Post on 14-Dec-2015
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