SS8H2bc Notes

b. Evaluate the Trustee Period of Georgia’s colonial history, emphasizing the role of the Salzburgers, Highland Scots, malcontents, and the Spanish threat from Florida.

 

-Trustee Period of GA 1733-1752

-Trustees were trusted to manage the colony for the King

 

-Highland Scots (Scots Highlanders)

            -Led by Hugh Mackay

            -built a fort in the area called Darien, along the Altamaha river, to protect Savannah

-The Altamaha was GA’s southern border

 

-Salzburgers

            -from Austria

-The Georgia Salzburgers, a group of German-speaking Protestant colonists, founded the town of Ebenezer in what is now Effingham County.

-Came to GA to escape religious persecution from the Catholic Archbishop Count Leopold von Firmian

-The Count issued an edict (an order) to protestants that said if you did not own land, you had 8 days to get out, if you did own land, you had 3 months to get out

- James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Georgia colony, who assigned them a home about twenty-five miles upriver in a low-lying area on Ebenezer Creek.

 

Malcontents

- many of Georgia's original settlers came with monetary aid from the Trustees

- most of the Malcontents arrived without assistance and thus did not have the same loyalty to the colony's founders

- the Malcontents objected to the Trustees' limits on land ownership and prohibitions on slavery and rum

- Malcontents could afford to purchase slaves and vast tracts of land, they felt the policies of the Trustees prevented them from realizing their economic potential

-Malcontents published the following articles to convince people they were in the right

- A True and Historical Narrative of the Colony of Georgia- Patrick Tailfer

- The Hard Case of the Distressed People of Georgia- 1742 Thomas Stephens

-the Trustees passed a law in 1750 allowing slavery, many credited the change to the actions and writings of the Malcontents; when slavery and unlimited land ownership were allowed, they could claim victory

 

Spanish Threat From Florida

 

-The Battle of Bloody Marsh

            -Oglethorpe + Highland Scots + Native Americans = allies

                        -Oglethorpe had 650 troops, Spain had 2,000

                                    -Spanish though Oglethorpe’s troops outnumbered them!

            -Oglethorpe defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Bloody Marsh

            -Significant battle that changed GA history

            -the defeat of the Spanish at Bloody Marsh showed that the Spanish threat from Florida was not as major as once thought

            -With the Spanish in Florida no longer a threat, people now argued that slavery should be allowed in GA

                        -(Remember: the trustees did not allow slavery for fear of a slave revolt if the Spanish ever attacked from Florida. Now that Spanish threat is not there.)

 

 

c. Explain the development of Georgia as a royal colony with regard to land ownership, slavery, government, and the impact of the royal governors.

 

Changes in GA

 

Land Ownership

 

-Old Rule: No man could own more than 50 acres

-New Rule: mid 1740’s, trustees raised the limit on land to 2,000 acres

-New Rule: women could inherit property left to them in a will

 

Slavery

-Old Rule: No slaves. Slaves would make people lazy and most importantly, slaves might revolt if the Spanish in Florida ever decide to attack GA

 

-New Rule: Slavery became legal on 1 January 1751

            (Remember: the Battle of Bloody Marsh made the Spanish threat in Florida seem insignificant, so the idea of a slave revolt if the Spanish attacked was now very remote)

 

Government

-Under the Royal Colony – the government of GA consisted of 1. The (royal) governor, 2. His council, and 3. The legislature

 

-Governor’s council had 12 men who informed the Governor

            -The council was also the Upper House of Assembly (Part of the legislature)

            -The council also served  on the Court of Errors (Court of Appeals)

-Commons House of Assembly – elected by colonists – the other part of the legislature

            -originally 19 members, later expanded to 25

            (Upper House of Assembly + Commons House of Assembly = legislature)

 

Royal Governors

Royal Georgia refers to the period between the termination of Trustee governance of Georgia and the colony's declaration of independence at the beginning of the American Revolution (1775-83)

1. John Reynolds the first royal governor of Georgia, proved ineffective and was recalled at the end of 1756.

 

2. Henry Ellis the second royal governor,  established a sound foundation for government during his four-year administration.
3. James Wright replaced Ellis in 1760, proved to be an efficient administrator and a popular governor. During his tenure in office Georgia enjoyed a period of remarkable growth.