Colonial Georgia

1. Colonial Georgia Please write these in your notebook/on notebook paper.

2. I. Pre-Revolutionary Georgia • Georgia began with the idea of a model society with few social differences. • Trustees saw to that by giving everyone the same amount of land and making sure those who came to the colony had skills and were willing to work. • That model society didn’t last but by 1773, Georgia had 33,000 people, about ½ of whom were slaves. • Georgia had two distinct areas – the “urban” life around Savannah and the frontier life in the backcountry.

3. II. Life in Savannah • 1773 – Savannah was a busy seaport for the British Empire. • Many colonists had indentured servants or hired laborers. • Savannah had many specialized tradesmen – shoemakers, tailors, cabinetmakers, gunsmiths, blacksmiths, mechanics, butchers, bakers ( and maybe a few candlestick makers!) • There were also many professionals in the city – doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and teachers

4. There was a distinct social ladder (class structure) in colonial Savannah – as through most of the South. • Plantation owners • Professionals • Merchants/Businessmen • Small farmers/Artisans • Laborers • Indentured Servants • Slaves • Privileged groups took part in social activities – parties, weddings, the King’s birthday observance • Other classes had little free time – mostly worked/waited on the privileged. Privileged Non-privileged

5. III. Life in the backcountry • Georgia’s frontier = backcountry • Augusta (1763) = gateway to Georgia’s frontier • Started as a station used by Indian traders on their way into Creek/Cherokee territory • Backcountry life was rowdy/rugged • Settlers had to be self-reliant and rely on their own skills • Arrived to backcountry using trading paths and Indian trails with few belongings to start small farms • Cut down trees to build cabins • Women and children had to be tough also

6. IV. Georgia Religion • Anglican Church (Church of England) was the official church of the colony. • As the official state church, every parish (county) had a vestry that served as its governing body. • Bartholomew Zouberhulher served Savannah as its colonial minister from 1745 until he died in 1766. He was dedicated to his congregation and got the first church building built for the Anglicans. He also wanted a minister sent to the colony to convert slaves. • Lutherans (German Protestants) were in Ebenezer, Bethany, Goshen, and Zion

7. Puritans arrived in 1752 from South Carolina. They built two churches in Midway and Sunbury. • Puritans made their own decisions by individual congregation. • Presbyterians were located in Darien. • One of their pastors, John Zubly, built a church called the Independent Meeting House. It still exists in Savannah as the Independent Presbyterian Church. • Other denominations in the colony included Baptists, who had their first congregation in Appling County in 1774.