the southern coloniesthe southern colonies. key wordskey words mason- dixon line- divided the...
TRANSCRIPT
The Southern Colonies
Key Words
Mason- Dixon Line- Divided the Middle and Southern colonies between Pennsylvania and Maryland
Bacon’s Rebellion- Uprising against the Native Americans and a greedy Virginia governor who forced settlers inland and did not protect them
Slave Codes- Rules and laws for slaves behavior which denied them basic rights
Indigo- A plant used to make valuable blue dye
Maryland
Sir George Calvert got the charter from King Charles I in 1632
His son, Lord Baltimore, settled the area in 1634
About 200 colonists settled there
Lord Baltimore was the proprietor of the colony
He appointed a governor, and set up a council of advisors
He gave colonists some control by creating an elected assembly
Offered lots of land for those who brought over servants
Both Catholics and Protestants were allowed to worship there
He passed the “Act of Toleration” in 1649
Virginia
Many new colonists were flocking to Virginia
Lots of great fertile land for planters to prosper
Wealthy planters had a lock on the best land near the coast
New settlers were forced inland
Started to crowd out the Native Americans
Virginias governor would not protect the settlers
He made money from the fur trade with the Native Americans
Bacon’s rebellion ensued in 1676
The Carolinas
Carolinas granted by King Charles II in 1663
North Carolina was made up mainly of small farms
Poor tobacco planters who had moved south from Virginia settled this region
South Carolina was settled by 8 noblemen from England
Set up larger plantations for cash crops
Rice, tobacco, and indigo we common
Large plantations needed large scale labor
Turned to Native American slaves first
Natives escaped, or died of disease
They then turned to the African slave trade
African slaves outnumbered white settlers in S.C. 2-1 in the early 1700’s
Georgia
James Oglethorpe founded Georgia in 1732
He wanted it to be a place where debtors could get a fresh start
Debtors could be imprisoned in England
Oglethorpe paid for debtors and other poor people to come there
He felt that there was plenty of good land for people to succeed
Savannah was founded in 1733
Founded by Oglethorpe and 120 colonists
No plantations over 500 acres and no slavery early on
Rules were amended later on to allow larger plantations as well as slavery
The colony grew quickly after the amendment to the rules
Two Ways of Life
Tidewater Plantations
Large plantations growing cash crops
Owners had many slaves and servants and lived in large houses, some even had their own docks where merchant ships could dock
Many grew very wealthy and this is what the stereotypical southern life was
Backcountry South
More equality and independence
Subsistence agriculture ruled
Excess goods were sold at market
Hardly any slaves and there was not nearly as much wealth
People worked together for the common good more often