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

8. 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)

9. Follow the link below to investigate Georgia’s charter
Establishing the Georgia Colony - For Teachers (Library of Congress)

10. Oglethorpe’s translators had a trading post on the Savannah River
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

12. Charter rules for the new colony
No trading with Natives
No Hard Liquor (rum)
No Slavery
No Lawyers
No Catholics(Papists)

13. Must work your land, (home in Savannah, 5 acre garden plot on the edge of town and 45 acre farm in the country
Must plant mulberry trees
Must defend colony against all enemies
Must obey all regulations
Could not sell your land, or borrow against it
Could only pass their land to male heirs

14. 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

15. Silk worm and Mulberry trees

16. Who? Chief Tomochichi and his nephew, Toonahawi
Why? He gave Oglethorpe Yamacraw Bluff to start the settlement, Savannah

17. Early settlers Salzburgers- Ebenezer and New Ebenezer
escaped religious persecution in Germany
Highland Scots-Darien
helped 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

18. Would this be easy to clear and farm?

19. Must be able to defend the colony

20. Highland Scots of Darien

21. 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

23. 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)

24. End of Trustee Period Beginning 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

25. King George the II appoints several royal governors.
John Reynolds
Created bicameral legislature, a court system and helped the colony prosper
Captain Henry Ellis
consulted neighboring governor of SC for advice and depended on wealthy citizens to lead colony
James Wright-Last Royal Governor
colony 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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