Colonial America

:For colonies not among the 13 colonies see European colonization of the Americas or British colonization of the Americas.

The South

For details on each specific colony, see Province of Georgia, Province of Maryland, Province of North Carolina, Province of South Carolina, and Virginia Colony.

Related Topics:
Province of Georgia - Province of Maryland - Province of North Carolina - Province of South Carolina - Virginia Colony

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Southern Colonies are Georgia, the two Carolinas and Virginia, with the sometime inclusion of Maryland (always a borderland), which is sometimes grouped with the Middle Colonies.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Carolinas

The first attempted settlement of the South by England was the Province of Carolina. A group of English Lords Proprietors, hoping that a new colony in the south would become profitable like that of Jamestown, obtained a royal charter to the Carolinas in 1663, but not settled until 1670. Their venture was initially a failure for the simple reason that there was no incentive for emigration to the south. However, eventually the lords combined their remaining capital and financed a settlement mission to the area led by John West. The expedition located fertile and defensible ground at what was to become Charleston (originally Charles Town for Charles II of England), thus beginning the British colonization of the southern mainland. The original settlers in South Carolina established a lucrative trade in provisions, deerskins and Indian captives with the Caribbean islands. The cultivation of rice was introduced during the 1690s. North Carolina remained a frontier backwater through the early colonial period.

Related Topics:
England - Province of Carolina - Lords Proprietors - Jamestown - 1663 - 1670 - John West - Charleston - Charles II of England - Rice - 1690s

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At first, South Carolinas was politically divided. Its ethnic makeup included the original settlers, a group of rich, slave-owning British settlers from the island of Barbados, and a French-speaking community. Nearly continuous frontier warfare during the era of King William's War and Queen Anne's War drove economic and political wedges between merchants and planters. The disaster of the Yamasee War in 1715 set off a decade of political turmoil. By 1729, the proprietary government had collapsed, and the Proprietors sold both colonies back to the crown.

Related Topics:
Slave - British - Barbados - French - King William's War - Queen Anne's War - Yamasee War - 1715 - 1729

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Georgia

James Oglethorpe is often viewed as the founder of Georgia Colony. An 18th century British Member of Parliament, he laid the groundwork for the colonization of the state. At that time, tension between Spain and England was high, and there was a fear among the English that Spanish Florida was threatening the British Carolinas. Georgia was a key contested area, lying in between the two colonies. It was standard practice at the time to imprison debtors, but Oglethorpe decided to send them to a colony instead. This would both rid England of its undesirable elements and provide her with a base from which to attack Florida. The first colonists arrived in 1733.

Related Topics:
James Oglethorpe - Georgia Colony - 18th century - Member of Parliament - Spain - England - Spanish Florida - Carolinas - 1733

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Georgia was established on strict moralistic principles. Slavery was forbidden, as was alcohol and other forms of supposed immorality. However, the reality of the colony was far from ideal. The colonists were unhappy about the puritanical lifestyle, and complained that their colony could not compete economically with the Carolina rice plantations. Georgia initially failed to prosper, but once the restrictions were lifted it became as prosperous as the Carolinas.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~