Life of the People in Colonial Georgia

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Chapter 7

• Life of the People in Colonial Georgia

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• I. Regional differences
• -major difference between the S and NE the S
  was
• founded on Economics and the NE
• on religion
• A. New England colonies
• 1. New Hampshire, Mass. Bay,
• Rhode Island, and
• Connecticut
• 2. crops for family use, fishing
• industry and sea trade, most
• urbanized region
• B. Middle Atlantic Region
• 1. NY, New Jersey, Delaware,
• and Pennsylvania
• 2. most diverse, crop variety,
• agriculture main economy
• 3. rich iron ore deposits/minerals

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• C. Southern colonies
• 1. Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina,
• South Carolina, and Georgia
• 2. agricultural plantations with large
• cash crops -tobacco, rice, indigo
• 3. few towns and no education
• requirements
• D. life in Georgia
• 1. developed AGRARIAN CULTURE
• 2. communities small and far apart
• 3. life simple, survival and hard work
• the goal
• 4. GA colony more tolerant of different
• religions than the NE
• II. The Ebenezer community
• A. Salzburgers
• 1. Lutheran Protestants from Austria
• 2. religious persecution

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• B. Community
• 1. named Ebenezer
• 2. land swampy and poor soil so move
• to new area in 1736
• 3. religious community led by
• John Martin Boltzius
• C. production
• 1. Georgia in silk production
• 2. first to grow cotton in GA
• III. Africans come to America
• A. first came with Columbus
• B. Africans lived in Spain over 700 years before
  voyage
• 1. brought as slaves by Islamic forces
• 2. late by Europeans through African rulers who
  captured Africans for guns, rum, etc.

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• C. Slaves around the world for thousands of
  years
• D. Spain offers freedom
• 1. With Spains w/draws from GA in 1685 they
• encourage slaves in Carolinas to escape
• 2. offered freedom and land to all who convert
  to
• Catholicism
• IV. Slavery in American colonies
• A. slavery legalized
• 1. 1640 - run away indentured African servant
• sentenced to life enslavement
• 2. 1662 African baby had the status of its
• mother free or slave
• 3. 1705 - slaves as real property and could
• be inherited
• 4. importing slaves increased
• B. need for cheap labor
• 1. indentured servants
• a. Work in exchange for way to colonies
• b. didnt always satisfy master refused to
  do some work

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• 2. African slaves
• a. Triangle Trade
• 1. New England rum to Africa to buy
• captured slaves
• 2. slaves taken to West Indies sold to
• sugarcane planters
• 3. sugar and molasses taken and sold
• to New England distilleries to make more rum
• C. slavery in Georgia
• 1. 1738 trustees allow slavery
• 2. Scottish settlers said slavery would make
• white settlers not want to work hard
• 3. slaves brought in illegally
• a. rented from Carolina owners
• b. sneaked them in
• 4. by 1773 15,000 black slaves and
• 18,000 whites

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• D. Slave codes
• 1. all children remain slave and personal
  property
• 2. must travel w/ a ticket or white person
  whipping punishment
• 3. strike a white punishment, 2nd time death
• 4. slave cant work on Sunday or master fined
• 5. anyone teaching slave to read and write
  fined
• V. Georgia society and culture
• A. originally GA had few social differences
• B. 40 year later social classes had developed
• C. life in Savannah (1773)
• 1. social system
• a. Several distinct groups
• b. like a ladder
• (see page 106)
• c. social events were highlights of
• social life in Savannah
• d. few people read. Those who did read
  Savannahs first paper Georgia Gazette

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• D. life in the backcountry
• 1. real colony growth is here
• 2. Augusta is gateway to this area unofficial
  
• capital of frontier
• 3. few rules, people didnt like gov.
  interfering
• 4. small-scale farmers
• E. education
• 1. system not established
• 2. taught trades by parents
• 3. few schools
• a. clergymen as teachers
• b. religion taught w/ reading writing and math
• 4. most GA children did not attend school,
  farming more important than education
• F. religion
• 1. all accepted except Catholics
• 2. Jewish
• a. Dr. Samuel Nunes-helped with the dysentery
• 3. First African Baptist Church
• -started in Savannah by George Liele, a freed
  slave