Georgia was the 13th and last colony founded in 1732 by James Oglethorpe. It was established as a buffer between the Spanish territory of Florida and the other 12 colonies to provide relief for debtors and a place for persecuted Protestants. Early challenges included conflicts with Spanish forces during the War of Jenkins' Ear in the 1730s-40s. The colony eventually transitioned away from its original restrictions and became a slaveholding territory focused on agriculture like indigo, rice and sugar.

1. Georgia: The 13th Colony
By: Jordan Hall and Melissa Gorman
Sunday, February 6, 2011

2. History
Founded: 1732 by James
Oglethorpe; a prison
reformer
Last colony to be settled
Founded 50 years after the
other 12
Oglethorpe traveled to
South Carolina on The
Ann with 116 men and
women
Sunday, February 6, 2011

3. History cont.
Named after England’s
King George II
King George II was
granted a charter and
granted Georgia to James
Edward Oglethorpe
Sunday, February 6, 2011

4. Purpose
Georgia was an
opportunity for the
inmates to begin a new life
Provide a refuge for
persecuted protestants
Military presence to
provide a barrier between
the other colonies and
Spanish Florida
Sunday, February 6, 2011

5. War
The first test of the new colony came in
1739 during the War of Jenkins Ear.
Southern Georgia and Florida were
battlegrounds over the next four years,
most notably the siege of St. Augustine
(1740) and the Battle of Bloody Marsh
(1742).
When peace finally settled on the
colony Oglethorpe was gone, never to
return, and William Stevens was
president.
Sunday, February 6, 2011

6. War cont.
Georgia bordered Spanish
Florida
Spanish and Native
Americans began to attack
Savannah
Failed to capture St.
Augustine, but were
successful in beating back
a Spanish retaliation
Sunday, February 6, 2011

7. Religion
Georgia had always been a "melting
pot," welcoming the persecuted and
prosecuted of Europe including large
groups of Puritans, Lutherans, and
Quakers (Wrightsboro).
The only group not welcome in Georgia
were Catholics, which is not surprising
considering the religious wars that were
fought a century earlier in England.
The diversity of religion brought
Georgia an unexpected strength - an
willingness to accept others regardless of
religion.
Sunday, February 6, 2011

8. Slaves
James Habersham petitioned for
slavery to be allowed and the
request was granted the following
year in 1750
After approval of slaves, slaves
constituted half of the
40,000-50,000 population.
Sunday, February 6, 2011

9. Change to Georgia
The colonists were not happy with the restrictions
placed on the colony.
After 12 years as governor, Oglethorpe returned to
England bearing their demands. They wanted to be
able to have alcohol and slaves, to participate in
their own government, and they demanded land
reform. They were successful.
Alcohol was finally allowed into the colony because
it was thought that the importation of alcohol would
improve trade.
There was strong opposition to slavery, particularly
from the religious immigrants, they were in the
minority and in 1750 Georgia became a slave colony.
Georgia was not prosperous under the trustee
system. In 1749, 16 years into the trustee system, the
colony also exported goods for the first time.
Sunday, February 6, 2011

10. Communication
Mail seldom or
couldn’t reach
inland
settlements
Roads were
Indian Trails
Settlers saw very
little of one
another
Sunday, February 6, 2011

11. Agriculture
Major industry:Indigo,
Rice, wheat, lumber and
sugar
Sunday, February 6, 2011

12. Everyday Life
They settled in what is now
Savannah; only town of
importance
Farming, plantations, independent
farms, trade and skilled labor as
well.
No schools
Wooden village
Lack of land ownership
Sunday, February 6, 2011

13. Bibliography
http://www.scarborough.k12.me.us/wis/teachers/dtewhey/webquest/
colonial/13_original_colonies.htm
http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/history101/gahistory03.html
http://enter.theparsonage.us/new_page_41.htm
http://www.historywiz.org/georgia.htm
http://www.usahistory.info/southern/Georgia.html
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/13georgia.htm
Sunday, February 6, 2011