The Royal Colony of Georgia

SS8H2 The student will analyze the colonial period of Georgia’s history.

c. Explain the development of Georgia as a royal colony with regard to land ownership, slavery,

government, and the impact of the royal governors.

Proprietary Colony –

a colony that was governed by a board of trustees.

Ex: Georgia was a proprietary colony from 1732 – 1752.

Royal Colony – a colony directly governed by the King.

Ex: Georgia became a royal colony when the trustees ended their charter with the King in 1752 and remained that way until the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783.

1742 – Rum is allowed in the colony 1743 Oglethorpe returns to England, never to

return to the Georgia colony. 1750 – Regulation against slavery is repealed

and land restrictions lifted. 1752 – one year before the charter’s end, the

trustees return Georgia to King George II

The End of the Trustee Period 1732-

1752

Arrived in Georgia on

October 1, 1754—colonists cheered at his arrival

Introduced the idea of self-government: wanted the colonists to help run the government

Set up a court system: Court of Conscience

Governor John Reynolds 1754 - 1757

Bicameral (two chamber) legislature was set up to

represent the 8 parishes of the colony Parish: a British government district

Lower house: Commons House of Assembly Those wishing to join the Assembly had to own at least 500

acres of land Upper house: Governor’s Council

King of England appointed members of the Governor’s Council

New government met for the 1st time in 1755 in Savannah reorganized state militia passed bills to build/repair roads drew up codes to restrict the rights of slaves

Government in the Royal Colony

Court of Conscience: presided over by a

local justice of the peace When colonists had complaints, they would

go before this court Cases that could not be settled went to

the Governor’s Council

Court System in the Royal Colony

Reynolds dissolved the legislature

when he felt threatened that they would undermine his authority

Without the legislature, Reynolds attempted to run the government himself, making the colonists angry

Angry colonists (including a large land-holder) wrote to King George complaining about Reynolds actions. He relinquished control of Georgia to Henry Ellis in 1757

Reynolds' downfall

King George II—in a Royal Colony, the King has ultimate control

Took control after Reynolds

Learned quickly from Reynolds’ mistakes Brought people together from many different political

groups Population almost doubled under his term: 1759—

population was about 10,000 including 3,600 slaves Colony made several economic gains

profitable farms more merchants with a greater variety of

goods This allowed colonists to buy things they could

not grow or manufacture (cloth, sugar, farming tools, seeds for planting)

Left office after becoming ill in 1760

Henry Ellis 1757 - 1759

3rd Royal governor Born in S.C. (was the previous S.C.

Attorney General Loyal to the King, but wanted the

colonies to prosper Believed that Georgia would

continue to grow if: large farms were bigger, land

ownership increased trading expanded western lands of the colony were

opened to settlers Completed the defenses around

Savannah with palisades and strengthened area forts.

Sunbury became the official port.

James Wright 1760-1781

Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries

Georgia Crackers

People from Virginia and the Carolinas settled into middle and western parts of the colony

Plantation owners viewed them as “undesirable people”

Soon, these lower class peoples were called “crackers,” which was meant as an insult

Crackers were not welcome and thought of as ones who did not obey the colony’s laws

“Poor white trash”