Georgia In The
Trust Period
Chapter 9
Georgia’s Founding
• By the early 1700s, Great Britain had 12 colonies
in North America, all located along the East Coast
between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian
Mountains.
• The oldest, Virginia was 120 years old.
• The youngest was Pennsylvania.
• Royal colonies were colonies under control of the
king.
• James Oglethorpe had the idea to settle below
the Carolinians.
Reasons For Settling Georgia
• No British lived south of the Savannah River for
fear of angering the Spanish living in Florida who
had also claimed some of that land.
• If a new colony were settled south of the
Savannah River then it would act as a buffer
between South Carolina and the Spanish in
Florida.
• It was also thought that GA would provide a
place to grow plants that England could not due
to its southern location. (ex. Mulberry trees
which housed silkworms, grapes and olives.)
• If GA produced the products then Great Britain
would not have to buy silk thread, wine or olive
oil from other countries.
The Charter of 1732
• In 1732 James Oglethorpe received the
Charter of 1732 which named them the
“Trustees for the Establishing of the Colony
of GA in America.”
• Trustees are people who hold responsibility
and act on behalf of others.
• The charter granted the trust the land
between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers
and all the land between their headwaters
westward to the Pacific Ocean.
• The name of the colony was to be Georgia
in honor of King George.
The Charter of 1732
Choosing the Colonists
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The trustees would pay for the passage of some people to come live in the new
colony.
Each male would receive 50 acres of land to farm, along with tools and a year’s
supply of food and other necessities.
The male had to serve in the militia (citizen-soldiers).
Women were not allowed to own or inherit land. If her husband died and she had
no sons the land went back to the trust to be re-granted to another male.
The vision was that GA would be a land of small farms rather than large
plantations.
They began interviewing potential settlers. They chose unemployed and poor
people that they considered deserving.
The trustees wanted to colonize GA with families.
44 of the first 114 colonists were female. Most were wives or daughters of the
male settlers.
They believed women were crucial to the households and stability of the colony.
They also believed that wives and daughters could help produce silk and
contribute to the income of the household.
Savannah, The First
Settlement
• In November 1732, the ship Ann set sail
across the Atlantic Ocean with the chosen
settlers.
• The Carolinians donated farm animals,
food and other provisions.
• Oglethorpe looked for a place to set the
settlers up. He choose a high bluff called
Yamacraw, named for the small band of
Creek Indians who lived nearby.
• The elderly leader of the Yamacraw
people was Tomochichi, who became a
good friend to James Oglethorpe.
• Oglethorpe brought the settlers to the
future Savannah.
Life In Early GA
• The new settlers struggled with the
heat and humidity of GA summers.
• They were afraid of alligators and
rattlesnakes and found mosquitos to
be very pesky.
• Some of the water they used for
drinking made them very sick. Many
of them, including the doctor died in
the very first spring and summer.
Life in Early GA
• It was hard work to build a colony. The men
cleared the land, built tiny homes, and worked
the land to prepare for farming.
• The women planted and tended the family
gardens, milked cows, raised animals, cooked,
cleaned, washed and took care of children.
• Oglethorpe established and oversaw the building
of a courthouse which also served as the church.
• A pillory was established for the punishment of
those who disrupted the harmony of the colony.
Pillory
Changes and Challenges—Section 2
• When Oglethorpe returned from a trip back to
England he brought with him 3 laws that were
approved by the British government.
• One law made the sale and use of rum and other
“spirits” illegal in GA. They could still drink beer,
wine and cider.
• The second law required that anyone trading with
the Indians have a license. The trustees wanted
to ensure that the Indians were treated fairly.
• The third law made slavery illegal in GA.
Defense of Georgia
• James Oglethorpe became very concerned with the colony’s defense.
• He ordered that forts be built at both the northern and southern ends of
the colony. The southern fort was called Frederica and the northern fort
and town became called Augusta.
• Oglethorpe also brought several hundred soldiers with him from England
after a visit in 1738.
• Oglethorpe was appointed to the rank of General.
• He wanted to build GA’s defenses in case there were a conflict with Spain
or the Spanish settlers.
• In 1741 Spain ordered its officials in Cuba and Florida to prepare an
expedition against GA for the following spring.
• The Spanish tried to attack Fort Frederica. The GA troops were able to
defend it.
• The defeat of the Spanish troops became known as the Battle of Bloody
Marsh.
The End of the Trustee Period
• By the late 1740s the trustees were disillusioned. Their
early vision of the colony had failed.
• The cultivation of olives and grapes had not been
successful. Silk culture was a major disappointment.
• The colony was turned over to the British government
in 1752, this made GA a royal colony.
• GA did enjoy some accomplishments: it successfully
defended itself and South Carolina from Spain. Augusta
became an important center of trade with the Indians,
GA had started on the road to growth and prosperity.