Georgia and the American Experience

Chapter 4: 1477-1752 Settlement of the Thirteenth Colony Study Presentation Georgia and the American Experience

Section 1: An Age of Exploration Section 2: English Settlement in the New World Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia Section 4: Building a New Home Georgia and the American Experience

Section 1: An Age of Exploration ESSENTIAL QUESTION What were the effects of the interactions of Europeans and Native Americans?

Section 1: An Age of Exploration What words do I need to know? middleman monarch colony

Section 1: An Age of Exploration What people do I need to know? Christopher Columbus Hernando De Soto

Section 1: An Age of Exploration What places do I need to know? St. Augustine Guale

Spain and the Age of Exploration Columbus discovered San Salvador Island (part of today’s Bahamas) in 1492. Columbus later explored the coasts of Central and South America and other Caribbean islands. Amerigo Vespucci sailed along the South American coast in 1499; a mapmaker named the new land “America.”

Hernando De Soto Searches Georgia for Gold In 1540, Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto, with hundreds of men, marched north from Tampa, Florida into southwest Georgia (near today’s Albany). De Soto’s weapons, plated armor, and horses overwhelmed the Native Americans; thousands of American Indians in Georgia died, many from disease brought by the Spaniards. The Spaniards marched across Georgia into South Carolina, but never found the gold they sought.

Spain’s Early Missions in Georgia In 1566, Spain established missions on Georgia’s Cumberland Island and St. Catherine’s Island, called Santa Catalina. During the same century, posts were established at Sapelo and St. Simon’s Island. The Spanish missionaries called the region Guale (pronounced “Wallie”) after the Guale Indians. Click to return to the Table of Contents

Section 2: English Settlement of the New World ESSENTIAL QUESTION What caused a rivalry between England and Spain in the New World?

Section 2: English Settlement of the New World What words do I need to know? mercantilism indentured servant slave garrison

Section 2: English Settlement of the New World What places do I need to know? Jamestown, Virginia Fort King George

English Settlements in the New World The English established colonies on North America’s Atlantic coast throughout the 1600s. The goals of the colonists varied, from religious mission, gaining wealth to bettering their lives. Great Britain wanted raw materials from the New World’s colonies, which it would manufacture into finished goods and sell to other countries. This was mercantilism. By 1686, as the English colonies reached as far south as South Carolina, the Spanish retreated from Guale to St. Augustine, Florida. Great Britain wanted a “buffer” colony to protect the English colonists from Spanish Florida.

The English Influence in the Georgia Colony The French began colonizing the Gulf coast and parts of Alabama. England began worrying about the French and Spanish threats to its colonial claims. In 1721, the English established Fort King George at the mouth of the Altamaha River, near today’s Darien. The fort was a “warning point” for invaders from Spanish Florida. The fort was abandoned after six years. Although Great Britain claimed Georgia in 1663, it didn’t begin making plans to settle the territory until 1717. Click to return to the Table of Contents

Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia ESSENTIAL QUESTION Why was the Georgia colony founded?

Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia What words do I need to know? trustee charter regulations

Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia What people do I need to know? James Edward Oglethorpe Robert Castell Dr. Thomas Bray King George II Chief Tomochichi

Section 3: The Colonization of Georgia What places do I need to know? Yamacraw Bluff Savannah

Georgia Becomes a Colony James Edward Oglethorpe and 20 other influential men in Great Britain made a plan to create a colony for the working poor. They envisioned a colony for people who faced jail time for bad debts. In 1732, King George II created a charter allowing 21 Trustees, including Oglethorpe, to create a Georgia colony and oversee it for 21 years. It included the land between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers and extended west to the Pacific Ocean. Oglethorpe promised that silk, dyes, wine, spices, and semi-tropical fruit would be sent from Georgia back to England.

The First Georgia Colonists Few debtors, former prisoners, or working poor ever made it to Georgia during its early settlement. Georgia’s first settlers were given land, tools, and food. They promised to defend the colony from invaders and to grow trees that would attract silk worms. Between 114 and 125 settlers sailed form England on the ship Ann in 1732. Oglethorpe befriended Tomochichi, chief of the Yamacraw Indians. Tomochichi led the settlers to Yamacraw Bluff overlooking the Savannah River. This became the first settlement of the new Georgia colony.

Savannah: Georgia’s Planned City Oglethorpe, surveyor Noble Jones, and Colonel William Bell designed the city of Savannah and built along the Savannah River to facilitate shipping. The streets formed several squares that were divided into blocks (called “tythings”) and wards. The center of each square was for social, political, and religious gatherings. All but three of Oglethorpe's original squares exist in Savannah today. Today, nearly 150,000 people live in Savannah. Click to return to the Table of Contents

Section 4: Building a New Home ESSENTIAL QUESTION In what ways did Georgia expand and succeed as a colony?

Section 4: Building a New Home What words do I need to know? artisan militia

Section 4: Building a New Home What people do I need to know? Dr. Samuel Nunis John Martin Bolzius John & Charles Wesley William Stephens

Section 4: Building a New Home What places do I need to know? Ebenezer New Ebenezer Frederica

New Colonists Arrive in Georgia Catholics were not allowed to settle in Georgia under the charter signed by King George II. Forty original settlers died in the first year. In 1733, 42 Jews were allowed to settle in Georgia, including a much-needed doctor. In 1733, a group of German protestants from Salzburg arrived, and settled a town called Ebenezer, about 25 miles from Savannah. Three years later they moved to Red Bluff and settled New Ebenezer. Oglethorpe and Chief Tomochichi returned from a trip to England in 1736 with 300 more settlers, including German protestants from Salzburg and Saxony. Religious leaders John and Charles Wesley also arrived in Georgia.

Georgia’s Colonists Become Discontent Regulations enforced by Oglethorpe did not allow rum trade, buying large tracts of land, or use of slave labor. South Carolina used slave labor to successfully grow rice, tobacco, and cotton on large plantations. Farmers in Georgia wanted the same “success” that South Carolina farmers had. Many Georgians moved to places in the colony where they basically could live as they wished. By 1742, Georgians were allowed to buy and sell rum. Slavery was introduced in 1750. The colony named for King George II was changing.

The War Against Spain The War of Jenkin’s Ear broke out between Great Britain and Spain in 1739. Oglethorpe organized an army of about 2,000 men with plans to capture Spanish forts in Florida. Spain responded and forced the Georgians, South Carolinians, and their Indian allies to retreat to St. Simon’s Island. The Battle of Bloody Marsh in 1742 caused the Spanish to flee Georgia, marking the end to Spanish threats. Georgia’s southern border was protected. Oglethorpe left the Georgia colony for England in 1743 and never returned.

The Post-Oglethorpe Era Begins Three different men served as president of the Georgia colony from the time Oglethorpe left the colony until 1754: William Stephens, Henry Parker, and Patrick Graham. In 1752, one year before the initial 21-year charter was to expire, the trustees returned Georgia to the authority of King Georgia II. In its first 20 years as a colony, Georgia’s population grew to 5,500 people, of which one-third were slaves. Protestants from Europe found safe haven in Georgia. Treaties with Native Americans and victory over the Spanish settlers in Florida provided security to the Georgia colonists.

Early Georgia ColonyAccomplishments The Bethesda Orphans Home was established in Ebenezer. The orphanage later became Bethesda House School, where many of Georgia’s early leaders were educated. The Methodist Church was founded by John and Charles Wesley. The first Sunday School in America is established by the Wesley brothers. A successful court system was established and maintained. Women were able to inherit property. Click to return to the Table of Contents

Georgia and the American Experience