THE SOUTHERN COLONIESBy: Kate, Carolyn, Annie, Paige, Grace, and Annika

The Colonies

Virginia:

- Purpose: Gold!

- Date: 1606

- People: John Smith and Pocohontas

Maryland:

- Purpose; Catholics could practice religion freely

- Date: 1634

- People: Sir George Calvert and Lord Baltimore

North Carolina:- Purpose: Tobacco farmers (Money)- Date: 1663/1712- People: English Nobles

South Carolina:- Purpose: Farming, Plantations, Growth of rice and indigo- Date: 1663/1719- People: English Nobles

Georgia:- Purpose: Debtors could make a fresh start- Date: 1732- People: James Oglethorpe

Unique Economy

Warmer weather and longer growing season Tidewater region- Large plantations of tobacco and rice Virginia, Maryland, and some of NC- major tobacco growing

areas SC +Georgia - rice & indigo Profitable on large plantations Earlier settlers along rivers &creeks because land washed by

water = rich farmland Also settled on rivers- easy to move goods to market Women kept household running smoothly Backcountry- hunters and farmers- Rich soil More democratic treat each as equals Smaller fields Self-sufficient provide everything they need make clothes,

farming food ,hunt food etc.

Bacon’s Rebellion

English settlers continued to arrive in Virginia

As more settlers arrived the farther they moved west into Native

land

Conflicts over land led to fighting between Indians and settlers

The English called on governor to act against Natives but he

refused

1676 – Nathaniel Bacon organized angry men and women

They raided Native villages and killed anyone they could get

their hands on even if they were friendly to colonists or not

Then they went to Jamestown and burned the capitol

Slavery

In early years – Africans in English colonies included free people/servants/slaves

First enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619 By 1700 plantations in south relied on slave labor Slaves made up majority of population in SC and

Georgia Slaves cleared land, worked crops, tended livestock In Africa + elsewhere slavery = part of

economic/social system since ancient times Slaves were usually people captured in war They were part of community and treated as servants

not property Traders transported/sold slaves as laborers

The Middle Passage and Resistance

The Middle Passage:

- Africans living on the coast of the Atlantic ocean captured other Africans from farther inland and sold them to Europeans

- Enslaved Africans were loaded onto ships sailing for America

- Below decks- Africans crammed tightly together on shelves

- Chained to each other hand and foot

- Some Africans resisted but few escaped 

African Resistance:

- Mutiny or revolt

- Refusing to eat

- Jumping overboard  Slave trade lasted about 400 years, and probably caused the

deaths of 2 to 3 million Africans. Many died of illnesses that spread due to condition on ship and

some died of mistreatment

 

Slave Rights

Rights: Slavery importance increased greater limits placed on the

rights of slaves Colonists made laws that set rules for slaves behavior,

denied slaves basic rights “Slave codes” treated enslaved Africans not as human

beings but as property English colonists didn’t question the justice of slavery English belief: black Africans inferior to white Europeans Racism- the belief that one race is superior to another some colonists thought they were helping slaves by

introducing them to Christianity 

Speaking Out Against Slavery: a handful of colonists were against slavery 1688- Quakers in Germantown, Pennsylvania were first

group of colonists to call for an end of slavery

Religious Tolerance

In Maryland - to make sure it kept growing Lord

Baltimore welcomed Protestants and Catholics to

Maryland

Later he feared Protestants might try to deprive

Catholics their right to worship freely

1649: The Act of Toleration was passed

The law provided religious freedom to all Christians

This freedom – not for Jews

Roots to Self - Government

Maryland:

- Governor

- Council of Advisors

- Let colonists elect assembly

Virginia:

- Mayflower Compact

- All 41 adult male passengers signed

- Pledged themselves to unite as a government and to make and abide by laws that insured the general Good of the Colony

Georgia:

- They could imprison debtors (under English law)

- Farms could be no bigger than 500 acres large

- Slavery forbidden

- Later the rules changed and more people came to live there

THANKS FOR WATCHING!