1. Georgia as a Royal Colony August 26, 2014

2. Remember… In 1752, Georgia’s Trustees returned their charter to King George II and became a Royal colony  A Royal colony is directly governed by the King Many settlers returned to Georgia who had left because they couldn’t do things the way they wanted Slavery was now allowed in Georgia, so in 1752, a group moved in from South Carolina and brought their slaves with them

3. Royal Governors Because King George II did not live in Georgia, he could not keep an eye on things He appointed Royal governors to run the colony in his name

4. Governor John Reynolds The first Royal governor  Became governor on October 1, 1754 Gave Georgians the idea of self-government, appointed a legislature, started a court system Worked well with the legislature for a while  Didn’t agree about amount of money for the military, so he dissolved the legislature Tried to govern on his own, but his popularity had diminished  He was replaced after suggesting that the location of Savannah be moved

5. Governor Henry Ellis Became governor in February 1757 Learned from the mistakes of Gov. Reynolds Sought the advice of S. Carolina’s governor and depended on the wealthy to help lead Many new colonists came to Georgia during his term  Brought their slaves with them: by 1759, the population was about 10,000, including 3,600 slaves Colony made economic gains under his leadership  More farms, more merchants with larger variety of stuff to sell Became ill in 1759, and resigned

6. Governor James Wright Became governor in 1760 Expanded trade and opened Georgia’s western lands to settlers Completed the defenses around Savannah More schools opened and more (bigger and better) houses were built

7. Problems in Georgia during the Royal Period During Wright’s term as governor, not everything was going well Many mothers were dying in childbirth Only upper class children were allowed to go to school A group of “undesirables” moved to Georgia and were thought of as people who did not obey the law and were not welcome in the colony

8. Questions: 1) Who controlled Georgia after it became a royal colony? 2) Who was the first royal governor of Georgia 3) Why did Gov. Reynolds dissolve the legislature? 4) Who was the second royal governor of Georgia? 5) How did the population change while Ellis was governor? 6) Who was the third royal governor of Georgia? 7) How did Gov. Wright improve the colony? 8) Who were the “undesirables”?