7

Exploration and Colonization of

Georgia

Unit 2

SSH81b,c, SSH2a-c, SSG1d, SSE1, SSE2a

Age of Exploration

1492-Columbus sailed west to get to the Indies in the east. He was looking for a shorter route; Muslim traders controlled the existing land and water routes.

Europeans were dependent upon the Indies for spices, silk, tea, and gems.

Columbus explored San Salvador in the Caribbean Islands, but he was convinced that he had found the Indies. He never found any treasure.

1507 – New World named America after Amerigo Vespucci by a Swiss map maker.

Spanish Claims in the New World

After Columbus, Spain and Portugal both became very interested in the New World; Portugal feared that Spain would threaten their shipping lanes to Africa..

1493 - Pope Alexander VI created the “Line of Demarcation” dividing the Spanish and Portuguese interests.

1494 – Treaty of Tordesillas moved the line 700 miles west, protecting the Portuguese shipping lanes, but only leaving them one territory - Brazil

Division of the New World

1493 – dotted line – “Line

of Demarcation”

1494 – solid line – “Treaty

of Tordesillas”

English Claims in the New World

1497 & 1498 – John Cabot sails almost the entire east coast of present day United States; as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida.

England ignored the Pope’s decrees and the Treaty of Tordesillas ; could not agree with Spain on who actually had rights to New World

Finally agreed that explorers must colonize an area for it to belong to the country.

Spain comes to the Southeast

1513 - Ponce de Leon landed on Florida thinking it was a large island; called it Isla Florida, “Island of Flowers”

Actually had landed near the future site of St. Augustine

1521 – Ponce de Leon returned to colonize the area, but was met with resistance from hostile Indians and killed.

First European Settlement in North America

Spain continued sending Conquistadors - people sent to explore and conquer the Native population

1526 – Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon given permission to conquer and colonize La Florida for Spain; left in July with 600 Spanish settlers

Landed on the Carolina coast in August hoping to find Indians to help them out; when they found none, they sailed to a place in Georgia now called Port Royal.

Ayllon died 10 days later from disease; most of his settlers either died from disease, exposure or Indian attack. Only 150 returned to Hispaniola alive.

Hernando de Soto Explores Georgia

1540 – landed in Tallahassee and made their way into Georgia where they encountered chiefdoms of the Mississippian period.

Food was in short supply – seized food from the Indians; in 4 years, found virtually no silver or gold.

Most of the expedition died from disease, exposure, or Indian attacks.

Changes for the Indians in Georgia

Most Natives had never seen guns, steel swords, or metal armor that came with the Conquistadors; their stone, wood, and bone weapons were no match.

Many were killed in battle or forced into slavery; 1/3 of the population was killed by small pox. Entire villages were abandoned.

So many of the Indians were killed that the Spanish began importing Africans as slaves.

De Soto’s Journey through Georgia

French Claims in the Southeast

1524 – Giovanni de Verrazano – sailed west to go east like Columbus, came ashore @ Carolina, possibly even as far south as Georgia then sailed north to Nova Scotia, Canada

1562 – Jean Ribault – brought 150 Huguenots to an area just north of present day Savannah; built Charles Fort, the first European fort in N. America

1564 – another group of Huguenots landed at the mouth of the St. John’s River in FL; built Ft. Caroline

Spanish Outrage

Spanish were outraged with Huguenots for building on their lands and raiding Spanish ships.

1565 – Pedro Menendez sailed from Spain to drive out the French in FL; captured Ft. Caroline and executed the Huguenot defenders.

Menendez then founded St. Augustine, FL which became the first successful settlement in N. America; important military and political base

Spanish Missions in Georgia

For the purpose of missionary work, Georgia’s coast divided in half

Guale – northern half between the Savannah and Altahama Rivers

Mocama – southern half between the Altamaha and St. Mary’s Rivers

Many friars lost their lives in Indian uprisings – Juanillo uprising

England Comes to North America

1604 – Spain and England signed a treaty allowing England to begin colonizing lands in N. America

Used Cabot’s voyages of 1497 and 1498 as basis for claims in the New World.

1606 – King James I issued a charter to the Virginia Company to create a colony

1607 – James Town on the James River became the first English settlement in N. America

England Comes to N. America cont’d

English had many reasons for wanting to colonize:

Wanted to keep up with other countries for power and glory

Mercantilism – colonies sold raw materials to England to make finished goods; colonies had to buy all finished goods from England

Virginia colony proved that mercantilism could work by growing tobacco and exporting it to England

England Comes to N. America cont’d

Trading companies played a major role in colonizing; upper class British did as well – they believed England was overrun with poor, homeless and unemployed people

Some groups sought religious freedom in the colonies

Puritans spoke out against the Church of England wanted to make reforms.

Separatists spoke out against the Church of England but wanted to form an entirely new church

Types of Colonies

Corporate colony: king gave a land grant to corporations for form colonies; most often were joint-stock companies – companies sold stock to raise money for the colony and gave a portion of the profits back to the investors

Proprietary colony: king granted a charter giving one person or group of people ownership of a colony; the owner of the colony had full rights to government and land distribution

Royal colony: colony operated directly by the English gov’t; none started out this way, but many ended this way

England Creates Carolina

1663 – King Charles II issued a charter for Carolina – eventually broken into North and South Carolina

36 parallel was northern border; 31 parallel was southern border; 2 years later, the southern border was changed to 29 parallel

1670 – Charles Town(Charleston) became the basis for the English trying to control Guale and Mocama

Carolina began trading with Indians along the Savannah River; also began arming Yamasee Indians with guns to capture Indian slaves.

Carolina Colony 1663-1729

A New Colony on the Savannah River

1717 – First proposal to colonize south of the Savannah River by Robert Montgomery – would call it Azilia and produce wine, silk, and other products for England; plans were postponed

1720 – John Barnwell wanted Britain to build a series of forts along the south and west of Carolina’s frontier; construction on the garrison began in 1721, but it was abandoned in 1727 due to sickness and death

James Oglethorpe, known for prison reform, convinced King George II to approve a debtor’s colony that would become Georgia

James Oglethorpe

Elected to Parliament @ age 25

Became a proponent of prison reform in 1720s, particularly because debtors were being thrown in jail for not being able to pay their debts

Asked King George II for a land grant to create the colony of Georgia for debtors to begin again.

Georgia is Created

Charter granted on June 20, 1732

Georgia had three purposes:

Charity – to relieve poverty and unemployment

Economics – participate in mercantilism; grow mulberry trees to produce silk

Defense – serve as a buffer between South Carolina and the Spanish

Religion was a fourth, unstated reason for the charter; did not impose an offi cial religion, but Catholics were not allowed because they might sympathize Spain

Georgia’s boundaries

Savannah river original northern border

Altamaha river original southern border

The Pacific Ocean, on paper, was the western border

Borders protested by the French and Spanish, but they could not challenge British

See picture page 80 in your textbook!

Georgia as a Trustee Colony

King George II granted the charter making it a trustee colony for 21 years; Oglethorpe and 20 other British gentlemen were named Trustees

The trustees were responsible for managing the colony, but there were restrictions on them so they could not profit from their position

The trustees were not able to:

Own land

Hold public offi ce

Be given money for work

Pass laws without the consent of the king

Georgia as a Trustee Colony cont’d

First task of the trustees was to raise money for passage, food, and tools for the colonists; advertised in newspapers, speeches, and pamphlets to raise $

Next, they looked for hardworking people who were down on their luck AND has the skills to make the colony successful

35 families were chosen, none of which had been in prison for their debts; were given food, land, and tools, but had to do ALL THE WORK

Trustees restrictions

No Catholics, blacks, liquor dealers, or lawyers allowed.

Colonists were promised 50 acres and 1 year supply of food; colonists paying their own way got 500 acres and 10 indentured servants

Colonists had to agree to the following:

Each man had to defend the colony

Land could not be sold or $ be borrowed on it

Had to farm land with seeds

Had to grow mulberry trees for silk

Had to obey all trustees rules and regulations

Arrival in Georgia

Left for Georgia on November 17, 1732 on the ship Ann; had to make peace with the Yamacraw Indians before it could anchor

Tomochichi, chief of the Yamacraw, allowed the colonists to settle on Yamacraw Bluff overlooking the Savannah River

Oglethorpe quickly began laying out the city of Savannah; Noble Jones surveyed and helped layout the city. Savannah became the first planned city in America

Life in the New Colony

Each settler had to care for their house, 5 acres @ the edge of town, and 45 farm acres in the country.

The first year, 1 in 4 colonists died from diseases from the drinking water; once the town well was dug, population began to recover.

Colonists were not happy; it was hot is the summer and there were heavy rains.

Life in the New Colony cont’d Particularly upset by 3 of the trustees regulations:

Land ownership and inheritance

Slaves

Rum and liquor

Trustees wanted to prevent a rich, land owning class; if a land owner left the colony, the land went back to the trustees.

Women were not allowed to inherit land; if there were no male heir to protect the land, it went back to the trustees

Slaves and rum were allowed in every other colony but Georgia; colonists claimed it unfair.

Salzburgers come to Georgia

Salzburgers, a group of German protestants, came to Georgia seeking religious freedom from Austria

Oglethorpe orginally gave them 25 miles @ Ebenezer, but the land was poor; eventually moved them to Red Bluff named New Ebenezer

John Martin Boltzius – leader of the Salzburg church; very strict rules

John Adam Treulten – Salzburger who became the first Governor of Georgia

Protecting the Colony

1734- Oglethorpe returned to England with Tomochichi to brief the trustees on the progress of the colony; asked for $ from the government to build forts

150 Highland Scots came to build forts on the southern border of the colony; settled @ Darien

1735 – Oglethorpe returned to Georgia with 257 more colonists to build the 2nd fort @ St. Simon’s Island

Upset the Spanish by building forts @ the St. John’s River

Trade Regulations with Indians

British gov’t also charged Oglethorpe with keeping friendly relationship with the Indians by trading

Also some traders began to trade rum to the Indians which worried Oglethorpe; built Ft. Augusta to better regulate trade

Oglethorpe created 3 regulations on trade:

Set a fair rate for goods

Register and pay a fee

Follow all stated rules and regulations

War with Spain

1736 – Oglethorpe returns to England to plead for soldiers and $ to defend the colony

1737 – Oglethorpe becomes a Colonel and sent 600 soldiers to Georgia

1739 – England declares war with Spain; England only has two victories

Ft. Diego

Ft. Mose – home of the Black Militia

Battle of Bloody Marsh

June 1742 – Spanish brought a large # of soldiers to the coast of St. Simon’s Island; attacked within a mile of Ft. Frederica

Oglethorpe assembled a small army to hide in the woods - Battle of Bloody Marsh – Spanish were forced back again

After battle, Oglethorpe promoted to General and left for England never to return to Georgia; disappointed by how the trustees handled the colony after he left

Colony declines

After Oglethorpe left, many colonists returned to England or went to other colonies.

Export business was bad due to crop failures and discontent over prohibition on slavery

Trustees relaxed their rules on land inheritance and slavery

1750 – allowed colonist to elect delegates to handle local affairs

Georgia becomes a Royal Colony

1752 – trustees turn the colony over to the British gov’t making it a royal colony

17547 – John Reynolds became first Royal Governor

Georgia would now have it’s own legislature with an upper house appointed by the governor

People would elect the lower house:

White males with at least 500 acres eligible

Laws made by Assembly could be vetoed by king or royal gov.

Georgia becomes a Royal Colony cont’d

Reynolds replaced by Henry Ellis after 2 years

1758 – Assembly declared Anglican church the official church; divided Georgia into 8 parishes – Georgia’s first counties

Parishes voted for churchwardens and paid taxes to the church

James Wright replaced Ellis as the 3 rd and final royal governor of Georgia

French and Indian War and Proclamation of 1763 Fighting well to the north of Georgia; Treaty

of Paris 1763 demanded that France and Spain cede large portions of land to Britain

Georgia’s western border moved from Pacific Ocean to Mississippi River

Proclamation of 1763 – King George III ordered creation of Quebec, Grenada, East Florida, and West Florida – reserved all lands west of the Appalachians for Indians

Colony Prospers

After the war, the Creeks ceded 2 million acres to Georgia – quickly began surveying the land for pioneers

Decided to use headright system to distribute land:

Head of family had right to 100 acres

Plus 50 acres per additional family member, servant, and slave

Family paid recording fees

Slavery in Georgia

1738 – Malcontents – group of people who disagreed with trustees slavery policies – petitioned to be allowed to have slaves.

1739 – Highland Scots asked trustees to keep their no slaves policy because they felt it would take away white settlers will to work

1750 – trustees relented and allowed slaves; by 1773 almost ½ of the colonies population were slaves

Slave codes 1770

Children of slaves were to remain slaves

Slaves could not travel outside town or plantation limits without a ticket signed by owner

If a slave struck a white person slave would be severely punished; second offense would be death

Any person making a slave work on Sunday would be fined 10 shillings

Anyone teaching a slave to read or write would be fined 20 pounds

Life in the Colony

Strict social order with plantation owners and merchants at the top and slaves at the bottom

No education system – children were education by their parents; boys would be taught the family business, girls taught to manage a home

Anglican church was the official church, but other religions include Jewish people were allowed; No Catholics.

John and Charles Wesley created the Methodist church; all Georgians paid taxes to the Anglican Church but could worship where they chose