Georgia Essay, Research Paper

On 1732 a new colony was started by England. This colony was named Georgia. Georgia s name was chosen to honor King George the Second. Georgia included all the land between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers, extending west to the Pacific Ocean. The Colonists settled in present day Savannah, Georgia. Georgia was warm climate getting enough precipitation every year. It very slalomed snow it mostly rained.

Georgia Colony started when Great Britain s king, George II, granted James E. Oglethorpe and 116 emigrants the land to be Georgia. James Oglethorpe was from London and educated at Oxford University where he studied prison reform.

Early in 1733, Oglethorpe sailed up the Savannah River and landed at Yamacraw Bluff, 27 km (17 mi) upstream. There he met the Yamacraw people, a friendly Native American band of outlaw Creek, who ceded the site to him. Also he met a very helpful woman name Mary Mustgrove who helped him interpreter and negotiator. She also helped keep peace in the Colony. On February 12, 1733, he returned with more than 100 colonists and laid out the town of Savannah, the first permanent European settlement in Georgia. England and James Oglethorpe founded this colony for refuge for the poor, especially those in debtors prisons, and the victims of religious persecution in Europe. In addition, the king wanted a buffer colony to protect the Carolinas from the Spanish in Florida and the French in Louisiana.

Georgia Colony s first Government was very strict. The government was based trustees” of Georgia. The trustees were Oglethorpe and his associates. The trustees in 1735 prohibited

Drinking, outlawed slavery and limited the land a person could own. Georgia was the only British colony in North America to have such laws. When they colony didn t have any signs of growth the objectives of the trustees were soon called into question. The King decided that the colony would never grow until the people were allowed to sell and trade all the land they wanted and be able to have slaves work in the fields. Because of this the King brought new people to maintain the land, they were called malcontents.” Oglethorpe was against this; he thought it was against human rights and declaring that it was shocking to human nature. By 1750 the malcontents had joined the colony. The malcontents made slavery legal, they stated that land could be transferred and that liquor could be made and sold. In 1752 the trustees surrendered their charter to the king, and two years later Georgia became a royal colony. After this the government now consisted of a governor and royal council, appointed by the king, and a legislature elected by the colonists. However Oglethorpe still had strong say in the government.

When the Colony has just started Orthope started a good relationship with the Indians. The Indians helped them explore new land and taught them different skills. In March of 1736 Oglethorpe and the Indians conducted a scouting expedition which extended south evading the Spanish territory. After in 1739 the War of Jenkins s Ear broke out between Great Britain and Spain, and there was skirmishing on the southern frontier. In 1742 a Spanish force invaded Georgia. In the subsequent Battle of Bloody Marsh, near Fort Frederica, Oglethorpe and his troops defeated the invaders. This ended Spanish attempts to capture Georgia. The Indians helped both sides sign a treaty where both Georgia and the Spanish could not pass the border that started at the mouth of the St. Johns River.

Before the change to Royal Colony Economy wasn t good with no slaves and land restrictions. After the Royal colony, Georgia began to prosper. A profitable plantation economy developed, based on slavery. Rice, indigo, and wheat were cultivated, and cattle and hogs were raised. The fur trade with the Native Americans flourished, lumber was cut, and naval stores were produced. Georgia exported food and other goods to Great Britain in return for British manufactures and for slaves, sugar, rum, and molasses from the West Indies. The land features helped the economy by providing warm weather and rain.

Religion in Georgia was not specific since people that were in seeking religion refuge came to Georgia to practice their relighions. Groups from central Europe, as well as by Scots, Welsh, northern Italians, and Swiss came to Georgia with all different religions. Oglethorpe hoped to create a model society. Georgia welcomed any religion and had full toleration towards other religions.