The Southern Colonies

1. The Southern Colonies Chapter 4, Section 3

2. For four year Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed the 244 miles boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland • They laid stone markers between the two colonies creating the Mason Dixon Line • Divided the middle Colonies from the Southern Colonies

3. Lord Baltimore’s Maryland • Sir George Calvert planned to build a colony in Maryland where Catholics could practice their religion freely • When Calvert died, his son Cecil, Lord Baltimore finished the project

4. Settling the Colony • 200 colonists found land that was rich and beautiful • Chesapeake Bay was full of fish oyster and crabs • Hoped to grow tobacco for profit like Virginia as already doing

5. Women set up plantations • Margaret and Mary Brent arrived in Maryland with nine servants and set up two plantations

6. Religious toleration • To ensure growth Lord Baltimore welcomed Protestants as well as Catholics • Act of Toleration: provide religious freedom for all Christians • This freedom did not extend to Jews

7. The Virginia Frontier • Many settlers had gone to Virginia, lured by the promise of profit from tobacco • Wealthy planters took the best land by the coast

8. Conflict over land led to fighting between settlers and Indians • After several bloody clashes, settlers called on the governor to take action • Governor refused • Unwilling because he profited from his own fur trade with the Indians • Settlers were furious

9. Bacon’s Rebellion • Nathan bacon organized men and women to raid Native American villages • Then led followers to Jamestown and burned the capital • Bacon died suddenly and the revolt fell apart • Governor hanged 23 of bacon’s followers

10. The Carolinas; The settlers • To the north settlers were poor tobacco farmers who had drifted south of Virginia • Farther south eight English nobles set up a larger colony • Received a land grant from King Charles II • Largest settlement was Charles Town later shortened to Charleston

11. Carolina rice • Few planters discovered that rice grew well in the lowlands along the coast • Carolina rice became a valuable crop traded around the world • Planters need large numbers of workers to grow rice • Tried to enslave local Indians • Many died of disease or took off into the forest • Planters then turned to African slaves

12. Carolina rice • Northern area of the Carolinas had fewer slaves • The difference led to the division of the colony into North and South Carolina

13. Georgia: A Haven for Debtors • The last of England’s 13 colonies was carved out of the southern part of South Carolina • James Oglethorpe founded Georgia • Wanted Georgia to a place where people jailed for debt in England could make a new start

14. Early years • Oglethorpe and 120 colonists built the colony’s first settlement in Savannah • Set strict rules • Farms no bigger than 50 acres • Slaves were forbidden • Colony grew slowly • Oglethorpe changes rules allowing large plantations and slaves • Colony grew more quickly

15. Spain and Indian neighbors • Spain and England both claimed land between South Carolina and Florida • Spain aided by Creek Indians tried to force the English out • Mary Musgrove, daughter of a Creek mother and an English father, spoke both Creek and English • Helped to keep peace between the creeks and settlers of Georgia

16. Plantation Life • Enjoyed warmers weather and a longer growing season than the colonies to the north • Virginia, Maryland, and parts of North Carolina grew tobacco • South Carolina and Georgia grew rice

17. Plantation Life • Colonist found that it was most profitable to raise tobacco and rice on large plantations • 20 to 100 slaves did most if the work

18. Location • Tidewater: area of low land among rivers and creek washed by ocean tides offered rich farmland for plantations

19. Planters set the style • Only a small percentage of white southerners owned plantations • Life centered around the Great House, where the planter and his family lived

20. The Backcountry • At the base of the Appalachian Mountains thick forests covered the land • Settlers took the Great Wagon Road • Backcountry was more democratic • Treated one another as equals • Men worked in tobacco or corn field • Women cooked meals and made simple clothing • Life was not easy • Families helped one another

21. Growth of Slavery • By 1700 plantations on the Southern Colonies relied ion slave labor • Colonist passed slave codes: set out rules for slaves behaviors and denied slaves basic rights • Slaves were seen not as human but property

22. Attitudes toward slaves • Racism: the belief that one race is superior to another • Some colonist claimed they were helping slaves by introducing them to Christianity • Quakers in Germantown, Pennsylvania were the first group of colonist to call for end to slavery

23. The Slave Trade • European slave traders set up post along the African coast • Offered guns and other goods to African rulers who brought them slaves • Loaded captives aboard Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French ships headed to the Americas

24. The Slave Trade • Middle Passage: trip from Africa to the Americas • Crammed into small spaces below deck • Once or twice a day the crew allowed captives up on deck for exercise • Some Africans fought for their freedom • Some refused to eat • Some committed suicide; jumping over board • 10% of all African shipped to North America did not survive the Middle Passage