The English Colonies in the South

In leafy green forests where possums do scamper, Where humidity swells and makes everyone damper, More settlers did come, in wave after wave,To the fine fertile fields that made newcomers rave.

Virginia was the first in the Great British fold-‐-‐ A bit swampy, 'tis true, but, hey, it never gets cold.While just below Penn's Woods a new claim was carved out In the uppermost region that still sits in The South.

Indeed, Maryland too, with seas and soils so rich, Prospered quite quickly, trading tobacco and fish,As oysters and crabs, and all the game you could seek, Were found milling about by the Bay Cheseapeake.

Catholic members came first to live on these shores, With others soon welcomed by its Lord Baltimore. While a step to the south, below Virginee's loop, Two more were next added to this New World troop.

And the twin Carolinas, North and South, it did seem, Were blessed with rich soil at every river and stream. And with weather so warm it gave folks a reason

To super-‐size farms for the l-‐-‐o-‐-‐n-‐-‐g growing season.

Yes, farms in these parts stretched for acres and acres, With a bounty quite bound to elicit new takers,Whose ambitions did soar and who pulled out all stops, To get rich trading pitch and other

cash crops.

While daily life in these deep, most southerly quarters, Took place in Great Houses down by the tidewaters.These estates were quite grand, owners lived just like kings, With a taste for life's fine, and most luxurious, things.

But: in raising tobacco, along with cotton and rice, These planters fell prey to a most dreadful vice.Ancient sins were sown too in these locations:And slavery took root on these giant plantations…

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England's colonies in the southern regions of North America started with Virginia in the 17th Century. Finding fertile land -‐-‐ soil that is good for farming -‐-‐ other colonies were soon started in the area nearby, including North and South Carolina, Maryland, and, later on, Georgia.Many people from Scotland and Ireland, as well as French Protestants known as Huguenots, came to settle in England's southern colonies.

The southern climate is hot and humid. As a result, the South has longer growing seasons when it comes to farming. Large farms, called plantations, were started in the South, mostly using slave labor, in order to produce great amounts of cash crops. Cash crops, such as tobacco, cotton and rice, are those grown in order to sell to other people, rather than crops grown for a farmer and family to eat and use themselves. Other products like pitch, which is an oily substance that was valuable for furniture-‐making and ship-‐building, as well as indigo, which is a color dye used for clothes and fabrics, were produced from plants and trees grown on southern plantations.

The South is filled with streams and rivers that are connected to the ocean tides. These areas, called "tidewaters", generally have very good soil for farming. Southern planters often built Great Houses or mansions, along the tidewaters, to live on and to manage their plantations.

Maryland was an English colony in the South that was established by an English nobleman named Cecilius Calvert in 1632. Known as Lord Baltimore, Calvert was granted a charter by King Charles to establish a new colony. Calvert decided to start a colony that would welcome fellow Catholics who, like the Puritans, were often persecuted in England. Thus, Maryland adopted Acts of Toleration, which were laws that ensured that Protestants and Catholics would be treated equally.

The first settlers in Maryland arrived from England on two ships, named the Ark and the Dove. In 1634, they established its first settlement called St. Mary's after purchasing land from the local Indian tribe.

The Maryland colony was founded around the Chesapeake Bay area on eastern coast of North

Just the facts: Let me know more about the Southern Colonies.

America. At the time, this area was filled with oysters and crabs and other plentiful seafood.Like in Virginia, tobacco was also grown in great abundance in Maryland. Smoking had become a very popular recreation in Europe and tobacco farming made Maryland farmers very wealthy.

1)City in Maryland named after Cecilius Calvert: .

2)What a farmer grows in order to sell for a profit: .

3)Leafy plant that was grown on Southern farms in the English colonies: .

4)Tasty food grown in the deep South, near the many rivers in the region: .

5)Laws that allowed people of different religions to live and be treated equally: .

6)Area around a river or stream that usually has very fertile soil: .

7)Large farm or forest that grows one type of crop in order to sell for a profit: .

8)Dye or color that was very rare in colonial times and very valuable to grow: .

9)Name of the Protestant settlers in America who came from France: .

10)Thick oily liquid that comes from plants and trees and is used in many ways: .

Thought Question: Why were farms in the Southern colonies larger than those in the North?

Worksheet: Colonies in the South

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-- Acts of Toleration -- Indigo

-- Cash Crop -- Tidewater

-- Pitch

-- Plantation

-- Tobacco -- Huguenots

-- Carolina Rice -- Baltimore

Puzzle # 27: What do you know about the Southern Colonies?

=> Unscramble the letters on the right to match the sentence on the left.