The Southern Colonies

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The Southern Colonies
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Southern Colonies Geography

• Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South
  Carolina, and Georgia
• The colonies share a coastal area called
  Tidewater and rolling hills called the Piedmont
  to the west
• Climate is warm and humid, perfect for farming
• Long growing seasons lead to growth of slavery

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Virginia Grows

• By the 1670s, Virginias population has increased
  significantly
• More land is available to grow tobacco due to
  Indian deaths
• Wealthy farmers own most of the fertile land,
  while poor farmers struggle

Slaves Grow and Harvest Tobacco
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Bacons Rebellion

• Poor farmers move inland to find better land
• Fighting broke out between the poor farmers and
  the Native Americans
• The farmers demand that the governor of Virginia
  take action he did nothing due to a profitable
  trade with NA for fur
• Nathaniel Bacon organizes the farmers and attacks
  the NA governor declares them rebels and they
  eventually burn down Jamestown
• Bacon became sick and died his rebellion showed
  that the gov. could not stop people from moving
  west

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Bacons Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon Confronts Virginias Governor
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Religious Toleration in Maryland

• King Charles I grants a charter for a colony that
  acts as a safe haven for Catholics
• Lord Baltimore founds Maryland and establishes
  the Act of Toleration in 1649
• All Christians were welcome and all Christian
  males could vote

Lord Baltimore
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The Carolinas

• In 1663, Charles II granted a charter for
  Carolina to be created
• The north developed slowly and settlers lived on
  small farms with no waterways
• The south developed quickly where slaves worked
  to grow sugar and rice
• These two reasons eventually lead to Carolina
  splitting into two North Carolina and South
  Carolina

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Georgia

• Georgia is founded for two reasons the English
  did not want Spain to spread north and James
  Oglethorpe wanted a colony that was a safe haven
  for debtors
• Originally Georgia banned slavery but by the
  1750s it was legal

James Oglethorpe
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The Tidewater

• The Tidewater regions in the southern colonies
  develop plantations and slavery
• Tobacco becomes a huge cash crop
• Society is split between slaveholders and slaves
  small groups of wealthy and large groups of poor
  farmers

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The Backcountry

• The backcountry was cut off from the coast
• Most people lived on small farms
• People in the backcountry cared less about rank
• Many felt like the colonial government only cared
  about protecting the wealth of large plantation
  owners