The Province of Georgia was one of the Southern colonies in British North America. It was the last of the colonies established by Great Britain in what later became the United States. In the original grant, a narrow strip of the province extended to the Pacific Ocean.
The colony's corporate charter was granted to James Oglethorpe on April 21, 1732, by George II, for whom the colony was named. Oglethorpe made very strict laws that many colonists disagreed with. Oglethorpe envisioned the province as a location for the resettlement of English debtors and "the worthy poor", although no debtors or convicts were part of the organized settlement of Georgia. Another motivation for the founding of the colony was as a "buffer state"(border), or "garrison province" that would defend the southern part of the British colonies from Spanish Florida. Oglethorpe imagined a province populated by "sturdy farmers" that could guard the border; because of this, the colony's charter prohibited slavery. In 1802, Georgia handed over to Congress parts of their western territories. These became the Mississippi Territory and later (with other adjoining lands) the states of Alabama and Mississippi.
History[]
Trustee Period[]
Established by patent in 1732, the first settlement began with the founding of Savannah on 12 February 1733 at Yamacraw Bluff. The Treaty of Savannah was negotiated between Britain and the Muscogee Confederacy which recognised British territorial gains in the stretch of land between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers up to their headwaters, though Georgia itself would recognise the theoretical claim to an exclusive economic zone within its latitudes stretching to the Pacific Ocean. This land was formerly the Muscogee seasonal hunting territory, with Savannah itself to be built over the Yamacraw settlement which was to be displaced per treaty negotiations. While nominally Georgia existed to be a buffer state between the more prosperous South Carolina and La Florida, Governor James Oglethorpe had ambitions of the colony being a society founded on abolitionist principles and to be settled by the inmates of debtors' prisons. The founding government in this period was not an elected General Assembly or House of Commons as in the other British America provinces, but instead a board of political allies of Oglethorpe dubbed the Georgia Trustees.
The Muscogee established contact with Britain during the Province of Carolina's expansion in the late 17th century; while nominally pro-British they would side against them in the Yamasee War which resulted in their more northern towns being deported south of the Savannah River. When interests grew in exploiting South Carolina's border with La Florida, Britain established the new Province of Georgia. To maintain its protection, the 1733 Treaty of Savannah was negotiated with the Muscogee which recognised British territorial gains between the Savannah and Altamaha river; however it has been disputed about how far upriver the Muscogee believed this applied to. This was continued with the 1739 Treaty of Coweta, which formed a mutual defensive alliance against Spain, which otherwise bolstered the Muscogee deer-hunting industry.
Governor Oglethorpe would resign provisional governorship in 1743 when George II appointed William Stephens to the position. During his governorship, increasing migration from West Indies planters made them a strong political block. Having already pushed for the abolition of a law limiting property ownership to no more than 500 acres (2.0 km2), in 1749 slavery was legalised as an institution. Following Stephens were the short-lived governorships of Henry Parker in 1751 and Patrick Graham in 1752. At the time of Graham's appointment Parliament had become increasingly sceptical about the viability of Georgia, believing the Trustees were inadequate in good governing.
Royal period[]
In 1754 Admiral John Reynolds was made the new Governor, and oversaw sweeping reforms intent on making Georgia profitable and self-sufficient. These efforts were limited however due to the emerging Seven Years' War, and Reynolds' own disliking of the civil administration put him at odds with his council and the elected representatives. Maintaining an alliance with the Muscogee was a priority for Reynolds in light of the province's limited military capabilities, and the 1757 Treaty of Savannah further secured British claims to the islands of Sapelo, Ossabaw and St. Catherines. Having already shut down the House of Commons in protest of tensions, Reynolds resigned in 1758 and was replaced with Henry Ellis, who's administration divided Georgia into eight parishes as local government, the previous system being direct town-governance. Ellis would remain for only two years before leaving for New York, and was replaced by James Wright.
Wright's governorship began in the latter half of the Seven Years' War, with Britain closing in on conquering New France. At the war's end, Georgia had claimed new lands on its southern border with La Florida (soon to become the Province of East Florida); these lands around the Altamaha River were quickly acquired by South Carolina land speculators, earning provincial attention by April.[1] Following the Royal Proclamation in October 1763, British law prohibited settlements within the Blue Ridge Mountains or further west, with that territory now designated as Indian Reserve. With France and Spain no longer a threat, Britain was able to negotiate for more land gains in the Muscogee lands between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Savannah. While the American Revolution was beginning to gain traction in New England, Georgia was too far south and too small to be influenced it until much later. It would maintain its toleration of the Stamp Act, and while the Sons of Liberty operated in Georgia as it had in other provinces its influence was ineffective in all parishes. In 1765 Georgia went through further reform in its local governments, and was expanded to twelve parishes.
Revolution[]
In 1773 the Muscogee welcomed another purchase of land further up the Ogeechee River in the frontiers, dubbed the 'Back Country'. This sale was controversial due to the poor quality of gunpowder Britain bartered with for the land. The Coweta, a Lower Creek people, maintained that the territory was still their own and launched a series of raids over the course of the Winter. These included the murder of the White family on 25 December, the slayings of four white men and two black slaves in January, and the capture and scalping of Lieutenant Grant when his Militia company was ambushed. As Britain was opposed to new frontier wars in British America, Georgia's solution was instead to alleviate tensions. Initially Wright required a 6s/acre fee for new land grants as a means of keeping isolationist frontier farmers from exploiting the region, who he saw as the group most likely to provoke hostilities; this failed to solve the problem however, with the farmers choosing to live as squatters regardless. As an alternative, it was decided that Georgia, South Carolina and the Floridas boycott trade with the Muscogee. This was an unpopular decision by Wright, however, as Georgia had long since become a transportation hub for Muscogee deer hide.[2]
In March 1774, another high-profile killing took place, with Mad Turkey being killed by Thomas Fee. Fearing a rise in anti-Indian violence would lead to a war, Wright issued a £100 bounty for his capture, raised to £200 by South Carolina when it was determined he had fled within their border. This act impressed the Muscogee leadership, and Emistesego brokered negotiations between the Upper and Lower Creeks to punish the Coweta killers. However, these peace negotiations were unpopular with frontiersmen, who felt the government were cowing too easily to Indian threats; this feeling was shared in South Carolina, where a mob was able to break Fee out of jail.[2]
In October a new treaty was signed that would assure the Muscogee that no settlement would be permitted on the Oconee-Ogeechee strip, with the Georgia Militia being responsible for policing the border to prevent trespass; in exchange the boycott would end and the Muscogee economy return to normal. The treaty further damaged trust in the government, with frontiersmen seeing it as a surrender.[2]
Bibliography[]
- Candler, Allen D. (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume I (1904).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume II (1904)
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume III: Contributions and Names of Contributors (1905).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume IV: Stephens' Journal 1737-1740 (1906).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume V ()
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume VI: Proceedings of the President and Assistants from October 12, 1741, to October 30, 1754 (1906).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume VII ()
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume VIII ()
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume IX: Proceedings and Minutes of the Governor and Council from January 4, 1763 to December 2, 1766 (1907).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume X: Proceedings and Minutes of the Governor and Council from January 6, 1767 to December 5, 1769 (1907)
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XI: Proceedings and Minutes of the Governor and Council from April 3, 1770 to July 13, 1771 (1907).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XII: Proceedings and Minutes of the Governor and Council, from August 6, 1771 to February 13, 1782 (1907).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XIII ()
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XIV: Journal of the Commons House of Assembly, January 17, 1763, to December 24, 1768, Inclusive (1907)
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XV: Journal of the Commons House of Assembly, October 30, 1769, to June 16, 1782, Inclusive (1907).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XVI: Journal of the Upper House of Assembly, January 7, 1765, to December 16, 1762, Inclusive (1907).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XVII: Journal of the Upper House of Assembly, January 17, 1763, to March 12, 1774, Inclusive (1908).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XVIII ()
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XIX Part I: Statutes, Colonial and Revolutionary 1768 to 1773 (1911).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XIX Part II: Statutes, Colonial and Revolutionary 1774 to 1805 (1911).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XX ()
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XXI ()
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XXII: Proceedings and Minutes of the Governor and Council from August 6, 1771, to February 13, 1782 (1907).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XXII Part II: Original Papers, Correspondence, Trustees, General Oglethorpe and Others, 1737-1740 (1913).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XXIII: Original Papers, Correspondence, Trustees, General Oglethorpe and Others 1741-1742 (1914).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XXIV: Original Papers, Correspondence, Trustees, General Oglethorpe and Others 1742-1745 (1915).
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XXV: Original Papers, Correspondence, Trustees, General Oglethorpe and Others 1745-1750 (1915)
- Candler (ed.), The Colonial Records of the State of Georgia Volume XXVI: Original Papers, Trustees, President and Assistants, and Others 1750-1752 (1916).
Sources[]
- ↑ Extract of a letter from Charlestown, South-Carolina, April 22.. Caledonian Mercury (Saturday 25 June 1763). Retrieved on 2024-02-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Kelsey Griffin. Murder and Mayhem: How the Creek Murders Affected British Policy on Indian Affairs in Georgia during the American Revolution. core.ac.uk. Retrieved on 2023-12-04.
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