

LEARNING TARGET

As a part of today’s learning target, explain the Charter of 1732 and why it was important.

Also-explain the reasons for the founding of the Georgia colony as outlined in the Charter of 1732.

New Rules for a New Colony• 1. Trustees could not own land - were not allowed to make a profit

off the colony – this would keep them honest• 2. Everyone was given the same amount of land

• Did not want to create a class structure with lower class poorer people

• 3. No rum or hard liquor• Believed it would interfere with working• Felt it was harmful to the American Indians

• 4. No slavery• Fear that the settlers would become lazy and the colony would

not survive• 5. Only male heirs could inherit land

• Wanted to make sure there were enough men in the colony to fight if needed

Sailing to Georgia

• Left England in 1732• The trip took 8 weeks• Landed at Charles Town• Sailed on The Ann• Women and children stayed in Charles

Town while the men went ahead to find a spot for the colony

Savannah TodayMy wife and I standing on the spot where James Oglethorpe landed.

Establishing the Colony• Picked a spot beside the Savannah River called Yamacraw

Bluff (Savannah)• The settlers were helped by John and Mary Musgrove who

served as a diplomat and translated for them with the American Indians, and it allowed Oglethorpe to make friends with Tomochichi – the Chief of the Yamacraw Indians

• The settlers arrived in Feb. 1733• Treaty of Savannah

1. The Yamacraw Indians agree to give the colonists land to settle on and return runaway slaves to SC

2. The colonists agreed to trade fairly with the American Indians and not to expand past the land they were given

Mary Musgrove

Oglethorpe Meeting with Tomochichi and Mary Musgrove

GEORGIA STORIES – MARY MUSGROVE: A GEORGIA BIOGRAPHY

http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/mary_musgrove

LEARNING TARGET

As a part of today’s learning target, in your own words, explain the relationship between James Oglethorpe, Tomochichi, and Mary Musgrove in establishing the city of Savannah.

Philanthropy• England’s “worthy poor” were to be released

from debtors jail to settle the new colony.

• Even though James Oglethorpe was motivated

by the death of his friend, not one debtor was

released from prison to live in the colony.

• Incentives to come to the colony included 50

acres of land (500 if they paid their own

passage), one year’s supply of food, and free

seed and agricultural supplies for a year.

• Many people could never attain this in England

and agreed to help settle the new colony.

• Most settlers were not wealthy, but were

skilled tradesmen looking for a new start.

Colonists

• Funding to travel to the new colony

was raised through advertising for

donations in pamphlets, speeches,

newspapers, etc.

• Deciding who would go was the next

problem.

• Eventually, 35 families were selected.

• Instead, they selected craftsmen like

carpenters, bakers, farmers, tailors,

etc.

Establishing Savannah• 1733 more colonists arrived • Many died due to bad water and disease• 1736 – a group of Highland Scots settled along

with the Moravians, Salzburgers and Jews also joined the colony• The Jews were only allowed to stay because one of

them was a Dr. and the only Dr. in the colony had died• Several ministers came to the colony to establish

churches

Jewish Settlers• Settlers faced growing medical problems like scurvy,

dysentery, and fever, falsely believed to be caused by the

drinking of rum.

• Yellow Fever was the largest culprit and cause for

many deaths.

• The spread of disease was most likely due to a lack of

fresh vegetables, changes in climate, poor sanitation,

and hard physical labor.

• In July 1733, when illness was at its peak and the colonist

only doctor had died from disease himself, a ship

carrying 42 Jews landed in Savannah’s harbor.

• The passengers asked to join the settlement. Banned

originally-Jews were allowed to join the Georgia colony

because they had a doctor on board that the colony

desperately needed.

Salzburgers• The Salzburgers were Protestants who were expelled for religious

reasons from Salzburg, in present-day Austria.• King George II, a Protestant, offered them the chance to settle in

Georgia.• Salzburgers eventually established a new city and church in

Georgia called New Ebenezer. ( in Effingham County above Savannah.

• They are credited with being the first Georgians to create a water-powered grist mill, a Sunday school, and an orphanage.

• Salzburgers were the only settlers who were successful at harvesting silk on a large scale from the silk worms attracted to their Mulberry trees.

• They were fiercely anti-slavery and were loyal to the Trustees.• Georgia’s first Patriot governor, John Adams Treutlen, was a

Salzburger.• Much of New Ebenezer was destroyed in the Revolutionary and

Civil War, but the church built in 1763 still stands.

Emigration of

Salzburgers

Silkworms in

a Mulberry

tree

Map of

Ebenezer

GEORGIA STORIES – EBENEZER: THE STONE OF HELP

http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/story/stone_of_help

• The Highland Scots traveled from Scotland to settle in Georgia.

• Highland Scots came with a reputation of being fierce fighters.

• The Scots were given land near the abandoned Fort King George, and started a new city called Darien in Georgia.

• They kept many of their traditions, like wearing kilts rather than pants.

• When they found that the soil was not good for agriculture, they changed to raising cattle and harvesting timber.

• They also created the first successful Presbyterian church in Georgia.

• When the Spanish decided to invade Georgia, the Highland Scots were crucial to the success of the Georgians.

• They fought fiercely at the Battle of Bloody Marsh.

Highland Scots

GEORGIA STORIES – THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDERS

http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/story/scottish_highlanders

Another Town for GA

• June of 1736 it was approved to build a way station at Augusta (named after Princess Augusta of Wales) – half way between Charles Town and Savannah

• This would act as a connection between the two cities for trade and protection.

Fort Augusta. In 1748, "Oglethorpe's Own," a company of the Forty-Second British Regiment of Foot, garrisoned the fort under the command of Captain George

Cadogan and Lieutenant Richard Kent. Oglethorpe ordered the fort built in 1736, and it was completed in 1738 under the direction of Roger Lacy and Richard Kent. Commanders of the fort were responsible for controlling the Indian trade as far as

the Mississippi River.

The seal used by the Trustees represented the colony's role within the British Empire, as well as its emphasis on the production of silk. The seal, seen in the above sketch, incorporated a black mulberry leaf with a silkworm and cocoon (mulberry leaves were used to feed the silkworms in sericulture, the cultivation of silk). The motto inscribed was "Non sibi sed aliis," Latin for "Not for themselves but for others." The seal and motto are a symbol of Georgia's role as a mercantile colony established to be the source of silk, not for their own benefit, but for England's.

Discontent Among the Colonists

• A group of colonist known as the “malcontents” started complaining in Georgia. They believed they shouldn’t follow the Charter of 1732 since they paid their own way.

• Malcontent means not satisfied or content with current circumstances.

• COMPLAINED ABOUT?• Land-wanted to be able to sell or buy more land-Much of the land given to settlers was not good for farming. If a man

died the land went back to the Trustees not his family

• Slaves- claimed they needed workers to make farms profitable

• Rum-Was an item that could be used to trade successfully with the Indians

Defense• In 1739, war broke out between the English and

Spanish. It was called the War of Jenkins’ Ear.• This war was important to the survival of the colony, and

it helped Georgia fulfill its duty as a buffer colony.• A British captain, Robert Jenkins, was attacked during a

ship raid, during which his ear was cut off by a Spaniard.• Jenkins survived, brought his severed ear with him, and

pleaded to the English Parliament to get revenge on the Spanish.

• During the war, Oglethorpe led a failed attempt to capture St. Augustine in Florida.

At the right, Jenkins is

presenting his pickled, severed

ear to the English Parliament in

order to receive permission to

retaliate against the Spanish.

Defense• The Spanish launched an attack on St. Simon’s Island,

but were defeated by the colonists and their American Indian allies.

• This attack was named the Battle of Bloody Marsh. --Lasted less than 1 hour

• After this, Spain was no longer a threat to GA. or SC settlements – there was now a clear border between English colonies and the Spanish

• Both sides agreed in 1748 that the St. John’s River would serve as the border between English Georgia and Spanish Florida.

Battlefield at

Bloody Marsh:

Saint Simons

Highland Scots at

the Battle of

Bloody Marsh

• Because Oglethorpe was never able to lead a successful invasion into Fla. he was called back to England on military charges

• He was cleared of any wrongdoing but never returned to the colony

• July 11, 1743 – William Stephens became the president of the colony• He set up a legislative assembly• The assembly elected Henry Parker as

president of the colony on April 8, 1751

Changing the Rules• The colonists blamed the trustees rules for many of the

problems in the colony• In an attempt to keep peace the trustees began making

changes in the rules• 1. Land

• By the mid 1740’s the limit on how much land a settler could own was raised to 2000 acres and women could now inherit land

• 2. Slavery• Became legal on Jan. 1, 1751• The Scots Highlanders and Salzburgers opposed slavery

• 3. Rum• The sale of rum was made legal in 1742• It was used in trading with the American Indians

LEARNING TARGET

As a part of today’s learning target, in your own words, explain the roles of the Jews, Salzburgers, Highland Scots, and malcontents in establishing Georgia.

Becoming a Royal ColonyThe Trustees gave up their charter in 1752 and Georgia began a two-year transition to the status of royal colony. During this time, a new seal was adopted for the colony which showed King George II extending his hand to a kneeling allegorical female figure offering a skein of silk to the king, with a sailing ship in the background. The symbolism of the seal was that the British government expected the royal colony of Georgia to be an important source of silk and other good and resources needed by Great Britain.

Becoming a Royal Colony• The trustees were running out of money to support the

colony and were becoming tired of dealing with the complaints of the settlers so 1 year before the charter was up, the trustees turned the colony over to the King

• John Reynolds-was named as the 1st Royal governor• The new government was made up of a governor, a

council and a legislature• The council was made up of 12 men chosen by the

governor – called the Upper House of Assembly• The governing body was a legislature that was called

the Common House of Assembly and was made up of 19 men elected by the colonists

• The 1st assembly met on July 7, 1755• Organized a militia• Provided funding for roads and bridges• Created paper bills of credit (money)• Listed 10 crimes punishable by death

• The colonists did not like Reynolds and he also caused the Creek and Cherokee to hate Georgia. He was removed and replaced by Henry Ellis in May 1758

• The colony was without money and in disorder• Ellis restored order, reformed the government, divided the

colony into parishes, settled land claims, and kept peace with the Indians during the 3 years of his term

• James Wright became the last royal governor in May 1761. He was popular for a while. The governor’s popularity helped him to stand against the wave of revolutions long after other colonies had rebelled.

Royal Governor Sir James Wright

A Voice in Government• As a royal colony the settlers now had a

way to express their concerns and wishes to those in charge

• In 1758 the colony was divided into 8 parishes which we mostly for religious and military organization

• For the next 100 years England pretty much let the colonists run their own affairs and interfered very little

COLONIAL GOODS AND SERVICES

GOODS AND SERVICES• Georgia was founded on the economic policy of

mercantilism, which involves sending goods and products home to the “mother country.”

• Trustees hoped goods would be produced in the colony that could not be produced in England. These were the WRIST crops (Wine, Rice, Indigo, Silk, Tobacco).

• Pigs were also part of Georgia’s colonial economy.• Silk was so important that all colonists were

required to set aside land to grow Mulberry trees to attract silkworms.

• Georgia’s wine and silk industries were never truly successful.

• Rice, indigo, and tobacco became successful when Georgia was a royal colony..

Indigofera is the plant

species that most

colonial indigo dye was

derived from.

Now, nearly all

indigo dye is

synthetic.

LEARNING TARGET

1) As a part of today’s learning target, in your own words, explain the transition of Georgia into a royal colony. Also, describe the goods and services produced there. Which products were and were not successful?.

2) Based on our proficiency scale on the board, put a number at the bottom of your ticket out the door as to where you feel you are concerning the founding of Georgia. Could you teach a lesson on Georgia’s beginning?

GEORGIA STORIES – DAILY LIFE IN GEORGIAhttp://www.gpb.org/georgiastories/stories/daily_life_in_georgia