The Founding of
Georgia
The 13th and colony furthest south
THOUGHT QUESTION
 WHO
SHOULD HELP THOSE WHO
CANNOT HELP THEMSELVES?

DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF THE
PERSON CANNOT OR WILL NOT HELP
THEMSELVES?
PRISON REFORM
Unemployment
severe in England
people owed money - debts
Debtors put in prison
horrible prison conditions


James Oglethorpe
Founder of Georgia
 Elected to Parliament at
25
 Wealthy philanthropist
 Solve the problems of
debtors in prison
 Got permission from King
George II to make a
colony in America for
debtors to start a new life.
Oglethorpe Reacts
James

Oglethorpe wanted to help because
JO’s friend, Robert Castell, died of
smallpox in prison
King George II & Charter

Georgia Created
 By a charter- written
permission from the
King to settle land





Oglethorpe and John
Percival are given a
charter to create Georgia
named after King George
II
Colony: a settlement in a
new land but still has ties
to the home country.
Charter signed June 20,
1732
Charter set up
boundaries &
Limited power of officials
Charter continued
 Set
up government
 Listed the rights of settlers
Georgia’s three purposes
– Get rid of poverty
and unemployment
Charity
REASON # 2
– Increase
Britain's trade and wealth
 Plant Mulberry trees to
make silk to send back to
England to make fancy
clothes
Economics
REASON # 3
– Buffer/protect
South Carolina from
attack by Spanish in
Florida.
Defense
Unofficial Purpose
– Home for
Protestants being persecuted
in England
Religion

Catholics not allowed- WHY?
Geography

Georgia’s Boundaries






Georgia is in between
the Altamaha and
Savannah River.
Continues to the west
coast (California).
Boundaries:
North:Savannah R
South: Altamaha R
E: Atlantic Ocean
W: Pacific Ocean
Charter
Georgia as a
Trustee
Colony
Oglethorpe
and 20 other
British
gentlemen
run the
colony for 21
years (21 for
21)
Charter
RULES
FOR THE
TRUSTEES
 Charter
of
1732 made
rules for
trustees
 1. not paid
 2. could not
own land
 3. could not
hold public
office

HOW DID
 BAN ON SLAVERY
OGLETHORPE PLAN  BANNED
ON KEEPING
LIQUOR/RUM
GEORGIA A MODEL  LAWYERS NOT
SOCIETY?
ALLOWED
 LIMITED WHO
COULD OWN LAND
Exit/Review Questions





1. Why did James Oglethorpe want to create
Georgia?
2. What are the three reasons and the one
unofficial reason for the creation of Georgia?
3. What is a buffer?
4. What religious group could you not be apart
of to live in Georgia?
5. How far did the original western border of
Georgia stretch to?
WHO ACTUALLY CAME TO
THE COLONY OF GEORGIA?
 Who
would
settle in
Georgia?
 35
families
selected
 No debtors
selected
 Farmers,
carpenters, tailors,
bakers, merchants
and trade people
 Families received
free land,
weapons, tools and
had to live under
trustee rules
Colonist’s Rules:
 1.
restriction on land and inheritance (land
belonged only to men)
 2. No slavery
 3. No rum and hard liquors
 4. Must defend the colony against all
enemies.
 5. Obey all rules and regulations the
Trustees set up.
When Colonists came to Georgia
 The
First Colonists
Sail to Georgia on
Nov 1732,
Oglethorpe and
114 settlers sail
on the ship the
Ann (almost
spelled Anne)
 February
12,1733
Colonists arrive
at Yamacraw
Bluff- and met
the Yamacraw
Indians who
lived there
MARY MUSGROVE
1
Of most important people in
Ga. History- served as
translator for Chief Tomochichi
& Oglethorpe
Georgia colony built near John
& Mary Musgrove’s trading
post

Tomochichi

Georgia Day
Chief
of the
Yamacraw
Indians
Welcomed
Oglethorpe
and English
Allowed
them to build
town WHY?
Why did Chief Tomochichi allow
Oglethorpe to settle on
Yamacraw Bluff?
READ & PUT INTO YOUR OWN
WORDS: The Yamacraw Indians had
become dependent on English goods
and they had to travel to the South
Carolina colony to get them. If a new
English colony was built, it would be
closer for the Yamacraws to trade.
Exit Questions
 1.
What is a trustee?
 2. What kinds of people came to Georgia?
 3. Did any debtors sent to the colonies?
 4. Why did Tomochichi allow the English
to settle?
 5. What role did Mary Mugrove play in
Georgia’s settlement?
Georgia’s First Settlement

Georgia’s First
settlement

Settlement named
Savannah after the
river.
 Laid out in a series of
squares
 First planned city in
America

Growing Pains

Colonists complain
about trustee
regulations
Disease and Hardship
 Heat
and disease hurt the colonists
 Caught dysentery from the
Savannah River
 The only Doctor died two months
after the colony started (April of
1733)
 first year, 25% of the colonists
died from the hardships
 Recovery
of the Colony
dig a well, stopping the dysentery
 More colonists arrive to replace
those that died
• Very diverse: Germans, Italians,
Swiss, and Jewish settlers By the
end of the first year, over 50
houses and public buildings had
been built

Jimmy Does it Again
 James
Oglethorpe was an
admired member of the colony
 Lived in a tent until all other
colonists were provided houses
 Visited the sick colonists
 Worked hard in the fields with
the other people
Oglethorpe in the Middle
 James
O was in a bind
 When he enforced the rules,
colonists complained
 When he didn’t, the trustees
complained
 Had to play a balance game
between the two
Oglethorpe in the Middle
 Colonists
did not like that they
could not own lots of land or that
they could only pass the land to a
male heir when they died.
 The inheritance rules and the ban
on slavery were eventually
repealed: Colonists rejoiced

Building Forts

Need a buffer from
France and Spain
 Build forts for
protection: Ft.
Frederica on St.
Simons Island
 Spanish upset that
English are in
Georgia, may attack
 1739
 War
with Spain
Britain
declared war on
Spain
 Spring of 1740
Oglethorpe leads
force to invade
Florida





Spanish were turned
back
Oglethorpe promoted
to general
1743 Oglethorpe
returned to England
Got married
Worked for
Parliament

Colony Declines

People begin to leave
Georgia and go back
to England or other
colonies
 1750 slavery allowed
 1752 British
government takes
over colony
Exit Questions
 1.
What were the three rules the trustees
had for the colonists?
 2. Why did the trustees have such strict
rules?
 3. What river was the was the first
settlement of Georgia named after?
 4. What was allowed in 1750 that made
people want to stay in Georgia?

Georgia Becomes a
Royal Colony

1752 GA becomes a
royal colony
 1754 Captain John
Reynolds becomes
Royal Governor:
king’s representative
and CEO of colony

Colony Prospers

Headright system
 Each family given 100
acres
 Extra 50 acres per
family member,
indentured servant or
slave.
 Pay for surveying and
recording