Chapter 7 The Southern Colonies “Heaven and earth never agreed to frame a better place for man’s habitation.” - John Smith, on Chesapeake Bay, 1607

Lesson 1 Settlement of the South p. 232 Maryland The Calverts, a family of wealthy English landowners, founded Maryland. They were looking for a refuge for Catholics and a place to make money. Maryland was named in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I.

Continued… Tobacco plantations were started and indentured servants agreed to work there. They are people who agree to work for another person without pay for a certain length of time in exchange for passage to North America. Maryland’s assembly passed the Toleration Act in 1649. This law was the first in North America to allow Christians to worship as they pleased.

The Carolinas King Charles II, son of King Charles I, granted land for another colony between Virginia and Spanish Florida. The charter divided the colony among eight English nobles, known as the Lords Proprietors. The Lords Proprietors wrote a constitution, a written plan of government, in 1669. In 1712, Carolina was split into North Carolina and South Carolina due to their population growth. 1/3 of the original Carolina was not settled. South Carolina’s main cash crop was rice and where rice wouldn’t grow, they grew indigo, a blue dye.

Georgia The 1/3 that was not settled in the Carolinas became Georgia. Georgia was named for King George II. James Oglethorpe and his partners thought that if Georgia had an English colony then that might strengthen England’s claim to the land. Debtors, people who were in prison for owing money, were offered land in Georgia and James hoped they would better themselves with hard work. In 1752 the land was passed from Oglethorpe and his men back to the king, making it a royal colony.

Virginia Grows and Changes Virginia becomes the largest English colony in North America by 1700. In the 1700s, transportation became easier between the coastal areas and the western part of the colony. Indian trails became roads, which later became wagon roads. Ferry boats crossed rivers to transport passengers, livestock, tobacco, and other goods. Bridges were soon built across some of the rivers.

Lesson 2 Southern Plantations p. 241 The Plantation Economy Plantations were usually built in the southern tidewater, low lying land along a coast. A broker, a person who is paid to buy and sell for someone else, was used when the largest plantations sold their cash crops.

Plantation Workers Small and large plantations had every member in the family working long hours. As plantations grew, kidnapped Africans were sold as indentured servants. After the mid 1600s Africans were brought over to be sold as slaves not indentured servants. They were being sold like property at an auction, or public sale. Slaves were not granted freedom like the indentured servants.

A Slave’s Life There were two different kinds of slaves –house slaves and field slaves. Overseers were hired by plantation owners. These people were hired to watch the field slaves as they worked and to punish them if they did not work hard. House slaves were often clothed, fed, and housed. They did the cleaning, washing, cooking, and sewing. Slaves soon expressed their belief in the Christian religion by singing spirituals which are songs based on Bible stories.

A Planter’s Life Plantations were not near towns, so they had few schools. Girls went to school until 12-13. They were needed at home for basic skills. A planter and his wife were responsible for running a business and for taking care of all the people on the plantation. A planter’s duties also include public service, doing a job to help the community or society as a whole.

Southern Colonies Maryland North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Virginia Southern Colonies Wrap up Make a Multi-Flow Map listing some of the causes and effects that occurred during the time of the settlement of the Southern Colonies. Example: The cause would be “government” and the effect would be “Constitution.”